Wristwatches · Wristwatch
Elgin Cushion Case Diver, 1970s
- Maker / attribution
- Elgin (maker)
- Date
- 1970s
- Historical period
- Quartz Revolution (1969 – 1990)
- Country of origin
- United States
- Object type
- Wristwatch
- Dimensions
- Case 42 mm
- Stock no.
- 40992055
- Credit line
- Dealer listing, Analog/Shift (40992055)
- Catalogue title (original)
- Elgin Cushion Case Diver (English)
Editor's note
The dealer's brand field named another maker; the dealer's own listing title identifies the watch as Elgin.View the source record (dealer listing) ↗ (opens another website in a new tab)Suggest a correction
Record summary
Catalogued by Analog/Shift (dealer), New York (stock number 40992055), this is a wristwatch by Elgin, made in United States, dated 1970s. The Atlas places it in the Quartz Revolution period (1969 – 1990) of its Wristwatches collection. Recorded dimensions: Case 42 mm. The record is illustrated with 6 photographs.
Assembled from the source record's structured fields. Dates and attributions are given as the source states them; where a field is missing the Atlas leaves it blank rather than estimating.
Catalogue description
Dealer description — Analog/Shift
There's no doubt that dive watches hold a special place in the hearts of many collectors, ourselves included. In fact, Analog:Shift was founded in 2012 with its eyes set squarely on vintage divers. With their simple designs and robust movements, the tool watches of the 1960s and 1970s were built to accompany the adventurer across the globe and to keep time at its great heights as well as its darkest depths. Yet for every Rolex Submariner, Blancpain Fifty Fathoms, or Omega Seamaster, there were scores of other lesser-known names that ooze charm and merit consideration from the vintage watch enthusiast. This watch, a Elgin automatic diver, dates to the 1970s. Housed in a 42mm C-shaped case with short, integrated lugs, an acrylic crystal, a screw-down crown and caseback, and a bidirectional dive bezel with a fully hashed timing insert, it features a handsome sunray dial with an outer open minute track in orange and white; luminous 'Arabic' and 'dash' indices; a 3 o'clock date window; and a luminous 'broad arrow' handset. Powered by an automatic, 17-jewel Swiss movement and paired to a sand-colored leather strap with tone-on-tone stitching and a stainless steel pin buckle, this handsome and colorful Elgin is ready for another 50 years of faithful service. If you dig it as much as we do, drop us a line!
Historical context
Quartz Revolution (1969 – 1990)
Seiko's Astron begins mass quartz timekeeping; traditional industries contract sharply.
Quartz and digital watches transformed the market after 1969. Swiss employment collapsed, Japanese and Hong Kong production soared, and the Swatch (1983) helped the Swiss industry recover; mechanical watches survived as luxury goods.
Read the period in the timelineMore wristwatches from this periodEarlier: Modern Mechanical Horology
Atlas type guide
Dive and water-resistant watches
Keeping water and dust out of a wristwatch was a long-standing challenge. Rolex's screw-down Oyster case (1926) and Omega's Marine (1932) were landmarks; in the early 1950s Blancpain's Fifty Fathoms and Rolex's Submariner defined the professional dive watch with rotating bezels for timing dives, luminous dials and high water resistance. The ISO 6425 standard (1982) later codified what a 'diver's watch' must do.
Dive watches became icons of post-war design and exploration, and their evolution — helium escape valves, ceramic bezels, saturation-diving depth ratings — records the history of underwater work.
What to look for
- Unidirectional or bidirectional rotating bezel with minute markings.
- Screw-down crown and case back; depth rating printed on the dial.
- Luminous hands and markers (radium before c. 1960, tritium c. 1960–1998, then Super-LumiNova).
- Reference numbers on the case between the lugs or inside the back.
Dating clues
- Screw-down Oyster cases: from 1926.
- Professional dive watches: from 1953.
- Tritium 'T' marks on dials: c. 1960–1998.
General guidance written by the Atlas editors about this kind of object. It is not a statement about this particular piece; for that, rely on the source record above and on physical examination.
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