Dennison’s Early Years in
Watchmaking
• Dennison, Howard and Davis partnership formed to produce a machine made watch with interchangeable parts.
• The final iteration of this partnership was the Boston Watch Co. which failed in 1857.
• After several stormy years working for R. E. Robbins, Dennison was fired but eventually received a settlement. He also retained his Waltham stock holding of $10,000 purchased in 1859 by mortgaging his furniture.
• He cashed his Waltham stock in for $62,500 at the time of the Tremont launch to fund his participation in the venture. In retrospect he might have been better advised to just keep the stock and retire.
Tremont Watch Co. 1864 - 1869
• Dennison was selling American iron processing machinery to
manufacturers in Birmingham when he was approached by the
prominent Boston jeweler Bigelow and others about starting up a
new watch company
• Dennison accepted and persuaded them to invest in a scheme he
devised to rapidly bootstrap a watch manufacturing company.
– Escapements, trains and other high skill items would be made in Switzerland
using American production tooling and less expensive Swiss labor.
– Plates, barrels and other components would be made in Boston where
watches would be assembled and cased.
• The other investors were willing but not necessarily enthusiastic
about the Swiss agency which was located in Zurich.
Tremont Products
• The Tremont watch was a 15 jewel full plate watch with a distinctive wide balance cock similar to products being produced in England (Coventry and Birmingham) at that time.
• The watch had a chronometer balance and full jeweling to compete with Waltham’s Appleton Tracy 1857 model and the new Elgin B. W. Raymond at a price near the lowest grades from the two competitors.
– A ¾ plate model was also designed to compete with the Waltham Nashua models.
– The first watches appeared on the market less than a year after startup.
• B. D. Bingham joined the company and introduced a patented dust band that could be retrofitted to the existing 1857 model Waltham as well as the new Tremont Model. The Tremont was advertised as a dustproof watch.
– Sales of Bingham patent dust bands to Waltham was a major source of income.*
*Bob Howatt – Private communication
Study Examples
Tremont Watch Co.• 1459 Tremont
• 1736 Tremont
• 2284 Tremont/Warren pat reg
• 5800 Tremont
• 6743 Tremont
• 31840 Melrose
• 31981 Melrose
• 11021 No Marking (EWCo) mvt
• 11928 Sainsbury London (Tremont) o
London 1873 William Hammon (Cov)
• 14452 H. Samuel, Manchester, o
B’ham hm 1875 Thomas Wallen (Cov)
• 40627 ¾ Tremont Boston B’ham hm
1876 Alfred Gurney (Cov)
• 40694 ¾ (Tremont) James Hardy
Aberdeen, London hm 1876 Joseph
Walton (Lon)
English Watch Co.• 144709N H. Samuel, unmarked EWCo uRcd mvt
• 15850E WA Tyson Birmingham EWCo., ocbc
B’ham hm 1876 Robert Bragge
• 10046 Tremont London cc2 B’ham hm 1878
Robert Bragge
• 10047 (identical to 10046) Penny 5/165*
• 27715 George Reeves, Appleby uRH cdc2 B’ham
hm 1879 Robert Bragge mb.nawcc.org*
• 30830W Kendal & Dent Cheapside London RH
EWCo, cd mvt
• 70448N EWCo sig BB u SWLS Ni Penny 6/50*
• 71651L EWCo sig BB uRH mvt
• 89944 Kendall & Dent Cheapside London uR
(EWCo) B’ham hm 1887 K&D
• 90916W Kay, Jones & Co. Worcester EWCo,
uRH mvt
• 92335 EWCo sig BB u SWLS Ni (ibid 70448)
u-undersprung/o-oversprung
R reversing pinion
H Haseler’s patent click
EWCo cypher: cd-under dial, cb-balance cock, cc-case
Tremont in England
* Reported observation
11021
1886e
70448
N
1866e
2284
1865e
1459
1868e
5800
15850
E
1876h
40627
1876h
40694
1876h
FP Tremont
FP Melrose
FP Anglo American
¾ Tremont
English Watch Co.
N 14470
9 1875e
14452
1875h
TW
1865e
1736
30830
W
1888e
92335
71651
L
1887e
90916
1864
Tremont
Watch Co
1869e
31840
1873h
11928 1874
English
Watch Co
10046
1878h
RB
10047
1878h
RB
89944
1887h8 year
gap
Timeline of Production
Serial numbers and Hallmarks
1868e
6743 1869e
31981
1871
Anglo American
Watch Co
~15,000 Tremont
1,000
Melrose
150
Anglo
Click on any watch
to see the example.
Click on this
at the target
to return
Tremont Boston
5800 15J Tremont
Watch Co. Boston
11021 9J No Signature
extra 0 inserted in sn could
be from final run of 1500
ordered not sold.
Early TremontsMinor variations in
early Tremont watches
include moving the
Fast/Slow marking
from The vertical edges
to the bottom of the
cock.
Warren’s patent
regulator is an early
spiral track disk
regulator similar to the
J. P. Stevens later patent.
Dials are marked
either Tremont
watch Co. or
Tremont Watch Co.
Boston
A small number of both
the full and ¾ plate are
marked Washington St.
on the barrel bridge.
B. D. Bingham’s
Magic Dust Band
Bingham’s dust band fits inside the plates of the watch and can be applied and removed at will. The small depression acts as the lock when the band is sprung to uniform diameter.
Patent granted Feb. 4, 1868 about the time Tremont was folding up.
Prior art was to fit the band to the outer edge of the plates requiring a larger opening.
Melrose Watch Co
When the inmates run the asylum
• Dennison’s model of the Tremont Watch Co. depended on low skill/low cost assembly operators in America and less expensive (than American) skilled operators in Switzerland.
• Bingham staffed the American plant with skilled operators who were paid twice Dennison’s estimated rate and were bored with the routine assembly work
• The result was a watch of medium quality that was too expensive to command market share and not interesting enough to excite the market.
• The American sales force took the easy way out and claimed that they needed a less expensive “All American” watch.
• The Melrose model/grade failed even more miserably than the Tremont had done.
• Eleven jewel watches were introduced in addition to the plain jeweled watches, but the game was over.
• The ¾ plate Tremont might have given the company enough product range to be competitive, but it was too late.
Melrose Watch Co Products
A close inspection shows the
Melrose “jewel settings” are fake
circles engraved on the plate. Click
movements for under dial view.
15J Tremont on left and
11J Melrose on right.
Anglo-American Watch Co.• When the American backers pulled out, Dennison tried to
dispose of the Tremont assets and held out the hope that he could interest another group of investors in reviving the effort.
• He eventually connected with investors in Birmingham who, in 1871, formed the Anglo-American Watch Manufacturing Company but did not offer Dennison an ownership position.
• A position as Superintendent was negotiated but never came to pass. The company itself failed to produce products and in 1874 the name was changed to the English Watch Company, Ltd.
• Dennison owned the material from the defunct Tremont Watch Co. which was a mix from the several flavors of Tremont and Melrose as well as the higher grade ¾ plate Tremont model.
• It is possible that Dennison continued to have watches finished for a period of time but since the bulk of the existing examples have markings from the English Watch Co. He likely just sold the material to raise start up capital for his watch case company.
Kelly Directory 1880
H. Sainsbury 11928
London 1873
Casemaker William
Hammon, Coventry
Only known
English finished
Tremont with hm
1872 – 1874.
Likely finished by
Anglo-American
Watch Co.
The English Watch Co.
• The English Watch Co was a manufacturer of machine made watches on the American plan.
• As with other English machine watch manufacturers, in the 19th century, they did not offer items under their company name but dealt almost exclusively in private label watches.
• An early customer was H. Samuel of Manchester who owned a chain of jewelry stores and advertised themselves as a watch manufacturer. (Which they were not.)
• Later they supplied the firm of Kendal & Dent who also pretended to manufacture watches but sold machine made watches of both English and Swiss manufacture as well as an occasional higher grade Clerkenwell watch.
English Watch Co. Tremont/Melrose 7J finished in Birmingham with
addition of cap. Over sprung as is standard Tremont. Note in under
dial view, the click and train pivots are identical to the Melrose.
Casemaker Thomas Wallen, King Street, Coventry.
H. Samuel Manchester
14452E hm 1875 TW
Tremont Boston 40627 ¾ Plate
Finished in Birmingham hm 1876 AG
Standard ¾ plate Tremont
finished in Birmingham in
1876 by the English Watch
Co. Casemaker Alfred
Gurney, 4 Conway Buildings
Smithford Street, Coventry
James Hardy 40694
Aberdeen 1876
Tremont 3/4 plate
finished in England
by English Watch Co
as Private Label.
London hm 1876
casemaker Joseph
Walton, 28 Tyson St,
Clerkenwell
W & A Tyson 15850
Birmingham hm 1876
Standard Tremont/Melrose
finished by English Watch
Co. Cypher on Balance
Cock. Casemaker Robert
Bragge, Villa Hall, 45 Villa
St., Hockley, Birmingham
for the English Watch Co.
Tremont London 10046
by English Watch Co.
15J Tremont 10046 finished by English Watch Co. in English Watch Co. Robert Bragge
case hm 1878. SN 10047 with identical marking sold by David Penney Cat 5 lot 165
H. Samuel EWCo
mvt 114709N
EWCo Cypher
Second form of English
Watch Co. mvt with
undersprung balance,
reversing pinion and cap
Kendal & Dent 30830W
Cheapside London
English Watch Co. for Kendal &
Dent. EWCo Cypher under dial and
1st form Haseler’s patent. Train and
balance cock as in Tremont. ~15s
Kendal & Dent
89944
hm 1887
Cheapside
LondonLate unmarked example of EWCo private label
using Tremont parts. Train, balance cock and
barrel bridge Tremont design or material.
Kay, Jones & Co
Worcester W90916
Example of a small
caliber ~15s with an
individual or small
jeweler private label.Click to Compate Sizes
The English Watch Co.
continued to use design
elements and perhaps parts
from the Tremont/Dennison
material in their reversing
pinion watch calibers.
13 size plain jeweled with new barrel
bridge design. Only the balance cock
and train remain from Tremont.
Haseler’s
Patent English Watch Co. fully signed
Tremont style watches1880’s
Stem wind push set 18s Tremont style 18s caliber with
new form of Haseler’s patent click. Nickel OF case no
seconds bit. (Would show at 4:30)
11021
1886e
70448
N
1866e
2284
1865e
1459
1868e
5800
15850
E
1876h
40627
1876h
40694
1876h
FP Tremont
FP Melrose
FP Anglo American
¾ Tremont
English Watch Co.
N 14470
9 1875e
14452
1875h
TW
1865e
1736
30830
W
1888e
92335
71651
L
1887e
90916
1864
Tremont
Watch Co
1869e
31840
1873h
11928 1874
English
Watch Co
10046
1878h
RB
10047
1878h
RB
89944
1887h8 year
gap
Timeline of Production
Serial numbers and Hallmarks
1868e
6743 1869e
31981
1871
Anglo American
Watch Co
~15,000 Tremont
1,000
Melrose
150
Anglo
Click on any watch
to see the example.
Click on this
at the target
to return
Melrose vs. English Watch Co
Bolt spring and hinge added.
Sight holes omitted.
Click image to return
EWCo Reversing Pinion
Movement Sizes
45.85 mm 18s
42.33 mm 15s
42.33 mm 15s
40.6 mm 13s
English Watch
Co. Ltd.
Kay Jones & Co.
Kendal & Dent
H. Samuel
Click on pictures
to return
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