Waltham's "American Watch Co." Grade, 1859-1905

In the mid-19th century, the American Watch Company of Waltham, Massachusetts (called "Waltham," for short) led the transformation of the worldwide watchmaking craft into a modern mass manufacturing industry. Never before had any industrial product as complicated as a watch, requiring such fine precision in its intermeshing parts, been mass produced by machine. Automation and interchangeable parts manufacture made reliable timekeepers affordable for the average citizen.

 

Of the 14 million watches Waltham produced by its revolutionary methods between 1859 and 1905, only a tiny fraction, fewer than 0.1%, represented the company's foremost expressions of technical know-how and craftsmanship. These special watches- the signature "American Watch Company" Grade-showcased the company's best and boldest ideas and most elegant finishes.

 

Surviving "American Watch Company" Grade examples of nine Waltham watch models serve as testaments to the ingenuity and drive of watch industry pioneers like Charles Vander Woerd, Charles W. Fogg, and Duane H. Church, whose achievements propelled Waltham's rise. Beginning in the late 1870s, Waltham lavished exquisite and diverse decorative efforts on this flagship grade, creating some of the most beautiful watches ever made.

 

For this book, two scientists-both longtime watch collectors and devoted horologists-explore the intriguing history of these storied Waltham artifacts, detailing their diverse varieties and technical and decorative attributes.