American 14k gold fully engraved lever watch Circa 1900

Gold fully engraved lever watch by Elgin
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A splendid American hunting cased ladies pocket watch, circa 1900.
14K gold case, the middle part with pearl rim, floral engraved and engine-turned on both sides, all three lids made of gold, case number 83550, work number 8811223. Signed enamel dial with Roman radial hours, outer minutes track, subsidiary dial for the seconds, and blued steel pear hands. Elgin lever movement.
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Diameter: 35 mm
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Weight: 31 g
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Signed: Elgin Nat. Watch Co.
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Elgin, American watch manufacture
The company, which quickly became one of the world’s leading watch manufacturers, was founded in Chicago during the Civil War by a group of investors, including Benjamin Wright Raymond, a former Chicago mayor, and John C. Adams, a watchmaker from Chicago Chicago, belonging.
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National Watch Co.
Other founders of this new company, initially called the National Watch Co., were Ira G. Blake and PS Bartlett, both of whom previously worked at the American Horology Company (later renamed Waltham ) in Massachusetts.
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In 1867, the company began manufacturing clocks in its new purpose-built factory in Elgin, west of Chicago. Their self-developed 18-size movement was equipped with a full plate and was named after the company founder Benjamin W. Raymond. In the years leading up to 1870, Elgin produced around 25,000 clocks worth around $600,000. At that time, the workforce consisted of about 300 men and 200 women. Until 1870 the calibres H.Z. Culver, JT Rayerson, HH Taylor, GM Wheeler and Laflin produced. In the years that followed, the new movements WH Ferry, MD Ogden, JV Farwell and Ch. Fargo. The first remontoir pocket watches followed in 1873 .
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Elgin National Watch Co.
From 1874 the company was called the Elgin National Watch Co. When TM Avery took over the company’s management in the early 1870s, Elgin produced over 30,000 watches a year. Avery manages to increase the number of pieces to around 500,000 per year in a short time (by the late 1880s). The company employs almost 2500 people at this time.