On Time National Museum of American History

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  1700–1820
Marking Time
 
  The Race Is On
  The Most Reliable Time
  Revolution!
  Watches by Machine
The Waltham System
Other Manufacturers
Wearing Watches
Watch Styles
  Like Clockwork
  1880–1920
Synchronizing Time
 
 

Watches by Machine


The Waltham System
In the 1850s, watchmakers at what eventually became the American Watch Company of Waltham, Massachusetts, developed the world's first mass-produced watches. They completely redesigned the watch so that its movement could be assembled from interchangeable parts made on special machines by unskilled laborers. They also developed a highly organized factory-based work system to speed production and cut costs of watches.

Prototype watch
Watch movement
Prototype watch, between 1849
and 1851; by Oliver B. Marsh, Roxbury, Massachusetts
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph W. E. Bourgeois
  Watch movement, about 1853;
marked "Samuel Curtis"; by
Boston Watch Co., Roxbury, Massachusetts
Gift of Abraham Burnstine
     
Watch movement
  Watch
Watch movement, 1862; marked "P. S. Bartlett"; by American Watch Co., Waltham, Massachusetts
Gift of John Hansen
  Watch, 1865; marked "Wm. Ellery, Boston, Mass."; by American Watch Co., Waltham, Massachusetts; gift to U.S. Army surgeon Dr. G. D. O'Farrell from his patients in a Civil War hospital in Pennsylvania
     
Automatic screw-making machine   American Watch Co. machine shop
Automatic screw-making machine, about 1876   American Watch Co. machine shop, Waltham, Massachusetts, about 1876
Other Manufacturers
The success of the Waltham system spawned a raft of competitors who began to produce movements and watches by the millions. It also inspired the Swiss, who had dominated the global watch market, to adopt American methods of manufacturing. By 1880, the United States exported more watches than it imported.


Watch
Watch
Watch, about 1869; marked
"B. W. Raymond"; by Elgin National Watch Co., Elgin, Illinois; used on the Pennsylvania Railroad
  Watch, about 1880; by Benedict & Burnham Mfg. Co. (now Timex Corp.), Waterbury, Connecticut
Gift of New York University, James Arthur Collection
     
Watch movement
  Watch movement
Watch movement, about 1869; by Newark Watch Co., Newark, New Jersey
Gift of New York University, James Arthur Collection
  Watch movement, 1860s; by
E. Howard & Co., Boston
Gift of New York University, James Arthur Collection
     
Watch movement   Advertisement
Watch movement, about 1881; marked "New Era"; by Lancaster Watch Co., Lancaster, Pennsylvania
Lent by Frederick Leach
  Advertisement, 1889; for the
Waterbury Watch Co.
Courtesy of NMAH Archives Center, Warshaw Collection of Business Americana
Wearing Watches
Men often wore their watches—with a chain, ribbon, or cord and a fob charm—tucked in their vest pockets. Some women wore their watches on a long neck chain pinned at the waist or tucked into a waistband or waist pocket. Others preferred to fasten their watches to a brooch. However worn, watches were now standard clothing accessories.


Man’s watch, fob charm, and ribbon
Man’s hair watch cord with fob charm
Woman’s watch with neck chain
Man's watch, fob charm, and ribbon, 1840s; worn by Hezekiah Hargrove, Nelson County, Virginia
Gift of Marion C. Hargrove
  Man's hair watch cord with fob charm, about 1875; made from Clarissa Scafers's hair and worn by her husband Preston, Maryville, Missouri.
Gift of Dr. R. L. Curfman in memory of Lula E. Welborn
  Woman's watch with neck chain, about 1850; Swiss, marked "Arnold Adams & Co, London"; once owned by suffragist Susan B. Anthony
         
Woman's brooch watch
  Woman's brooch watch   Woman's chatelaine with watch, coin box, perfume bottle, and notepad
Woman's brooch watch, 1855; Swiss, marked "Patek Philippe"; gift to Mrs. John Henry Kinkead from her husband
Gift of Bessie J. Kibbey Estate
  Woman's brooch watch, 1870; Swiss; a gift to Mrs. Julian James, New York City, from Mrs. T. Robin, Paris
Gift of Mrs. Julian James
  Woman's chatelaine with watch, coin box, perfume bottle, and notepad, 1870–1885
Gift of Mrs. Arthur Doig

Watch Styles
By the middle of the 19th century, watches were smaller and thinner, with different sizes available for men and women. Open-faced cases—that reduced the amount of time required to check the time—became more popular than "hunting" cases with covered dials that had to be opened. Stem-winding and stem-setting watches replaced those wound and set with a separate key. In fact, "stem-winder" became a popular term for describing someone or something excellent.


Woman's watch with hunting case
Woman's watch with hunting case
Woman's watch with hunting case, 1875; by Elgin National Watch Co.,
Elgin, Illinois
Gift of George W. Spier
  Woman's watch with hunting case, 1875; by Elgin National Watch Co.,
Elgin, Illinois
Gift of George W. Spier
     
Man's watch with open-faced case
  Watch with key wind and set
Man's watch with open-faced case, 1876; by Rockford Watch Co.,
Rockford, Illinois
Gift of A. E. Edmonds
  Watch with key wind and set, about 1865; by Tremont Watch Co., Boston
Gift of George W. Spier
     
Watch with stem wind and lever set   Patent model of a watch stem-winding device
Watch with stem wind and lever set, 1867; by American Watch Co.,
Waltham, Massachusetts
Gift of W. Carl Wyatt Estate, through Mary Wyatt Tupman
  Patent model of a watch stem-winding device patented by Arthur Wadsworth on June 19, 1866
Transfer from U.S. Patent Office
     
Watch with stem wind and set  
Watch with stem wind and set, 1876; by E. Howard & Co., Boston
Gift of New York University, James Arthur Collection
   
 
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