Pocket Watch Database
Location: Detroit, Michigan
Years of Operation: c.1868-1871 (Watch Production)
M.S. Smith & Co. was organized in 1859 and a retail jewelry store in Detroit, Michigan. According to a testimonial published a local newspaper advertisement, Smith began manufacturing watch movements in December 1868.
Serial Number Lookup
1859
M.S. Smith & Co. begins operating in Detroit, Michigan after purchasing the failed jewlery store of L.P. Durkee & Co.
December 1868
M.S. Smith & Co. begins production of the "Our Watch" from their location in Detroit. The watch was advertised as a "key and stem winder, nickel movement, adjusted to heat, cold and position."
November 1871
The last advertisements for M.S. Smith's "Our Watch" are published in the local paper. It is unclear how much longer Smith continued his manufacturing operation.
1894
Martin S. Smith retired, and the company was reorganized as Smith, Sturgeon & Co. and then W.A. Sturgeon & Co.