Elgin National Watch Company

Last updated
Elgin National Watch Company
Industry Watch manufacturing
PredecessorNational Watch Company
Founded1863
Founder Philo Carpenter
Howard Z. Culver
Benjamin W. Raymond
George M. Wheeler
Thomas S. Dickerson
Edward H. Williams
W. Robbins
Defunct1968
Headquarters,
United States
ProductsPocket watches, wrist watches, bomb sights and precision instruments

The Elgin National Watch Company, commonly known as Elgin Watch Company, was a major US watch maker from 1864 to 1968. The company sold watches under the names Elgin, Lord Elgin, and Lady Elgin.

Contents

For nearly 100 years, the company's manufacturing complex in Elgin, Illinois, was the world's largest site dedicated to watchmaking. [1]

History

19th-century business card with Elgin logo B. M. Chamberlain & Son, Elgin watches. front.jpg
19th-century business card with Elgin logo

The company was first incorporated in August 1864 as the National Watch Company in Chicago, Illinois, by Philo Carpenter, Howard Z. Culver, Benjamin W. Raymond, George M. Wheeler, Thomas S. Dickerson and W. Robbins. In September of the same year, the founders visited the Waltham Watch Company in Waltham, Massachusetts, and successfully convinced seven of Waltham's watchmakers to come to work for their new company. [2]

The growing young city of Elgin, Illinois, some 30 miles northwest of Chicago, was chosen as the factory site. Initially, as part of the deal, the city was asked to donate 35 acres (142,000 m2) of land for the construction of the factory. The city selected a derelict farm; however, the owners refused to sell the property unless the city purchased their entire 71 acres for $3,550. Four Elgin businessmen agreed to acquire the property and then donated the required 35 acres to the watch company. The company reorganized in April 1865 and completed the factory in 1866. The first movement, delivered in 1867, was named the B.W. Raymond in honor of Benjamin W. Raymond. The watch was an 18-size, full plate design. In 1869, the National Watch Company won "Best Watches, Illinois Manufacture" at the 17th Annual Illinois State Fair, for which it won a silver medal. [3] The company officially changed its name to the Elgin National Watch Company in 1874, as the Elgin name had come into common usage for their watches.

Later history

The company built the Elgin National Watch Company Observatory in 1910 to maintain scientifically precise times in their watches. The company produced many of the self-winding wristwatch movements made in the United States, beginning with the 607 and 618 calibers (which were bumper wind) and the calibers 760 and 761 (30 and 27 jewels respectively).

During World War II, the company halted all civilian manufacturing. It moved into the defense industry, manufacturing military watches, chronometers, fuzes for artillery shells, altimeters, and other aircraft instruments and sapphire bearings used for aiming cannons.

Over time, the company operated several additional plants, mostly in Elgin. However, the company also located additional plants in Aurora, Illinois, and Lincoln, Nebraska. In 1963, the company relocated most manufacturing operations to a new plant in Blaney, a town near Columbia, South Carolina, which renamed itself Elgin, South Carolina. The original, obsolete factory in Elgin closed in 1964 after having produced half of the total number of pocket watches manufactured in the United States (dollar-type not included). The plant was razed in 1966. [4] The company maintained a leased building in Elgin that housed offices and casing, fitting, shipping, service, and trade material departments until about 1970.

The company discontinued all US manufacturing in 1968 and sold the rights to the name "Elgin", which were subsequently resold multiple times over the years. The rights eventually were purchased by MZ Berger Inc., which manufactures its watches in China and distributes them outside traditional watch dealerships. Elgin-branded watches produced after 1968 have no connection to the Elgin Watch Company.

The city of Elgin, North Dakota, derives its name from the watch brand. [5] Likewise, NBA Hall of Famer Elgin Baylor was named after the Elgin National Watch Company. [6]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">IWC Schaffhausen</span> Luxury Swiss watch manufacturer

IWC International Watch Co. AG, founded International Watch Company, better known as IWC Schaffhausen, is a Swiss luxury watch manufacturer located in Schaffhausen, Switzerland. Originally founded in Switzerland by American watchmaker Florentine Ariosto Jones in 1868, the company was transferred to the Rauschenbach family in 1880 after bankruptcy and has been a subsidiary of the Swiss Richemont Group since 2000.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Waltham Watch Company</span> American watchmaker

The Waltham Watch Company, also known as the American Waltham Watch Co. and the American Watch Co., was a company that produced about 40 million watches, clocks, speedometers, compasses, time delay fuses, and other precision instruments in the United States of America between 1850 and 1957. The company's historic 19th-century manufacturing facilities in Waltham, Massachusetts have been preserved as the American Waltham Watch Company Historic District.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aaron Lufkin Dennison</span> American watchmaker and businessman (1812–1895)

Aaron Lufkin Dennison was an American watchmaker and businessman who founded a number of companies.

The American system of watch manufacturing is a set of manufacturing techniques and best-practices to be used in the manufacture of watches and timepieces. It is derived from the American system of manufacturing techniques, a set of general techniques and guidelines for manufacturing that was developed in the 19th century. The system calls for using interchangeable parts, which is made possible by a strict system of organization, the extensive use of the machine shop, and quality control systems utilizing gauges to ensure precise and uniform dimensions. It was developed by Aaron Lufkin Dennison, a watch repairman who was inspired by the manufacturing techniques of the United States Armory at Springfield, Massachusetts, which manufactured identical parts, allowing rapid assembly of the final products. He proposed using similar techniques for the manufacture of watches. Before the American system of watch manufacturing was developed, watchmaking was primarily a European business. It involved making certain parts under the roof of a factory while obtaining other parts from piece workers who used their own cottages as workshops.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Webb C. Ball</span>

Webster Clay Ball was a jeweler and watchmaker born in Fredericktown, Ohio, who founded the Ball Watch Company. When Standard Time was adopted in 1883, he was the first jeweler to use time signals from the United States Naval Observatory, bringing accurate time to Cleveland.

A railroad chronometer or railroad standard watch is a specialized timepiece that once was crucial for safe and correct operation of trains in many countries. A system of timetable and train order, which relied on highly accurate timekeeping, was used to ensure that two trains could not be on the same stretch of track at the same time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Seiko</span> Japanese manufacturing company

Seiko Group Corporation, commonly known as Seiko, is a Japanese maker of watches, clocks, electronic devices, semiconductors, jewelry, and optical products. Founded in 1881 by Kintarō Hattori in Tokyo, Seiko introduced the world's first commercial quartz wristwatch in 1969.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Benjamin Wright Raymond</span> American politician

Benjamin Wright Raymond was an American politician who twice served as mayor of Chicago, Illinois for the Whig Party.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zenith (watchmaker)</span> Swiss luxury watchmaker

Zenith SA is a Swiss luxury watchmaker. The company was started in 1865 by Georges Favre-Jacot in Le Locle in the canton of Neuchâtel and is one of the oldest continuously operating watchmakers. Favre-Jacot invented the concept of "in house movements", believing that only through control of the entire watchmaking process could the highest quality be achieved. Zenith was purchased by LVMH in November 1999, becoming one of several brands in its watch and jewelry division, which includes TAG Heuer and Hublot. Benoit de Clerck is president and CEO.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hamilton Watch Company</span> Swiss watch manufacturer

The Hamilton Watch Company is a Swiss manufacturer of wristwatches based in Bienne, Switzerland. Founded in 1892 as an American firm, the Hamilton Watch Company ended American manufacture in 1969. Through a series of mergers and acquisitions, the Hamilton Watch Company eventually became integrated into the Swatch Group, the world's largest watch manufacturing and marketing conglomerate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Westclox</span> Clock manufacturer

Westclox was an American manufacturer and is a current brand of clocks and alarm clocks. The company's historic plant is located in Peru, Illinois.

The Illinois Watch Company was founded on December 23, 1870, in Springfield, Illinois, by John C. Adams, John Whitfield Bunn (1831–1920), and various additional financiers. Twenty years later, Jacob Bunn Jr., (1864–1926) took over and ran the company until his death in 1926. The Bunn family surname was used in their most famous railroad watch, the Illinois "Bunn Special".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">E. Howard & Co.</span> American clock and watch company

E. Howard & Co. was a clock and watch company formed by Edward Howard and Charles Rice in 1858, after the demise of the Boston Watch Company. The pair acquired some of the material and watches in progress, based upon a lien against the defunct company held by Rice, but they were unable to buy the existing factory or machinery, so they moved to Roxbury. Soon afterwards, Howard bought out Rice's interest and thereafter sought to make high quality watches based on his own unique designs and eccentric production methods. E. Howard & Co. also produced regulators, and marine clocks.

The Gruen Watch Company was formerly one of the largest watch manufacturers in the United States. It was in business from about 1894 to 1958 and was based in Cincinnati, Ohio. It was founded in 1894 by German-born watchmaker Dietrich Grün, who changed the spelling of his name to "Gruen" because the letter ü does not exist in English.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">First Universalist Church (Elgin, Illinois)</span> Historic church in Illinois, United States

The First Universalist Church in Elgin, Illinois was built in 1892. It was designed by George Hunter to resemble a pocket watch in Richardsonian Romanesque style. The church was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980 and was subsequently included as a contributing property in the Elgin Historic District.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elgin National Watch Company Observatory</span> United States historic place

The Elgin National Watch Company Observatory is a historic building in Elgin, in the U.S. state of Illinois. It was built in 1910 to serve the Elgin National Watch Company two blocks to the west. The two-story observatory provided data on time that was scientifically accurate to a tenth of a second. Manufacturers could then produce a more accurate watch. The observatory was an important part of the company's legacy, and they even changed their motto to reflect this. By 1950, the Elgin National Watch Company could no longer compete with wristwatch companies. The observatory was donated to a local school district and became known as the School District U-46 Planetarium/Observatory. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1994.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Waltham Model 1857</span>

The Waltham Model 1857 is a watch made by the American Watch Company, later called the Waltham Watch Company in Waltham, Massachusetts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elgin Area Historical Society</span>

The Elgin Area Historical Society is a non-profit organization that preserves and presents the history of the Elgin, Illinois area. Located at 360 Park Street in Elgin, Illinois on the Elgin Academy campus. The historic "Old Main" building houses offices, research facilities, the Elgin History Museum, and a gift shop.

US military watches are watches that are issued to US military personnel.

References

  1. Aft, E.C. Elgin: An American History Archived 2013-09-10 at the Wayback Machine , 2000. Accessed 16 Sept. 2013
  2. "Elgin National Watches". Elgin National Watches . Retrieved 9 January 2019.
  3. John P. Reynolds. Transactions of the Illinois State Agricultural Society with Reports from County and District Agricultural Societies. Illinois Journal Printing Office, 1871, p. 45
  4. Halvorsen, David, "Elgin's New Look: Father Time Tumbles - Town No Longer Dependent on Watches", Chicago Tribune, Chicago, Illinois, Tuesday 5 July 1966, Volume 120, Number 186, Section 1 - Page 3.
  5. Federal Writers' Project (1938). North Dakota, a Guide to the Northern Prairie State. WPA. p. 230. ISBN   978-1-62376-033-5.
  6. Elgin Baylor bio at NBA website

Sources