Waltham Watch Company FAQ

Waltham Watch Company (frequently asked questions)

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PLEASE READ BEFORE GOING ANY FURTHER! I do not represent or work for any watch company. I do not know how to repair watches. I do not know where to obtain parts for watches. I do not appraise watches. I created this web page only to share what little I do know about Waltham watches.

How can I contact the Waltham Watch Company?
You can't contact them. The company went out of business in 1957. The FAQ you are reading was developed because people send me lots of questions about Waltham watches, but it is not officially associated with the company.
I have a new Waltham watch and...
If it is new and powered by batteries, it was not manufactured in Waltham. Apparently several companies are selling new watches with a Waltham name on them, but they are not associated with this company. I've found very little information on them so far. Here are some references:
```
	Makin Time
	Unit 10
	451 Millway Avenue
	Concord Ontario  L4K 3V6, Canada
	905-660-3166

	Waltham International SA
	
```
Where can I get a Waltham watch repaired?
I have received some recommendations from readers of this page, which can be seen at: Waltham Watch repair references.
How can I get information about a particular Waltham watch?
The following links may be of some help.
- The National Association of Watch and Clock Collectors.
- Waltham Watch date and serial number chart (oldwatch.com).
- British Horological Institute Home page
When did Waltham Watch begin making watches?
Aaron Dennison established Waltham Improvement Company (later to become Waltham Watch Company) in 1854. The factory became a major employer of Yankee Protestants offering higher wages and skilled work. In 100 years of existence the factory produced 40 million jeweled watches, plus clocks, speedometers, compasses, time fuses for bombs and other precision instruments. See key dates in Waltham history.
Where can one go to see some Waltham watches?
The Charles River Museum of Industry's top floor holds an expanding collection dedicated to the Waltham Watch Factory. The Henry Ford Museum & Greenfield Village in Dearborn, Michigan also has a display of the watches.
Are there photographs of the factory?
I don't have any historic photographs, but I do have photographs of the watch factory as it appeared in the 1990's.
What innovation did Waltham Watch bring to watchmaking?
The Waltham Watch factory pioneered the production of watches on an assembly line.

When did Waltham Watch close?
Waltham Watch Company went out of business in 1957. From an email a reader sent in September 1999, here are some more details:

	I found your history of Waltham and the FAQ for Waltham Watch Company of
	great interest.  You say it went out of business in 1957 when it became
	Waltham Precision Instrument Company.    My father had purchased 100
	shares of Waltham Watch Co. in 1949.  It was on March 10, 1960 that the
	shareholders of the old company received shares of  the Waltham
	Precision Instrument Company  (1 share for every 10 held) and also
	received shares in a Waltham Watch Company (a Delaware Company with
	offices in Chicago) (1 for every 50 held).    In 1961 they issued a
	stock dividend (1 share for every 10 held) in Dextra Corporation.  From
	what I have heard, Waltham finally went out of business in 1973 and
	Dextra failed in 1983.

Were there any other Watch companies in Waltham?
The Howard Watch Company also manufactured watches in Waltham.