Waltham Watch Company
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The American Waltham Watch Company produced about 40 million high quality watches, clocks, speedometers, compasses, time fuses and other precision instruments between 1850 and 1950.
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[edit] History
In 1850, Roxbury, Massachusetts, David Davis, Edward Howard and Aaron Lufkin Dennison formed together the company that would later become the American Waltham Watch Company. The revolutionary business plan was to manufacture the movement parts so precisely that they would become fully interchangeable. Based upon the experience of earlier failed trials, Howard and Dennison would eventually perfect and patent their precision watch making machines and create the American System of Watch Manufacturing.
[edit] American Horologe Company
In 1851, the company took the name "American Horologe Company" and production started in the new factory building. Late 1852, the first watches were complete. The first 17 watches, marked "The Warren Mfg Co" were distributed among company officials. Number 18 to 100 were named "Warren Boston" and the following 800 "Samuel Curtis". A few, marked "Fellows & Schell", sold for $40.
[edit] Boston Watch Company
The company was renamed "Boston Watch Company" in September 1853. A new factory was built in Waltham, Massachusetts, on the banks of the Charles River, which grew over the years to its present size. In October 1854 the company moved into the new factory. The next movements manufactured (1001-5000) were marked "Dennison, Howard, & Davis", "P.S.Bartlett", and "C.T. Parker". The company had financial difficulties and Edward Howard left to form E. Howard & Co..
[edit] Appleton Tracy & Co
Upon bankruptcy, the company was sold at auction to Royal E. Robbins, who reorganised it under the new name "Appleton Tracy & Co" in May 1857. Bearing this name, the next movements produced, Waltham Model 1857, were numbered 5001 to 14,000. Also the "C.T. Parker" was introduced as 1857 model: 399 units were made. Also 598 chronometers were manufactured. January 1853 saw the introduction of the P.S. Bartlett watch.
[edit] American Waltham Watch Company
The "Waltham Improvement Co." merged in January 1859 with the "Appleton, Tracy & Co." forming the American Waltham Watch Company (AWWCo). In 1860, as President Abraham Lincoln was elected, the country was in Civil War. Production ground to a halt. However, the company decided to downsize to the lowest possible level to keep the factory open. It worked: Upon his Gettysburg Address, President Lincoln became the proud owner of a Waltham watch: Model 1857, Grade Wm Ellery, serial number no 67613.
Waltham became the main supplier of Railroad chronometers to the various railroads in America and in as many as 52 other countries of the world. In 1876, Waltham disclosed the first automatic screw making machinery and obtained the first Gold Medal in a watch precision contest at the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition. Not only the American Horology but also the world owes much to the early members of the Waltham Watch entity, such as Bacon, Church, Dennison, Fogg, H. Marsh, Webster and Woerd for their technical inventions and developments.
In U.S.A. the manufacturing of Waltham watches and watch parts had stopped altogether latest in 1957, having been transferred to Switzerland to Waltham International SA, a company previously especially founded for the purpose by the US parent. However, clocks continued to be made in the Waltham factory for a time under the name of Waltham Precision Instruments Company. Nowadays furthered by Waltham Aircraft Clock Corporation.
[edit] Waltham International SA
The American Waltham Watch Company went out of business in 1957, but had founded a subsidiary in Switzerland in 1954, Waltham International SA, which now produces Waltham Swiss made luxury watches as a full fledge member of the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry FH.
[edit] US Business
The United States business of Waltham is now owned by MZ Berger and Company http://www.mzb.com
[edit] Serial Numbers
Every watch movement was engraved with an individual serial number which can be used to estimate the date of production. Volunteers have created a database of Waltham serial numbers, models and grades, and descriptions of observed watches.
[edit] Waltham watch on the moon
Astronaut Dave Scott, commander of the Apollo 15 mission in 1971, wore a Waltham watch in his third lunar EVA when his standard Omega Speedmaster Professional chronograph became damaged. [1]
[edit] References
Complete Watch Guide, by Cooksey Shugart, Tom Engle, Richard E. Gilbert, Edition 1998, ISBN 1-57432-064-5
