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The impact of American watchmaking on the world’s horological production was swift, impressive and completely unexpected. Prior to 1876, Europeans had only joked about American watches, viewing European craftsmanship as superior to that of their American counterparts. This perception changed significantly, however, following the Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia in 1876. It was there that America demonstrated to the world its true horological potential. Before exploring the designs of American watches, let us first examine what the European competition had to say. The following excerpt is taken from a dramatic address delivered on November 14, 1876 by Edouard Favre-Perret to the Swiss watch industry at La Chaux-de-Fonds. At the time, Favre-Perret was head of the Swiss representation to the Centennial Exhibition. He was also a judge at the exhibition and in charge of the Swiss team. He was highly qualified and undoubtedly impartial. “...For a long time America has been the principal market for our watches – our milk cow, so to speak. Today we must earnestly prepare to struggle with the Americans on the fields where we have been the masters... I sincerely confess that I personally have doubted that competition. But now I have seen – I have felt it – and am terrified by the danger to which our industry is exposed… In America everything is made by machinery; here we make everything by hand. … Their tools work so regularly, that all parts of the watch may be interchanged by a simple order on a postal card... Had the Philadelphia Exhibition taken place five years later we would have been totally annihilated without knowing whence or how we received the terrible blow… It has been said that the Americans do not make the entire watch and that they are dependant on Switzerland for several parts of the watch. This is a mistake. It would even be difficult for them to use our productions, so great is the regularity, so minute the precision with which their machines work. They arrive at the regulation of the watch, so to say, without having seen it. When the watch is given to the adjuster, the foreman delivers to him the corresponding balance spring and the watch is regulated (sensation among the audience). Here is what I have seen, gentlemen! I asked from the director of the Waltham Watch Company a watch of the fifth grade. A large safe was opened before me; at random I took a watch out of it and fastened it to my chain. The director had asked me to let him have the watch for two or three days, so as to observe its motion. I answered “on the contrary, I insist on wearing it just as it is”.
In Paris I set my watch by a regulator clock on the Boulevard, and on the sixth day I observed that it varied 32 seconds. And this watch is of the fifth American grade! At my arrival at Locle I showed the watch to one of our first adjusters, who asked permission “to take it down”. I, however, wished first to observe it, and here is the result which I noted: hanging daily variation 1.5 seconds, variation in different positions from 4 to 8 seconds, in the heated room (temperature) the variation was but slight. Having thus observed it I handed the watch to the adjuster, who took it down. After a few days he came to me and said, word for word, “I am completely overwhelmed, the result is incredible”. Favre-Perret was primarily referring to the superiority of American watch movements. It is important to note, however, that Americans paid equal attention to their cases and dials. In fact, America had produced magnificent cases even before it began making exceptional movements. Decoration of movements The attention devoted to the finish and details of American watches is best seen in the decoration of their movements - a part of the watch that the owner rarely sees. American watch manufacturers were obsessed primarily with uniformity of their movements. It is interesting to point out that also was Breguet. However, Americans paid equal attention to the decorative aspects and consequently their best works show back plates damascened in very elaborate patterns (Fig. 1), a process accomplished through the use of machines similar to the rose engines used for engine turning. The importance attached by American watchmakers to the finish of their movements can be noted in the many patents that were requested. Our forthcoming December sale features several examples of patented designs. American watchmakers decorated their best movements as though they were the most visible part of the watch. This same search for perfection was then carried over to the watch dials and cases, which were often even more stunningly decorated. An excellent example is the Gruen 50th Anniversary watch (Fig. 2). Its movement, made of solid gold, is fully engraved – a design rarely, if ever, produced by European watchmakers.
An outstanding example of the early American casemaking art can be seen in Lot #1 of Antiquorum’s first American auction, The Art of American Horology, held on November 28, 2001. This watch, accompanied by the original invoice dated May 14, 1861, was fitted in a magnificent gold hunting case, engraved with a scene of Louis IX on a horse. It was made or ordered by Ball, Black & Co. (Fig. 3) and, as the invoice indicates, sold for US$ 240. What is most noteworthy about this present example is the high quality of the case. It reveals a great deal about early American casemaking skills and supports the notion that American casemakers had the skills to produce cases on par, if not better, than those produced by the best English makers of the time. Contrary to the manufacturing of watch movements, the manufacturing of watch cases did not require special equipment. Instead, the most important “tool” was the skill of the casemaker, which was extremely high, as proven by this example. This watch is not the only testimony, however, to the ability and fine craftsmanship of early American casemakers. Watch cases in the period before 1850 were made by hand using a torch, late, inversed cones, dies, punches, and tools for hinge making. An experienced, skillful worker could expect to make one case per day, and with help from others the number would generally increase to two or three. With the onset of the American industrial revolution came large changes in the way watches were manufactured. Factory systems, capable of producing thousands of identical and interchangeable parts through the use of semi or automatic machinery, led to a dramatic increase in production, and by 1880 about half a million watches were produced annually by the United States. In order to keep up with this increase in the production of movements, it soon became clear that American casemakers would need to change their methods. The first significant development in the casemaking art came from James Boss of Philadelphia. Boss formed cases by rolling sheet metal as opposed to the traditional method involving soldering and cutting. Rolling increased the molecule density of the metal. His patent, No. 23,820 of May 3, 1859 (Fig. 4), revolutionized the watch case industry by enabling the production of not only less expensive, but considerably stronger cases. Additionally, Boss used the method for making gold-filled cases – cases made from a “sandwich” of brass covered with gold on both sides. Unlike gold washed cases, which were made using electroplating, cases produced by means of rolling had much harder gold surfaces and were thus less apt to wear. Boss’s process was superior in that it allowed for stronger cases with less labor and less expense. In 1875, Boss’s rights to the patent were bought by Hagstoz & Thorpe of the Philadelphia watch case company, which had been formed by two experienced casemakers. At the 1876 Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia, Hagstoz & Thorpe exhibited in the main building, where thousands of spectators admired their “Boss Patent Stiffened Gold Watch Cases”. Some of the cases on exhibit were more than eighteen years old, and while they showed some wear on the engraving and engine turning, the wear never showed through to the brass. Following the exhibition orders increased so rapidly that larger quarters became necessary immediately. The landlord of their first premises, 618 Chestnut Street, was George W. Childs, who in addition to being the publisher of the Philadelphia Public Ledger was also an enthusiastic horologist. Childs owned one of the most outstanding clock collections in the country (The masterpiece of David Rittenhouse, located in the Drexel Institute of Technology, comes from Childs’ collection.). When Childs’ learned of his tenants’ need for more work space, he offered $100,000 and became a silent third partner. A new plant on Brown Street was erected and within ten years the company manufactured around 1,500 watch cases per day.
The Philadelphia Public Ledger often featured many interesting and informative articles about Hagstoz & Thorpe’s enterprise. As one article revealed, their gold cases were often made from melted twenty dollar gold coins. Another article stated that about 100 different case styles were employed by the company, and the writer noted that with different designs and engravings the company produced almost 1,200 different models. Here is an excerpt from the article: “the engraving department is one of the most interesting departments. After the back or cover is adjusted the machine goes steadily to work and with little or no attention goes over the whole surface, avoiding such portions as have to be engraved by hand.” (Fig 5) When Boss’s patent expired in 1882, other casemaking manufacturers were quick to employ the methods used first by Boss and later by Hagstoz & Thorpe. Since Boss’ breakthrough, however, new techniques had been invented and patented, bringing about numerous, and often quite bitter, rivalries between companies. In 1882, one case company sued another, charging that the “defendants entered into a conspiracy to obtain, by surreptitious means, secrets in the trade of making watch cases; that the defendants took board near the plaintiff’s factory, attempted to entice away their employees by offers of large sums of money and further attempted to induce such employees to bring work out at night and show them watch cases in various stages of manufacture”. The judge found for the plaintiff, which resulted in a US$ 3,000 settlement for damages incurred. With such heated competition, casemaking companies fought for the best artists, encouraging them to design cases that were increasingly ornate and attractive in an effort to outdo their rivals. Produced in limited quantities, these decorative watches were more promotional than profitable. Decoration of American watches evolved similarly to the development of the movements. There were exceptions, like the piece featured in Fig 3, however, generally speaking, the beginnings in the 1850’s were humble. Most cases were either simply engine-turned or hand-engraved with simple patterns (Fig ?) similar to the ones found in the English watches of the period. The dials followed suit.
With the explosion of movement production in the late 1860’s and 1870’s, case manufacturers gradually began paying more attention to decorative aspects and in the 1880’s this was carried to an extreme. The best cases featured extended (box) hinges, profusely decorated with applied multicolored gold depicting all forms of flora and fauna, with deer and elk seemingly the most popular (Fig ??). One can, however, find many other patterns, including dancing couples, landscapes, oil wells (Fig ?), birds, etc. All were hand-chased and engraved, usually on engine-turned backgrounds. This was a large industry, employing thousands of people. At the beginning of the decline in 1910 they were housed in the country’s 40 watch case factories. Around the early 1890’s there was a shift towards more economical methods of decoration. The management tried to eliminate hand labor and to use only patterns which could be produced by machines. The workers bitterly complained, and organized the Union of Watch Case Workers and the Union of Watch Case Engravers “to protect ourselves from the greedy clenches of capital”. They further complained that “…our profession has been reduced by unjust means – by the subtraction of the art therefore – leaving it simply a mechanical labor…” Their efforts were fruitless –capitalism had its way and the cases were still profusely decorated but with a less individual touch (Fig ?.). This period featured geometrical patterns, elaborate engine-turning and fluted examples (Fig ??). With the decline of American watches the patterns became less profuse, the engraved lines more shallow. While revealing the talents of Americans casemakers, these decorative cases (Fig. 6) were quite susceptible to wear since the ornamentation was raised above the general surface of the case, exposing it to general wear and abrasion. As a result, the sharp points and delicate lines were slowly but surely obliterated. Patents to prevent wear (e.g. No. 237085 of Apr 18, 1882) were introduced, but none was practical. Consequently, most watches from this period with ornate and decorated cases show considerable wear. What is particularly rare about the watches featured in Antiquorum’s upcoming December sale, The Art of American Horology, Part II, is their condition. This collection features watches with the highest standards of ornamentation ever made by American casemakers, in close to mint condition (Fig. 7). One item, in fact, has never been used! Most of these watches come from a private collector who gathered them over a period of almost 30 years, employing his vast and exquisite knowledge of watches with a knack for being “in the right place at the right time” in order to find the best examples. Today, it would be almost impossible to accumulate such a collection, as watches of this caliber and condition simply do not appear on the market, especially outside of the United States. When spotting an American pocket watch, most European and Asian watch collectors are accustomed to seeing mediocrity – a decent, but simple timekeeper, worth anywhere from US$ 50 to US$ 300 for gold cases. Exceptional American pieces do not leave United States. There exists a small group of American collectors who have purchased most of them. The owner of the present collection specialized in the most magnificent and ornate cases with special and quite rare painted dials (Fig 8). It should be noted, however, that this collector did not pass when the Premium Maximum with original box and papers and many other technically important pieces became available to him. His collection of watches, replete with magnificent dials is unparalleled.
The history of American dial manufacturing is analogous to that of American casemaking. Prior to 1850, small dial shops could be found scattered across the East Coast, where they produced dials mostly from gold or silver with engraved decorations. These dials were often fitted for movements imported from England and Switzerland. Enamel dial-making most likely began in the United States around 1800, as demonstrated by the advertisements placed by dial-maker Charles Bullard in Boston before 1830. Bullard offered his talent while at the same premises as Aaron Willard, Jr., who since 1806 had been well established in the dial painting business. Through 1820, Samuel Curtis was also listed in the Boston directories as a dial painter. It appears that the manufacturing of watch dials was a profitable business, as Curtis was able to accumulate enough capital to partner with Howard in what was later to become the world’s first enterprise of automatic watch manufacturing through the use of interchangeable parts (see The Art of American Horology, Antiquorum). (Interestingly enough, a similar history can be seen with the Stern brothers, who owned a dial-making company prior to purchasing Patek Philippe Co.) Dials from the early 1850s were mostly imported from England, with a lesser number coming from Switzerland. In the 1860s, dial-making took a significant turn, as Americans began to encourage the dial makers themselves to emigrate to the United States. By 1860, The British Horological Journal had begun to complain about this trend, stating that a number of dial-makers had moved to “the former colony”. There were also a substantial number of Americans who spent time in England learning the craft, later returning to their home. One of these individuals worth noting is Josiah Moorhouse, head of the dial department of the Howard Watch Company. Moorhouse’s dials were often of the very highest quality (Fig 9), and he became quite distinguished in his field. Today, watches with his dials are highly sought after by collectors. Waltham dials of the early 1860s were produced very much in the style of the English. This was due largely to the Englishman, John Webb, who came to the United States in 1855 and who headed up Waltham’s dial department from 1860 to approximately 1863. It was Webb who introduced sunk dials, carrying his production secrets home, as his daughter claimed, each night. Unfortunately for Waltham, Webb was one of the “six stars” later lured away by Elgin. While at Elgin, Webb headed their dial production, which explains why it is often very difficult to distinguish Elgin’s dials from the period with those of Waltham’s. On average, Webb produced 60 dials per day and was paid 80 cents per dial, a substantial sum of money for the day. Americans produced a number of very elaborate watch dials that were not only painted, but often ornate, some with elaborate patterns and others with varicolored paillons (patterns made from very thin metal foil). (Fig 10) Some were made using five pieces (sinks) of graduated thickness; others were so elaborate that they required roughly 100 separate production operations. The most tedious step was undoubtedly painting, which involved the use of specially prepared camel hair brushes, one of which was mounted in a “ruling compass” for making circle patterns. Index plates were used for indexing the minutes, and the figures were painted by freehand. On average, a workman painted three dials daily, so it is no wonder that Waltham, and later Elgin, had more than 100 dial-makers in their factories. Daniel O’Hara (1855-1912) is largely responsible for raising the quality of American watch dials. O’Hara was trained as a casemaker, working for the Dueber Case Company and later as a foreman for the Waltham Case Department, where he operated for 10 years. In 1890, O’Hara joined Edward Weatherbee, who had a small dial-making operation in Waltham, Massachusetts. Together, they secured a few Swiss “painting machines” and began to experiment with new techniques. The new company was named Waltham Watch Dial Co. In 1893, Weatherbee left Waltham Watch Dial Co. to become the superintendent of the dial department of the Trenton Watch Company. O’Hara would later change the company name to O’Hara Dial Co., becoming one of the most important manufacturers of special and unusual dials. In May of 1893 American Jeweler wrote that O’Hara Dial Co. makes watch dials underglazed for all of the factories in the country. They continued: “The secret name dial, where the name or words are printed so small that they are not visible to the naked eye has created quite a furor in the trade”. And so, the American “secret signature” was born. Breguet had been first, but others, in this case the Americans, followed his lead. In the June 1895 issue of American Jeweler, O’Hara wrote an article entitled “The Manufacture of Watch Dials”. After a technical description, O’Hara explained how his company sent dials to France, Germany and Japan, noting that his firm “had complete departments for production of dials by a number of special processes”. After 1893, he developed a wide variety of dials, many of which had never been seen before. His business card advertised “manufacture and decoration of all kinds of dials, society, club and lodge buttons”. O’Hara continued to make dials for 20 years, focusing on unusual patterns and techniques. By 1898, his work force had been reduced by 75% following competition from a newly established watch dial company in Sag Harbor on Long Island which specialized in making hand painted dials
Few of his dials have survived today. The collection presented here by Antiquorum includes some of the most elaborate O’Hara and Sag Harbor dials known to exist. For a long time, American watches were neglected by international collectors, primarily because of the lack of quality American timepieces outside the United States. Favre-Perret and O’Hara may have boasted of the exportation of American watches, however in reality their talk was centered on singular incidents and was by no means a trend. Many, in fact, saw no reason to export American-made watches. They viewed the American market as a sponge, eager and quite capable of absorbing all that the American watch manufacturers produced. In a 1908 address to “The Committee on Ways and Means of the 16th Congress”, German born John C. Dueber, known as one of the most controversial and innovative characters in the watch industry (Antiquorum’s forthcoming auction will feature examples of his best designs), described how of all the eight major American watch companies, only Waltham exported its watches. Even then, Dueber explained, this amounted to less than 5% of Waltham’s overall production. That same year, Charles H. Hulburd, President of Elgin Watch Co., wrote that, “…our foreign business amounts to a mere trifle and frankly, I wish we did not have it at all.” The majority of American watches, similarly to their European counterparts, were decent, medium priced timekeepers. Some, however, were outstanding. Whereas American watches tended not to leave the country, European watches, on the other hand, were exported all over the world. This seems to explain why most collectors today of American timepieces are American, and also why American watches are relatively inexpensive. The history of American watches is similar to the history of wristwatches. After all, it wasn’t really until the 1980s, when Antiquorum pioneered the sale of wristwatches at auction, that wristwatches truly became popular, collectible items. Today, as recent auctions have shown, wristwatches fetch millions. Is history about to repeat itself?
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