Pocket Watch Database

Location: Waterbury, Connecticut

Years of Operation: 1879-1898

Successor: New England Watch Co.

Reorgnized as the New England Watch Co., 1898

Production Jewels: 2-6 Jewels

Production Sizes: Variety

Factory Building Status: Demolished in the 1960s. A Home Depot currently resides on the property.

Serial Number Lookup

Company Timeline

1878

Daniel A. A. Buck, a masterful mechanical engineer, designs a model watch using fewer parts than other watches on the market. This design will allow movements to be made at a much lower cost compared to other companies.

December 1879

The Waterbury Watch Co. begins operations in Waterbury, Connecticut to fulfill a large demand for a cheap watch. Charles Benedict of the Benedict & Burnham Manufacturing Co. provides some machinery for manufacturing. The first factory proves to be too small and a new factory is constructed at the expense of $500,000 in Waterbury, Connecticut, designed by H.W. Hartwell.

1888

The Waterbury Watch Co. is producing roughtly 1,500 watches per day and employs 300 people.

1898

The Waterbury Watch Co. is renamed as New England Watch Co. and operations remain in Waterbuy, Connecticut.