Elgin

Created Sunday 27 October 2024

Elgin model 5

Elgin Natl. Watch Co.

The Elgin Pocket Watch Company’s history starts in the 19th century, at the end of the American Civil War. Its name then was the “National Watch Company,” but its popularity within its home city influenced a change to “Elgin National Watch Company.”
The new company drove innovation by mass-producing high-quality machine-made pocket watches and within a short period, Elgin Watch Co. achieved its goal- making affordable antique watches.
Elgin National Watch Co. shared the spotlight with the prestigious Waltham Watch Co in its early days. They reigned supreme as the premiere middle-ground watchmaking companies in the USA – neither highest-grade nor cheap-grade.
By 1880, Elgin National Watch Co. introduced the Stem-wound movement to upgrade its past two decades key-wound system.
After WWII, the company shifted from pocket watches to wristwatches, decorative clocks, wedding rings, and transistor radios. In the 1950s, foreign and less-expensive domestic watches dominated the market, forcing Elgin to depend less on watches for its income. The company eventually gave up the watchmaking side of its business entirely, ceasing production in 1970.

Elgin model 5 Movement

Manufacturer: Elgin
Manufacturer Location: Elgin, Illinois
Movement Serial Number: 4782315
Grade: 123
Model: 5
Class: 9
Estimated Production Year: 1893
Run Quantity: 2,000
Grade/Model Run: 4 of 7
Grade/Model Total Production: 13,000
Variant Est. Production: 9,000 (18S-M5-17J)
Size: 18s
Jewels: 17j
Jewel Setting: Screw-Set
Movement Configuration: Openface
Movement Finish: Gilt
Movement Setting: Pendant
Plate: Full Plate
Barrel: Going
Train: Quick
Regulator: Moseley
Hairspring: Breguet
Adjusted: Yes
Adjusted to Temperature: No
Railroad Grade: No

This time in History

On 23 Dec 1895 George Allen and Elizabeth Cross (Great Grandparents) Were Married in Melton Mowbray
Around this time the first production motor vehicles became available from Daimler.
The Labour party was formed by Keir Hardie in this year.
Mahatma Gandhi performs his first civil disobedience act

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