Vintage and Antique Watch Repair and Restoration Services in NY

Vintage and Pocket Watches from New York - Watch Wiki

When you look at the watch on your wrist to check the time, you probably don't think much about it. But about a hundred to a hundred and fifty years ago, watches were more likely to be on your vest or pocket, attached to a chain, than on your wrist.

Ingersoll Watch Company

Vintage pocket watches from New York are still around today. They're on eBay and sometimes they are seen in estate sales. There were a number of watch companies operating in the time period roughly covering 1860-1930 or so. One New York watch company was known as the Ingersoll Watch Company, which opened its doors in 1892. They were located in New York City, although they did have factories in New Jersey, in both Waterbury and Trenton.

The two Ingersoll brothers, Robert and Charles, ran a mail-order business and decided that the world needed a good, inexpensive watch. In those days, that would be about a dollar. So they set out to promote a watch which came to be known as "the watch that made the dollar famous." Their idea was a resounding success, with their first 10,000 watches selling quickly at one dollar each. They became a major manufacturer of wrist watches and pocket watches from New York. Their profit margin was a whopping 15 cents per watch, but in those days, that was still an excellent amount.

When they took their watch to the Colombian Expedition in 1892, they sold the watches for $1.50 each, making nearly double profit on each watch, which they purchased for 85 cents each. The following year, the brothers went to the Chicago World's Fair and made another bundle on their product. This time, they had the World's Fair emblem stamped on the watch case for even greater appeal.

After the end of WWI, the ensuing economic depression forced the brothers to sell their company. In 1922, the Waterbury Watch company bought Ingersoll for 1.5 million. Twenty years later, US Time Corp bought out Waterbury. They continue to use the Ingersoll name.

New York Standard Watch Company

Another vintage watch company operating around the same time was known as the New York Standard Watch Company. Opening their doors in 1885, they were based in Jersey City, New Jersey. As a vintage watch company, their products today are considered to be of rather inferior quality and not worth much, often not even worth the cost of repair. The company produced mainly lower-quality pieces, although they were prolific and produced over 8 million watches.

They sold pocket watches under the names of Crown and New Era. They also made watches for Sears Roebuck, sold under the Edgemere name.

The New York Standard Watch Company closed its doors in 1929.