Elgin Pocket Watches

Built with incredible precision, the Elgin pocket watch is perennially popular among watch enthusiasts and collectors, valued for its exquisite craftsmanship, finishes, excellent materials, jeweled movements, and a fine selection of intricate designs. As an iconic American watch brand of all time, the vintage and antique Elgin pocket watches are among the most cherished timepieces in the world, offering amazing value on the Bidsquare online auctions.

Elgin Pocket Watch – A Brief History

Founded in 1864, the Elgin Watch Company, the manufacturer of this brand of pocket watches was one of the largest watchmakers in the US for over a century, ceasing production in 1968. Initially, the watches created were extravagant but stylish pieces, some of which were made of gold cases. The timepieces were not only known for their accuracy but were not affected in varying climates. Embracing the Art Deco style of the 1920s and early ‘30s in its design and stylized in Arabic-type numerals, Elgin watches soon were in high demand among fashion-conscious of the period, and are highly coveted even today at watch auction.

To create less expensive but elegant and innovative timepieces, Elgin endeavored to mass-produce high-quality pocket watches by assembling machine-made interchangeable parts for repair when needed. That brilliant idea, along with stem-winding mechanisms, a novelty of that time when compared to the conventional key-wind mechanisms, made it possible for the Elgin watches to be more accessible to a wider number of buyers in the vast middle-ground of the American watch market. The possibility of repairing the timepieces easily without requiring specialized skills has made the watches the most sought-after for collectors even today.

During World War II, their production facilities discontinued civilian manufacturing and were temporarily busy making military watches, chronometers, speedometers, and altimeters, among others. From pocket watches, the company switched to wristwatches, decorative clocks, and wedding rings following the war. Having ceased manufacture in 1968, today, antique and vintage Elgin pocket watch values continue to rise on the collectors' market depending on the year and material used for manufacturing and can be a valuable addition to anyone’s watch collection.

Quick Facts about Elgin Pocket Watch

• Most Elgin pocket watches are called railroad pocket watches as they are designed following railroad industry standards. 
• To identify Elgin pocket watches, look for the serial number in the movement as well as on the serial number lookup online.