Pocket Watch Database

Knickerbocker Watch Co. Image

Location: New York, New York

Years of Operation: 1899 - c.1930s

Sold imported Swiss and cheap American watches.

Production Sizes: 18s, 16s, 12s, 10s, 6s

Serial Number Lookup

An advertisement for the Knickerbocker Watch Co. appearing in a 1917 issue of Popular Mechanics indicated the company was established in 1880. However, a brief synopsis published in the August 1944 edition of The American Horologist states, "This Company was organized in 1899 and Incorporated in 1902." Indeed, the oldest mentions of the "Knickerbocker Watch" in publications began in 1899.

According to a "Trademark Information" section published in the December 7, 1898 issue of The Jewelers' Circular, the Knickerbocker Watch Company, the mark was used on products of the Manhattan Watch Co. at 234 Broadway in New York.

In 1907, the company moved into the seventh floor of the Corbin Building at 11 John Street.

The company likely failed around the time following the Great Depression in the early 1930s.

Company Timeline

1890

The Knickerbocker Watch Co. is founded in New York, New York by Ira C. Guilden.

1930

The Knickerbocker Watch Co. ceases operations.