The company never reopened.Īfter the closing, the machinery was eventually sold and liquidation completed in 1933 with creditors being paid off fifty-cents on the dollar. On Thanksgiving Eve, Wednesday, November 27, 1929, the nearly 300 employees of the company were notified the plant would be closed until January 1, 1930. This and the fact the company never switched to production of men’s wristwatches was responsible for their eventual demise. With the onset of the Depression, the company found itself with many delinquent accounts and the banks were unwilling to cooperate in those unstable times. The Studebaker watches were sold on a credit basis and could be purchased with a down payment of only one dollar. South Bend Watch Company, maker of Studebaker watches “Directed by members of the Studebaker family-known for three-quarters of a century for fair dealing.” The naming of the watch, however, was an obvious attempt to capitalize on the good name of the famous brothers of Studebaker automobile fame. The Studebaker watch ads of this era did not indicate any connection between the two watches, but instead gave the impression of a separate company. The Studebaker watches were identical to the South Bend line and were made on the same production line. In the 1920s the company offered a "Studebaker" watch on a mail order basis. All watches carried a “insured for a lifetime guarantee.” In fact, there are thousands of South Bend watches still running today. Numerous styles and models were available with a price range from $16.00 to $125.00. Later this was discarded and watch illustrations were shown with a purple ribbon across the watch face. Full-page ads showing the South Bend watch running in a block of ice were particularly effective. Ambitious nationwide advertising was largely responsible for this early prosperity.
During its peak years the company produced 60,000 watches annually and employed nearly 600 employees. Through the first two decades of the twentieth century the company grew and prospered. 5.South Bend Watch Company, South Bend Indiana
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Illinois Watch Company Illinois Watch Serial Numbers and Production Dates It manufactured watch cases under many brands, such as "Elgin Giant," "Elgin Pride," "Tivoli," "Spartan," and "Elgin Commander." The use of the name "Elgin" in their brand names, or marking the cases with "Elgin USA" often leads people to believe that a watch was made by the Elgin National Watch Company when it was actually made by another manufacturer, or to think that a watch no longer has its original case because it is "now in an Elgin case."
The Illinois Watch Case Company was a major manufacture in the city of Elgin, Illinois. NOTE: The Illinois Watch Company should not be confused with the Illinois Watch Case Company of Elgin, Illinois. Illinois also produced watches for the Plymouth Watch Company (Sears Roebuck) and the Washington Watch Company (Montgomery Ward). Watches produced under the Burlington name include some very fine (including some railroad grade) watches, which are nearly identical to Illinois movements. There is some question as to whether Burlington was actually a subsidiary of Illinois. The Illinois Watch Company produced watches under contract for several different brands, including Burlington Watch Company (Chicago, Illinois) which operated primarily as a mail-order business, and Santa Fe Watch Company (Topeka, Kansas). Hamilton continued producing Illinois watches in the Hamilton factory until 1939. The Illinois Watch Company was purchased by Hamilton Watch Company in 1927, but continued to produce Illinois watches under Hamilton management until 1932 (the year the last "true" Illinois watch was made). By 1885 the company name was changed yet again to the Illinois Watch Company. In 1879, due to financial difficulties, the company was reorganized and the name changed to the Illinois Springfield Watch Company. Illinois: A Great American Watch Since 1870 Illinois later produced an extensive line of extremely fine and accurate Railroad-grade pocket watches like the "Sangamo Special," "Bunn Special" and "Santa Fe Special" (just to name a few). The early Illinois models were key-wound and key-set and are quite collectible today. The first stem-wind watch was produced in 1875. By serial number, the first watch made was the "Stuart" model, followed in order by the "Mason," Bunn," "Miller," and finally the "Currier.
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Though the first movements were produced in 1872, the company really didn't achieve full production until 1875. John Williams was president of the First National bank of Springfield. John Stuart was a Springfield lawyer and former partner of Abraham Lincoln. The Illinois Springfield Watch Company was organized in 1869 primarily through the efforts of J.
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