11-07-2025
Can $6,200 Watches Bring the Timepiece Industry Back to Chicago?
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Watches
That's what the founders of the Cornell Watch Co. believe.
Hello fellow watch nerds! It's Chris Rovzar, editor of Bloomberg Pursuits, here with another movement-based missive.
Today the Wind Up Watch Fair begins in Chicago, where dozens of international watchmaking brands will showcase their wares to thousands of enthusiasts. I won't be there, but I hope some of you are planning to go check it out. Did you know that the greater Chicago area was once one of the world's great watchmaking hubs? Elgin National Watch Co., an early leading producer of wristwatches, was founded there before moving to nearby Elgin, Illinois, and many other important companies were in operation in the region around a century ago.