Elgin Observatory Watches (1890s–1900s)

 

Elgin Observatory Watches are some of the most fascinating and historically important timepieces Elgin ever produced. They represent the company’s commitment to precision science in an era when American watchmaking was competing head-to-head with Switzerland.

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 The Elgin National Watch Company Observatory

• Built in 1910 (though Elgin had been experimenting with astronomical methods earlier), the Elgin Observatory was located near the main factory in Elgin, Illinois.

• It housed a 12-inch Warner & Swasey refracting telescope and precision astronomical instruments to measure sidereal time.

• Purpose: to provide an independent, highly accurate time standard against which Elgin’s best watch movements could be rated.

• This was similar in concept to the Swiss observatory trials at Neuchâtel, Geneva, and Kew in England.

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Observatory-Grade Watches

• Not every Elgin watch was tested here — only the company’s highest-grade railroad, scientific, and presentation pieces.

• Many were B.W. Raymond, Veritas, and Father Time grades (19–23 jewel railroad standards).

• Elgin also made a few experimental observatory watches with extra-fine finishing and adjustments.

Features:

• High jewel counts (21–23 jewels).

• Adjusted to temperature, isochronism, and up to 6 positions.

• Some marked “Adjusted to Observatory Standards” or carried special serial number designations.

• Cases were often in gold or high-grade nickel.

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Certification & Prestige

• Watches successfully tested received observatory certification papers, proving their chronometric excellence.

• This gave Elgin a major marketing advantage, showing they could rival Swiss chronometers.

• Collectors often refer to these as Elgin Observatory Watches, though the official factory designation was simply high-grade watches “tested at the Observatory.”

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Collectibility & Value

• Surviving certified examples are rare and highly prized.

• Value depends on condition, jewel count, and whether original paperwork survives.

• With papers: can exceed $10,000+ at auction.

• Without papers: usually $2,000–$6,000 for top grades.