I believe they were actually the National Watch Company, based in Elgin, Illinois, but incorporated the city into their official name at some point.
Elgin concentrated on middle-class watches: lots of 7 through 15-jewel jobs. Not the best, but you don't need 23 jewels to get the job done. This was my father's favorite brand, so I have a bunch of them.
This is my Elgin Grade 111. By the serial number, it was made in 1883. It is size 18, 7 jewels, pendant wind, lever set. It was designed for a hunter case but mine was fitted into an open-face, nickel-silver case, which makes a sidewinder. I believe this is a common configuration on 111s.
It's easy to curl your lip at 7 jewels, but all it does is run and keep time. My father bought it at a swap meet or flea market and gave it me when I was probably 12 or so. It may have been cleaned once since then. I have to buff the tarnish with silver polish every so often, but I never have any other trouble with it. It's a wonderful watch.
According to the Elgin database, this is one of some 193,000 made.
Watch movements were typically made in two configurations: open face, which put the winding stem at the 12 o'clock position, or hunter-case, which put the winding stem at the 3 o'clock position. Hunter cases are the ones with a hinged-metal plate that covers and protects the watch crystal (dial glass). Many hunter-style movements were fitted into open-face cases anyway, but the stem is still positioned at 3 o'clock. These are colloquially called side-winders. If you're wondering why you couldn't just rotate the face 90°, the problem was that most watches had the second hand separate on its own dial at the 6 o'clock position, and you can't rotate the face with the second hand dial's works locked into position. Sweep-second hand watches didn't become popular until well into the 20th century.
Acquired: in the 1970s from my father, whom I believe got it from a swap meet or thrift shop
Circa: 1883
Current condition: runs fine
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