Waltham Watch Company
Waltham, Massachusetts
Waltham Watch Company was an American watch manufacturer. In over 100 years of existence about 40 million Bracelet, stand and wall clocks, speedometers, compasses, time fuses and other precision instruments were made of the highest quality. There is no connection to the independent, former bicycle, motorcycle and automobile manufacturers Waltham Manufacturing Company, and American Waltham Manufacturing Company and Waltham Automobile Company.
American Horology Company (1852-1853)
Aaron Lufkin Dennison worked since 1849 because a clock with interchangeable parts to develop in order to enable mass production. To this end he founded in 1850 together with David Davis and Edward Howard ( 1813-1904 ), the first " Dennison, Howard & Davis Company" from shortly after the "American Horology Company" in Roxbury, Massachusetts. The first prototypes based on this concept developed Dennison with the brothers David S. Marsh (1827-1901) and Oliver B. Marsh. He still exists. At the end of 1852 the first watches were completed. The first 17 watches, engraved with " The Warren Mfg Co " were distributed to the company's management. The clock with the numbers 18 to 100 were classified as " Warren Boston " and another 800 marked as " Samuel Curtis". A smaller number with the name " Fellows & Schell " were sold at $ 40.00 each.
Boston Watch Company (1853-1857) and Waltham
The company name was changed in September 1853 in " Boston Watch Company ". It was built a new workshop in Waltham Massachusetts on the banks of the Charles River; this workshop should increase over time to an enormous size. In October 1854 the company moved permanently over to Waltham. Further work (1001-5000) were the brands " Dennison, Howard & Davis ", " PSBartlett " and " CT Parker " provided.
New beginning and American Waltham Watch Company (1857-1883)
After a first bankruptcy the company to Royal E. Robbins († 1902) was auctioned, as " Appleton Tracy & Co" reorganized it in May 1857. With this brand further work, the model 1857 ( No. 5001-14000 ) were prepared. In addition, the brand was " C.T. Parker "was introduced as a model in 1857, 399 pieces were made thereof. In addition there were 598 chronometer.
Edward Howard founded after leaving the Howard Watch Company in Boston (Massachusetts ).
The " Waltham Improvement Co. " merged in January 1859 with the " Appleton, Tracy & Co. " to "American Waltham Watch Company ". 1861, after the election of President Lincoln began the American Civil War. The manufacture of clocks went back, but the company has succeeded thanks to strict austerity measures to survive.
Waltham was then the main supplier of Railroad chronometers for various North American railroad companies, and exported them later also in 52 other countries in the world. On the occasion of the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia presented Waltham 1876, the first fully automatic screwing machine before and thus won the gold medal in the first international watch precision competition. Not only the American watchmaker's art, but which owes all over the world the first members of the Waltham Watch Company, as Bacon, Church, Dennison, Fogg, H. Marsh, Webster and Woerd, many of their inventions and developments.
20th century
In 1885, the company of "American Waltham Watch Co. " ( AWWCo ) was changed. In the following 32 years, this name has been retained.
1898 led the American Waltham Watch Company, a their new model 99 / Size 16 clock. Total 500,000 watches were produced.
1917 is again a change of name to " Waltham Watch Co. " ( WWCo ), in 1923, then in " Waltham Watch and Clock Company ," and finally in 1925 in " Waltham Watch Company " (WWC ). From the Canadian Pacific Railway, the Waltham Watch Company was awarded the contract to produce two types of high-quality pocket watches. The larger item is indicated by the engraved work on the shield and beaver emblem of the Railway and is now known as " CPR " type - called (Canadian Pacific Railway type). The second group has engraved the letters " CRT" (Canadian Railway Time Service ) on the work. Both types of these railway watches are collector's items today. On December 28, 1948, the Waltham Watch Company was forced to declare bankruptcy.
In 1957, the Waltham Watch Company was closed in the United States. The branch, founded in Switzerland in 1954 by Waltham International distributes still manufactured in Switzerland watches under the label " Waltham ".