Earliest Crescent Street Advertisement (Robbins & Appleton), The Watchmaker and Jeweler, December 1869 Despite the flagship "Crescent Street" watch eventually being classified as the "Model 1870," advertisements for the new railroad watch began to appear in late 1869. The earliest known advertisement for the Model 1870 Crescent Street appeared in the December 1869 issue of The Watchmaker and Jeweler (Volume 1, No. 4, Page 70). The advertisement was published by the firm of Robbins & Appleton, the sales agent for the American Watch Company at the time... Continue Reading

by Nathan Moore, 1 week ago

In 1869, Charles Vander Woerd designed the 18-Size movement that would eventually be known as the "Model 1870" from the "Nashua Department" at the American Watch Company in Waltham. The first movements were keyset from the back, a unique feature for an American full-plate movement. When the watch was introduced in March 1870, it represented the finest full-plate movement ever delivered from the Waltham factory. Advertisements boasted of the new regulator, ratchet click, patent safety pinion, and dust ring... Continue Reading

by Nathan Moore, 2 weeks ago

The American Watch Company debuted the first "Crescent Street" movement in March 1870 as a watch designed for railway service and advertised as the "American Railroad Watch." The "Crescent Street" represented the grand ambitions of the watch company, aiming to dominate the growing need for precise railroad watches. Advertisement Promoting the New "American Watch Co. Crescent St." Railroad WatchThe Locomotive Engineers' Monthly Journal, June 1870 When the company attempted to find a name for the new railroad watch, inspiration was found just beyond the front door. The factory of the American Watch Company in Waltham was located on Crescent Street, aptly named for the moon-shaped curve directed by the banks of the Charles River... Continue Reading

by Nathan Moore, 3 weeks ago