Vintage Elgin Men’s Military Watch, 7j 3/0 462 Nickel Case

► ARCHIVE FILE: ELGIN — BRAND HISTORY

Elgin was founded in 1864 as the National Watch Company, when a group of Chicago investors led by former mayor Benjamin W. Raymond set out to beat Waltham at industrialized watchmaking. They raised the money, persuaded the town of Elgin, Illinois to donate land beside the Fox River, and hired away seven of Waltham's best men to design the machinery. The first movement, a railroad-grade pocket watch named the B.W. Raymond in the mayor's honor, was completed in 1867, and the firm took the name Elgin National Watch Company in 1874.