Founded in 1864.
The first watch Elgin made, an 18 sized B W Raymond railroad grade watch, was finished in 1867 and over the next 100 years, they went on to produce about 60 million watches. Elgin produced their first wristwatch around 1910, leading most other American watch companies by many years.
Elgin was originally called the "National Watch Company". The name never really stuck and in 1874, they changed their name to the "Elgin National Watch Company" because most of the watch trade and public were calling them "watches from Elgin". They kept that name until the late 1960s when they stopped producing watches and changed their name to the "Elgin National Industries".
Elgin was founded on the idea of mass producing high quality pocket watches using machine made, interchangeable parts. Up until around 1850, watches were made mostly by hand, which meant that if a part broke, you had to find someone with the tools and skill to make a new part. Elgin realized that there was a large market for good watches that could be sold and repaired relatively cheaply using factory made replacement parts that didn't require hand adjusting.
Elgin never made the very highest quality watches in the world, nor did they make the very cheapest, but together with Waltham (aka The American Watch Company), they dominated the vast middle ground of the watch market.
Today, collecting Elgin watches is quite popular. Because Elgin produced so many watches and produced so many spare parts, they can still be easily bought and fixed, so even a 100 year old Elgin can be used, with care, on a daily basis. While mechanical watches can't compete with quartz watches for accuracy, there is something about having a watch that ticks that a quartz watch just can't replace.
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The only ones that catch my eye are the golf ball watch and its more elegantly designed Lord Elgin range of dress watches, especially those in solid gold cases.

History of Waltham

Founded in 1850

The American Waltham Watch Company had its beginnings in 1850 in Roxbury, Massachusetts. The company was founded by David Davis, Aaron Dennison, and Mr. Howard. Their vision was to form a watch company that could produce high-quality watches at a lower cost using interchangeable parts. With financial backing from Samuel Curtis, the first watches were made in 1850, but problems were encountered. They were exploring new ideas in watch manufacturing, such as using jewels, making dials, and producing plates with a high-level of finish which required extensive tooling and resulted in great financial burden on the company. They also found that even though they were using interchangeable parts, each watch was still unique and had its own set of errors to be corrected. It took months to adjust the watches to the point where they were any better than other widely available timepieces.

In 1851, the factory building was completed and the company began doing business under the name "American Horology Company." The first watches produced went to officials of the company, and it was not until 1853 that the first watches were offered for sale to the public. The name was changed to "Boston Watch Company" in September 1853, and the factory in Waltham, Massachusetts was built in October 1854. The movements produced here (serial numbers 1001 - 5000) were signed "Dennison, Howard,& Davis," "C. T. Parker," and "P. S. Bartlett."

The Boston Watch Company failed in 1857 and was sold at auction to Royal E. Robbins. It was reorganized as "Appleton, Tracy & Co." and watches 5001 - 14,000 were produced. The first movements carried the Appleton, Tracy & Co. marking. The C. T. Parker movement was reintroduced as the model 1857 and sold for $12, no small amount in those days! In January, 1859 the Waltham Improvement Co. and the Appleton, Tracy & Co. merged to form the American Watch Company.

In 1860, as Abraham Lincoln was elected President and the country found itself in the throes of the Civil War, the American Watch Company was faced with serious financial problems. By 1861, business had come to a standstill and bankruptcy seemed inevitable. The factory was kept in operation through these years by cutting expenses to the lowest possible level... a strategy that proved successful.

According to the biography by Carl Sandburg, Abraham Lincoln owned and carried a Waltham "Wm. Ellery" watch. The watch was an 11-jewel, 18 size, keywind in a silver hunting case, and was produced in January of 1863.

In 1865 prices for movements only (no case) were: William Ellery $13, P. S. Bartlett $16, Bartlett-Ladies $30, Appleton Tracy $38, A.T. & Co Ladies $40, and American Watch Grade $175!

American Horology owes much to the brilliant visionaries of the Waltham Watch Company. Bacon, Church, Dennison, Fogg, Howard, Marsh, Webster, and Woerd all contributed greatly to American watchmaking.

Waltham continued to manufacture watches until 1957. It is still possible to purchase modern quartz watches that bear the Waltham name, but these watches are not related in any way to the "genuine".

Taken from http://www.pocketwatchrepair.com/histories/waltham.html

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I don't have many Walthams as they are more renowned for their pocket watches and I am not into pocket watches. 

History of Hamilton

Founded in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, in 1892.  


Hamilton Produced its first watch in 1893, designed by H.J. Cain, one of the company's founding members.

1893 Hamilton introduces "The Broadway Limited", a railroad watch that was dubbed "the watch of Railroad accuracy".  Initially manufactured to provide the country's railroads with reliable timing devices, the Hamilton railroad pocket watch was adopted as the official watch of the American Expeditionary Forces worldwide. A wrist watch version of the railroad watch was issued to General Pershing and his doughboys in WWI, accompanied Admiral Byrd on his expeditions to the North and South Poles, served the Picards well on their first balloon ascent into the stratosphere, and was on the wrist of the first American to scale Mount Everest. 

1928 The Yankees win the world series.  Hamilton introduces the Yankee Watch, establishing it as a leader in watch design.  Hamilton helped America keep pace with the energy of a new lifestyle.  New Hamilton designs, such as the Yankee and the Piping Rock, projected the independant spirit of the day. 

1930 Hamilton continues to capture the soaring spirit of the 1930's.  The world turns to the skies as commercial aviation takes off.  Hamilton soon becomes the official timepiece of the most famous industry leaders --- TWA, Eastern, United and Northwest.

1940 WWII Hamilton stops production of watches for consumers and creates new timepieces exclusively for military use.  Close to one million Hamilton military watches are produced.  Today, the 'Hack' has become very collectible among watch and military collectors.

1957 Hamilton's leadership in engineering and innovation creates a significant breakthrough in timekeeping.  Hamilton introduces the first electric watch in 1957.  The Ventura becomes an instant success.  See "Hamilton Electric"

1965 Inspired by the sleek lines of the Cadillac tailfins of the 50's, the Ventura becomes the watch of choice for the icoms of american style.  Elvis Presley chooses to wear the Ventura in his movie, 'Blue Hawaii.'

1972 The furure is close at hand and Hamilton shocks the world with a completely new kind of watch.  Manufactured at its headquarters in Pennsylvania, Hamilton introduces the world's first digital watch - the Pulsar.

Today, Hamilton s primary collections include the American Classics collection and the Khaki collection, updated versions of the legendary military timepieces of yesteryear. Manufactured at its headquarters in Pennsylvania, Hamilton introduces the world's first digital watch - the Pulsar.

Taken from http://thewatchguy.homestead.com/pages/HAMILTON.html

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My favorite model from Hamilton is their Thin-o-matic whereby they used the Buren micro-rotor to power the automatic movements, which also makes the watch thin and elegant. This model was reintroduced this year at Basel 2011 but unfortunately this new model does not use the micro-rotor, instead it uses the ETA 2824. I also like the art deco designs but the scarcity of those models like the Piping Rock makes them quite expensive to acquire.

History of Gruen

Founded in 1894.


The most authoritative account of the history of Gruen Watch Company can be found here. Paul Schliesser has done a great job compiling and collecting all the pertinent info regarding the Gruen watch company so you should visit his site above.


I find that Gruen had been very innovative when it came to watchmaking giving us the Curvex in the 30s, the case and movement so designed to fit the wrist, the Pan Am models with sweep seconds, and that was in the 40's, still unheard of. And finally, my favorite and hard to come by, the Day/Night model where the hour markers change color to denote day or night.

History of Benrus

Founded in 1921.


The name Benrus is well known.  When most people hear it they immediately think of watches. However, very little is known about the Benrus Watch Company.   

The company’s founder, Benjamin Lazrus, was a Jewish Romanian born in 1894. He would eventually immigrate to the United States . Sometime before 1921, he would open a watch repair shop located at 206 Broadway in New York City .  Not long afterwards, he was making watch cases and bands.  To some small degree, his brothers were also involved in the business.  However, at this time, I am not sure just exactly what that involvement was.  

I have read that the Benrus Watch Company was started in the early 1920s.  I don’t think this is a completely accurate statement.  I believe that, until the late 1920s, Benjamin was simply selling watch parts and cases. He registered the name Benrus (taken from Benjamin & Lazrus) in 1922.  In 1924, Benjamin was located on Beekman Street in New York City .  Again, he is listed as an importer and wholesaler, but not a manufacturer.  His first recorded appearance as an actual manufacturer of watch cases would not be until the mid 1920s. By 1930, he has moved again & is now making cases at 200 Hudson Street .   He also maintains a “main” office, in the heart of the jewelry district, on 47th Street .  

You’ll notice that some people refer to Benrus as a Swiss company while others say it an American company.  This may be because; at sometime in the 1920s, he also rented one floor of a watch factory located in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland . Benjamin’s earliest watches were simple Schild movements that were shipped to the US and put in to American made cases. His early cases are unmarked.  In order to understand why he needed a "factory" in Switzerland if he was simply buying movements there, one has to first understand the Swiss watch industry at the time.  

Ebauches is a name commonly used when referring to Swiss watches.  However, not many truly understand what an Ebauches movement was.  Basically it meant a movement that was not completed. They had no balance assembly or escape wheel.  Lazrus, like many other companies, would purchase these Ebauches movements. Then, his "factory" in Switzerland would complete the watch movements and ship them to his “factory” in the US .   Once the movements arrived in New York they would be placed in Benrus watch cases.    The company also purchased dials and hands from various Swiss companies in the same manner. So, yes, all of the movements used by Benrus from the 1920s up to the 1960s were Swiss.  However, they made their watch cases in the US for over 40 years.   In fact, you will see Benrus listed as “The Benrus Watch CASE Company” in many old records.  

By the mid 1930s, Benrus was beginning to produce a few watches that actually had a little "personality". Their early rectangular and cushion watches were starting to show some style.  This helped to pull the company away from all the others & enabled them to start “standing out” in the crowd. Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on how you look at it) this would not be the only factor that pushed Benrus ahead in the watch industry. 

With the outbreak of World War II the other American watch companies (such as Waltham , Elgin and Hamilton ) were pressed in to service & required to make watches for the US Military.  Some of the watch companies also had to “re-outfit” in order to make other goods (completely unrelated to watches) required by the war effort.  Since Benrus had neither a watch movement factory nor the machinery needed for it here in the US , they were not required to do this.  They managed to continue bringing Swiss watch movements into the US during the war and were able to keep selling their own watches. This gave them a great advantage when the war ended.

It was during the 1940s that Benrus produced some of their best watches. The most notable of these would have to be their infamous calendar watch which was introduced in the late 1940s. This was a manual wind watch that featured a “window” in the dial to show the month and a “hand indicated date” that had the days of the month running around the outside of the dial. The date would advance as you pushed the crown in. This would turn out to be the most mass produced “complicated” watch of all time.

In the 1950s Benrus would introduce some of their most innovative watches.  Their Dial-a-rama watch was a futuristic version of the old jump hour watches of the 1930s. The Dial-a-rama used the old technology of the jump hour but added a star wheel or “seconds” wheel in the center. They also had windows in the dial to show the hour and minutes.  The earlier jump hours only had windows in the case. It was also during this period that Benrus introduced a watch with a “winding indicator”.  This feature would tell you how much the mainspring was wound without actually winding the watch.  The Benrus alarm watch, also introduced in the 1950s, probably outsold every other brand of alarm watch being marketed at the same time.  

Benrus Watch Company was very quickly changing.  They went from being just another boring old watch company to one that was now continually introducing more and more complicated, “state of the art” watches. In fact, they became so big in the 1950s that they almost bought out the Hamilton Watch Company.

Through the years Benrus would continue to introduce new & innovative watches.  Many of them had interesting or unusual features.  Anyone familiar with Benrus watches most likely knows that they sold a lot of watches in waterproof cases. These cases had a 2 piece winding stems and a 2 piece case.  They had to be put in a “press” in order to open or close them. This 2 piece waterproof case was later replaced with a one piece "drop in" style case.  With this style you had to remove the crystal in order to pull the movement out through the front of the case.  

Benrus also ventured in to clock making. One of their more interesting clocks was a self winding automobile clock.  These clocks were mounted into the center of the car’s steering wheel and the turning of the wheel would wind it.  These were factory accessories for Chrysler and other cars.

The first automatic watches that Benrus produced were "bumper" style.  They had an oscillator that did not rotate around the watch.  Instead, it would swing part way until it hit a spring that would bounce it back. Later the modern style automatic replaced the bumper.

In the 1960s Benrus also introduced 2 lower lines of watches -the Belforte and the Sovereign.  While most of the Belforte watches had the same movements as the regular Benrus line, the Sovereign seemed to always have lower quality movements. It appears that Benrus actually spent some money advertising the Belforte watches.  I have several ads including some featuring comedian Jerry Lewis.  I don't think many of us are really going to believe Jerry actually wore a Belforte watch on a regular basis but I guess it looked good at the time.  

Technipower was another one of the Benrus “off-shoots”. They made electronic parts & the name Technipower appears on some of their electronic watches. Technipower (Benrus) also made missile guidance components and one of the Benrus plants actually had a missile on display. Long after the plant closed, this “display” missile was found in the basement of someone’s house.  The bomb squad was called in only to find out that it was a “dummy” with nothing inside it. So, it appears that Benrus did finally get to do their part for the war effort.

Most movements for the early Benrus Electronic watches were made in Switzerland .  Some were also made by Lip in France .  At some point in the 1970s they switched to Seiko movements that were made in Japan . It was around this same time, that Benrus would also begin using dials made Taiwan instead of the Swiss dials.

The 1970s were a bad time for the entire watch making industry. Most of the old Swiss companies either closed entirely or stopped manufacturing movements.  Instead, they were now using ETA or Schild movements. Companies such as Omega and Longines, who had always used their own distinct movements, also began using Schild and ETA movements. This meant that regardless of which brand of watch you bought it would probably have the same movement inside.  It would simply have a slightly different look or finish on the outside.  This was also the time period when companies began using up leftover ladies movements in their men’s watches. It simply wasn’t economical to just throw them away. 

The competition, created by these cheap electric watches, hurt everyone including Benrus.  In order to stay competitive, they also began using cheaper movements and ladies movements.  They introduced the Destino line in the 1970s in order to sell cheap fashion watches. It continued this way through out the 70s until they eventually became just a watch “name”.  They were no longer a manufacturer in any sense of the word. They were simply having their name put on watches that they bought from other companies. The company has changed hands several times in the last 30 years.  They now sell a line of quartz watches.

The Swiss like to point to Benrus and call them a Swiss watch company.  While they did use Swiss movements for the first 40 years the cases were always made in the USA , at least until the 70s. I think a better description would be that Benrus was an American company that used Swiss movements.

Taken from http://www.pensandwatches.com/benrus_watches.html

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I own a few of these. Again, I get attracted to the special cases they make, those with special lugs.

History of Bulova

Founded in 1875


1875 Joseph Bulova, a 23-year-old Czech immigrant, opens a small jewelry shop on Maiden Lane in New York City. 

1911 Bulova begins manufacturing and selling boudoir and table clocks as well as fine pocket watches. These pieces are sold in unprecedented numbers. 

1912 Bulova sets up its first plant dedicated to the production of watch components and their assembly into jeweled movements in Bienne, Switzerland. 

1919 During World War I, the convenience of wristwatches (as opposed to pocket watches) is discovered. In 1919 Bulova introduces the first full line of men's jeweled wristwatches. 

1923 The name Bulova Watch Company, Inc. is adopted. Bulova perfects a new concept in the watch industry with total standardization of parts. Every part of a Bulova watch is made with such precision (standardized to the ten thousandth part of an inch) that it is interchangeable with the same part in any other Bulova watch. This revolutionizes the servicing of watches in the industry. 

1924 Bulova unveils the first full line of ladies' watches, including diamond accented pieces. 

1926 Bulova produces the nation's first ever radio spot commercial, "At the tone, its 8 PM, B-U-L-O-V-A Bulova watch time." 

1927 In honor of Charles Lindbergh's transatlantic solo flight from New York to Paris, Bulova ships 5,000 Lone Eagle watches, packaged with pictures of Lindbergh. The supply is sold out within three days. During the next few years Bulova sells nearly 50,000 of these commemorative watches. 1927 is also the year Bulova Watch Company goes public on the American Stock Exchange. 

1931  Bulova conducts the watch industry's first ever million dollar advertising campaign. Throughout the Depression years, Bulova supports retailers by offering Bulova watches to buyers on time-payment plans. 

1935 Joseph Bulova, founder of Bulova Watch Company, dies. 

1941 Continuing its tradition of advertising firsts, Bulova airs the first television commercial: a simple picture of a clock and a map of the United States, with a voice-over proclaiming, "America runs on Bulova time." 1941 also marks the year that the Bulova Board of Directors adopts a resolution to manufacture products for national defense at actual cost. Throughout World War II, having perfected the skill of creating precision timepieces, Arde Bulova, Joseph's son, works with the U.S. government to produce military watches, specialized timepieces, aircraft instruments, critical torpedo mechanisms and fuses. 

1945 The Joseph Bulova School of Watchmaking opens its doors to help disabled veterans learn watchmaking skills. 

1948  Bulova begins developing the Phototimer, a unique combination of photo-finish camera and precision electronic timing instrument. 

1950's Bulova develops a dating system for their watches.  A letter followed by a number indicates the year of manufacture.  L4=1954, M7=1967, N2=1972 and so on.

1952 Bulova begins developing Accutron, the first breakthrough in timekeeping technology in over 300 years. Accutron, the first fully electronic watch, promises to keep time to within 2 seconds a day. 

1953 Recognizing a new trend in the watch industry, the self-winding and shock-proof watch, Bulova adds more of this type of watch to its line. Also added this year is the Bulova Wrist-Alarm, an entirely new kind of watch. 

1954 Bulova introduces the "Bulova 23," a self-winding, waterproof , 23-jewel watch with an unbreakable mainspring, made entirely in the United States. 

1955 An A.C. Neilson Co. Survey reveals that Americans see more national advertising for Bulova products than for any other products, in any other industry, in the world. 

1956  Bulova completes negotiations to co-sponsor the Jackie Gleason Show, a one-hour live television show airing Saturday nights from eight to nine o'clock. This is the first time in history that any watch or jewelry allied industry has made a sponsorship commitment of such magnitude. 

1959 Bulova offers an unprecedented 1-year warranty on all of its clock radios. 

1960  NASA asks Bulova to incorporate Accutron into its computers for the space program. Bulova timing mechanisms eventually become an integral part of 46 missions of the U.S. Space Program. Also in 1960, Bulova reintroduces its redeveloped Phototimer clock, improved with updated photographic and electronic technologies. It features an infrared sensing element patterned after those used on heat-seeking missiles. Mounted on the starter's pistol, the Phototimer senses the flash of the gun and starts a timer clock at the same instant that the runners leave their marks. 

1961 Accutron, the first watch to keep time through electronics, is introduced. It is the most spectacular breakthrough in timekeeping since the invention of the wrist watch. This revolutionary timekeeping concept of a watch without springs or escapement is operated by an electronically activated tuning fork. The Accutron watch goes on to become a presidential gift to world leaders and other dignitaries. President Johnson declares it the White House's official "Gift of State." 

1962 The Accutron Tuning-fork watch becomes the first wristwatch certified for use by railroad personnel. 1962 is also the year that Bulova introduces its Caravelle line of jeweled watches. Designed to retail at $10.95 to $29.95, Caravelle competes with non-jeweled watches in the same price range. 

1967 Accutron clocks are the only clocks aboard Air Force One. 

1968 The Bulova Satellite Clock, the world's first public clock to display time controlled by time signals broadcast by orbiting satellites, is inaugurated by Gustavo Diaz Ordaz, President of Mexico. The clock is installed atop the Torre Latino Americana, Mexico's tallest skyscraper. 1968 also marks the year that Caravelle becomes the largest selling jeweled-movement watch in the United States. 

1969 An Accutron watch movement is part of the equipment placed on the moon by Apollo 11 astronauts, the first men on the moon. A Bulova timer is placed in the moon's "Sea of Tranquility" to control the transmissions of vital data through the years.  

This Information was obtained from the Bulova Watch Company

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Bulova is one of my favorite American makes. I collect those with special dials and fancy lugs, and Bulova sure made a lot of those in different variants. I like the 23J and 30J automatics and have a particular fondness for the Sea King model, the one with the whale logo/emblem (see pics above). The Ambassador with a micro-rotor also captures my fancy. And last but not least I also enjoy listening to the humming of the Accutrons 214 and 218.

Bulova has a very colourful history and it should be mentioned that they were competing with Omega to be the first watch on the moon.

First post - Introduction

Welcome to the blog SKA Watches. This blog is intended for newcomers to the world of vintage watch collecting. When I first started collecting vintage watches, I was a college student studying in the US. Since I had only a small budget, I frequented garage sales and flea markets to try to get good deals. Hence I started off collecting American makes such as Bulova, Gruen, Elgin, Hamilton and Waltham.

At that time, in the 80s, there was no internet, hence information was scarce and hard to find. Basically it was hit-or-miss. If the watch was in good shape and ticking, I would buy it if the price was right. I had no idea what the movement looked like as I did not have the tools at that time. So sometimes I would end up getting a franken watch.

Over the years, I have amassed quite a collection, and knowledge of such watches. I have also acquired the basic tools which allow me to open up the watch and examine the movement. I leave the service and repairs to the professionals. I am only interested to make sure the watch is authentic, and would polish it up to make it look presentable.

With the internet now, all the information is available but you still have to search for it. My aim with this blog, is to compile all the info here, in one place (blog). I plan to list the brief histories of the major makes, starting with the American ones and whatever info I think could be useful. Hope you will enjoy it.