Watches A to Z: Elgin

If you are into collecting watches, one brand you may have heard of is Elgin. The Elgin National Watch Company was originally founded in Elgin Illinois back in 1864 and operated up until 1968.  You'll see watches from them under the names Elgin, Lady Elgin, and Lord Elgin.

Vintage Elgin Manual Wind Watch - photo by Joe Haupt from USA, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

The Elgin watch company moved its manufacturing from Illinois to South Carolina in 1963.  However, all US manufacturing was stopped in 1968 and the Elgin brand was sold.  The brand passed through many hands and was ultimately purchased by MZ Berger.  Elgin watches made after 1968 are not related to the original Elgin watch company and have little collector value.  For example, since the first quartz watch was unveiled by Seiko in 1969, this attractive women's Elgin watch that I came across in a thrift store, has no real collector value.

A modern Elgin quartz watch for women

Elgin is pretty well known for pocket watches and you can often find nice examples posted on online auction sites for reasonable prices.  Several websites cover the topic of Elgin watch collecting.

A Key-Wound Coin Silver Vintage Elgin Pocket Watch
(photo by Joe Haupt from USA, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons)

One caveat to the "no collector value" label on modern post-Elgin Elgin watches is that you may still find watches with the Elgin label that are attractive and priced affordably.  For example, I really liked the look of this quasi-mechanical quartz Elgin watch that I bought a few years ago in a department store.

With all the Swiss brands that have been revived under new owners or that have been captured by non-Swiss owners, there's no reason that MZ Berger can't capitalize on their ownership of the Elgin brand and even revive it in modern times. If you like a modern Elgin watch, there is no reason not to buy it.  Companies like MZ Berger make plenty of fashion watches sold under a variety of brand names.  As of 2024, modern Elgin watches are available here on Amazon.  Some are marketed purely under the Elgin label and others under the Elgin by Accutime.  This blinged out Elgin Reserve by Accutime watch is very reasonably priced here on Amazon.

As far as the internet knows, MZ Berger still owns the Elgin brand. While some of the watches are a little "blingy," others are quite attractive. In an era where many dead Swiss brands are being revived, I think it's kind of cool that an American name in watches  continues on. You can find Elgin watches on Amazon here.