The Elgin watch company was founded in Elgin, Illinois in 1864 as the National Watch Company. The name didn't stick, and their products were more commonly considered as "the watches from Elgin", so the company changed its name to the Elgin National Watch Company in 1874.

The company's premise was to create high quality pocket watches with parts that could be easily manufactured and replaced, so that their watches could me more easily repaired or replaced. This is part of what makes Elgin watches a collector's item, as watches even 100 years old can still be used today. 

Their pocket watches were popular in the mid-tier of the market, being neither the most nor least expensive watches being produced in the United States, and the fact that consumers could easily repair their timepieces. They began manufacturing wristwatches in 1910, several years before most other American manufacturers.