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History of Dollar
Watches American watch
companies found themselves in a dilemma from around 1875. Almost all of the watch
companies were in financial troubles, and felt the pressure to create an inexpensive watch
for the general public. Most of these companies had to sell their watches for at least $10
each to make ends meet. Emphasis on producing a cheap watch was the key, the idea to make
a profit and reach a larger market. Factory owners concentrated on making a
"dollar" watch, one, which could be sold for a dollar in shops. Companies that
were attracted to this idea at first were Ansonia, Waterbury, and E. Ingraham.
Designers used a feature of the "tourbillon" watch, made famous by Breguet. The
Breguet had an escapement that revolved to even the timekeeping errors. Instead of having
a revolving escapement, American designers caused the whole movement to revolve around the
case.
The first patent for this movement was obtained by Jason R. Hopkins. (c.1818-1902) in
1875. Problems and redesigning delayed to presentation of this watch into the market until
1877, introduced by the Auburndale Watch Company as the Auburndale rotary watch.
Auburndale fell to the demise of previous companies in the inability to pay its debts, and
went out of business in 1883.
Waterbury's brass suppliers, Benedict and Burnham Manufacturing Company, was then offered
the watch, but declined to handle its production due to the lack of development. They
found another watchmaker to design a rotary watch. This was made with a duplex escapement
and a movement that rotated once per hour. It had only 56 parts and was not jeweled. The
winding of the watch was tedious, as the mainspring was 2.7 metres, or 9 feet long.
This design, created by D. Arzo A. Buck, was accepted by Benedict and Burnham, from a
company named Locke, Meritt, and Buck. Manufacturing was started and the watch was
marketed first under the Benedict and Burnham name at a price of only $3.50. These
low-priced, non-jeweled watches were known as the "dollar" watch. From 1880 on,
the watch was then marketed under the Waterbury Clock Company. Thousands of these watches
were made before the end of production in 1891. The dollar watch was produced by many
firms, out selling the jeweled watch companies. The inexpensiveness of the product was
appealing to many retailers, who often gave them away as premiums.
Ingersoll was the host of the most famous dollar watch, and the first manufacturer to get
the price down to one dollar. A mail order business was formed in 1881 by Robert H. and
Charles H. Ingersoll in New York, selling watches for $1.00 each, as well as other items.
Success in this business encouraged the Ingersoll Brothers to concentrate on cheap
watches. Robert ordered 12,000 pieces from the Waterbury Clock Company. These sold for
$1.50 with a chain. Expansion of the Ingersoll business grew rapidly to the point that, in
1894, the company was able to order 500,000 for a year's supply. In two years, they sold a
million watches, each of which cost only one dollar.
By the year 1905, Ingersoll had an outlet in London for the marketing of the dollar watch.
The British equivalent of the dollar watch was called the "Crown" and sold for
five shillings. The British company assembled these watches with parts supplied by
Waterbury.
Ingersoll-Waterbury made it through the great depression, but was taken over by Norwegian
born Joakim Lehmkuhl, founder of the Time Corporation in the United States. Trademark of
the name Ingersoll continued until 1951, when it was then replaced with the name of Timex.
The dollar watch enjoyed its time, but the collectible value continued. Any watch that was
intact from its inception was much sought after, especially the cartoon/comic character
watches. Watches that were manufactured by makers such as Ingersoll, Ingraham, and the New
Haven Watch Company for simply a dollar or two are now worth hundreds of times this
amount. Commemorative dollar watches are another sought after by collectors, such as the
New York World's Fair, Graf Zeppelin, and so on.
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