The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1899-05-01
DOLLAR WATCHES POPULAR
ABOUT TWO MILLION OF THEM
NOW IN USE.
The Way They Are Made and Why
They Are So Durable = It's the
Evolution OF the Clock.
CNew York SUM-


About $4,000 dollar watches were sold
by single firm of manufacturers last
year. The same firm estimates that the
sale for this year will reach a million.
This is a pretty good advance from the
figures of 1894, the first year that the
dollar watch really dawned upon the
country. The firm sold 10000 that year.
The price of the watch is surprising
enough, but the really astonishing
thing about it is the fact that a guar
antee goes with the timepiece. A dol
lar watch is one thing. Il guaranteed
dollar watch is another. The agree
ment is as follows: The makers agree
that if, without abuse, this watch fails
TO keep good time, they will, upon its
return to them, direct, or, through
agent named above, within one year
from above date. repair, or replace it
with new one"
What do you mean by good time?"
asked the reporter.
We'll, that depends a good deal on
the man who buys the watch. Not what
we mean by it, but what the purchaser
considers good time. Some men are
more particular than others"
DO you guarantee exact time?"
NO. There is rarely a watch, no
matter how expensive it may be, that
keeps absolutely exact time. But if
one of our watches varies, say more
than a minute a day, we viii make it
right or replace it with a new one"
How can so cheap a watch be
made?"
ITO give a literal answer, by special
machinery designed for the manufac
ture of all the different parts of the
watch. The work being done by ma
chinery, the capacity of plant is
enormously increased. And the output
being SO large, the profit on each
watch can be reduced to a minimum.
We manufacture 5000 watches a Gay
now. With a working day of ten hours,
that means five watches every minute.
We employ about 600 wOrkmen, but, of
course, many of them are unsldlled Ia
borerS. We are our own manufactur-
erS, our own agents, our own jobbers,
and, to a. great extent, our own retail
ers. There's d big saving in cutting
down four profits to only one. We
make a profit, l assure you. We are
not in the business for our health. We
deal in various other things, by the
way, but the dollar watch is the back
bone of our business"
is the movement the same in prin-
ciple as that in more expensive
watch?"
Very nearly. The dollar watch is
really an evolution of the small clock.
For several years we experimental in
making a clock which could be carried
in the pocket. We made over 10000 of
these clocks, all the time working over
the problem of how to make il smaller
and cheaper. We make four different
watches, ranging in price from 81 to 81.
The movement is practically the same
in each one The dollar watch has a
hr.aG co. Gilt nF. flin
the exception OF the other watches We
make. it has the smallest lantern pin
ion movement made. Including plates,
it is only three-eighthS of an inch in
thickness"
OF course, the watch itself is thicker
than this. A good deal of the addi-
tional thickness is due to the fact that
it is wound and set as small clock is,
except that the back Of the case closes
over the screws for this purpose. The
screw for winding has one of the
wings" which fold down when not in
use. Beside it is the pivot for setting.
There is a cap over the works in order
to exclude dust, the case not being
double one. There is not the fine adj
justment which is in expensive
watches. there is no jeweling or en-
craving. The ornaments are absent, !
but the necessities are there. Only four
turns of the winding screw will run
the movement from thirty To thirtysiX
hours. There is the full complement of |
minute and second. The |
watch complete weighs three ounces. /
The S125 watch is a stem winder, but !;
is set by the screw at the back. The |
81 80 watch is both stem-winding and /
stem-setting. The 81 watch is silver !
plated and has an engraved case and I
back plate.
one point about the construction of |
=
ferent parts of the works which in an 1
ordinary watch are made of steel are |
here made of brass. The makers OF |
the watch say that they do not empha- !
size this point in describing the watch.
simply because there is a popular no
ton that brass is cheap and undesir-
able. They say that it is by no means
cheap, especially lately. They also say
that their watch viii stand rather
rough treatment better than one with
steel works. Although brass is
liable to corrosion, steel is a prey to
rust and, so say the dollar watchmak-
ers, the rust is worse for the watch.
They say, too that the dollar watch is
especially valuable where insensibility
to magnetic influences is desirable.
We know of several of our watches
which went through the Santiago cam
paign." said the manufacturer, "and I
gave good satisfaction. They are sold
all over and TO all classes Of men. The
bankers and brokers buy them as Well
as the poor man. Men often go hunt
ing or fishing or some place where they
don't want to take an expensive watch,
and when they can get d good one fer
1 dollar. they buy it and leave their
ine one where it will be safe. I Gale
,ulate that there are 100000 dollar
watches carried now, and that there
will be another million before 1900 rolls
around"