SOUTH BEND POCKET WATCH FREE

SOUTH BEND POCKET WATCH FREE

To promote these watches, South Bend advertised a free insurance certificate, a guarantee that the watches would pass any newly introduced railroad requirements for five years from the date of purchase. ' The Studebaker' was introduced at the end of a general change in the requirements for railroad standard watches, a change towards tighter restrictions upon watches entering railroad time service. (According to “Jesse Elwood Coleman and the South Bend Story,” O.B. Shelton, formerly in charge of South Bend’s production, was hired by the creditors to finish watches from material on hand. South Bend was a victim of the depression, closing its doors on January 1, 1930. These 12 and 16 size watches (and perhaps others in smaller sizes) had dials labeled “Studebaker” and carried an '8 Adjustm'ts' marking on the movement. to sell watches by mail order directly to the customers. Then, in the mid-1920’s, it formed the Studebaker Watch Co. Originally, South Bend marketed its watches directly to (and only to) retail dealers. Over the next twenty-five years or so of its existence, the firm produced a little less than 900 thousand watches, about 80,000 of which met railroad time service requirements. They then moved the firm to South Bend, Indiana. One of the stated reasons was to fight the ' Watch Trust' but of course the primary goal was, almost certainly, to make money. and then purchased the Columbus Watch Company. Let time take its course - browse a vast selection of antique and vintage pocket watches available on 1stDibs designed by legendary brands such as IWC, Cartier and more.In 1902, a group of investors including Clement Studebaker, one of the Studebaker brothers, a branch of the family not involved in the wagon and automobile company, organized the South Bend Watch Co. But given their vintage charm and our general appetite for good design, pocket watches are a piece of statement-making jewelry and today can prove complementary to your formal attire in a manner that is stylish and unconventional.

Suddenly, if you wanted to know the time, you merely glanced at your wrist. This was a boon to the watchmaking industry, with companies like Elgin National Watch Company and the Waltham Watch Company producing high-grade and workingman’s watches.īy the 1930s, wristwatches comprised the bulk of watch manufacturing in America, superseding the pocket watch. It was a requirement for railway workers to wear a pocket watch, as the timepieces were responsible for keeping conductors on schedule. In the late 1800s, the open-face pocket watch became a staple on the American railroad. For example, the Marius Lecoultre pocket watch - made circa 1890 - does everything but uncork your wine.

For collectors, pocket watches are big, and that means a larger canvas provided for functions without crowding the dial. (Today, they’re among the most sought after by collectors and enthusiasts.)Īt the onset, pocket watches resembled small round table clocks, and pulling your small round table clock - perhaps of the silver variety - out of your breast pocket in front of someone else demonstrated unequivocally that you cared about punctuality.

Artfully crafted pocket watches were a symbol of wealth, and manufacturers such as Vacheron Constantin and Patek Philippe became known for theirs. The earliest pocket watches were luxury items, and, owing to cost, they weren’t commonplace until the 19th century. With a suit and a waistcoat, a pocket watch can be a refreshing alternative to a wristwatch. Can you pull off a vintage pocket watch? Of course you can.

South bend pocket watch