Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1902-07-03
GOLD-FILLED WATCH CASES.
American Manufacturers Can BarsIy
supply the Demand for Export.

AMERICAN "dHui dCluTefS IAN baTSiJ
supply the Demand for Export.
The gold filled watchcase industry
is q powerful factor in American COM
mercial life.
The manufacture of these cases en-
cages the services of over five thous-
and skilled artisans in factories ad.
iacent to New York, with an output
yearly of our or five millions The
history of their invention is interest
ing, says the New York Tribune.
over forty years ago a watchCase
maker named Peters was annoyed 10
find the low carat gold in his cheap
cases tarnish quickly with wear He
could not furnish better quality tor
the selling price, however, though ex-
periments costing many thousand dol
lars were made by him to obtain some
composition Of base metal to use as
an alloy that would not give evidence
of tarnish. His Investigations were
carried on secretly at first, but with
so much persistence and so little re-
suit that nervous prOstratiOn ensued.
One day, finding himself no longer
able to proceed with his experiments,
he told one of his employees named
Boss, who was continually experiment.
ing with acids and metals, how
anxious he was to procure better
watchcase, one with a good quality
gold wearing surface. Boss started
his experiments, and a month later
finished model of a,machine that is
the groundwork for all filled case
manufacturing.
At first Boss mGde two plates OIL
gold which were laid on each side Of
central piece of metll, and after
being rolled out to the desired thick
ness by heavy mills were placed
under the machine and struck off by a
die. This required the finest cal
Culation and leveling process, so that
the surfaces would cling to each other
without the aid of solder, and con.
sumed more time than could be given
with profit to the making of the cases.
Another method was tried by which
the three surfaces were made so
smooth that they became adhesive,
and the suction thus established al
lowed one plate to bear the others
were granted on the latter invention,
and the first cases made were known
as the James Boss Led WatChcaSes,
which for several years had Il
monopoly of the business. The ,dea
of making a gold case out of any.
thing but gold had never been enter
tanned by manufacturers, and the
patent secured for their making pro
tected Boss so that his goods were
eagerly bought Indeed, so cOnfiden.
was he of the superior quality of his
cases that he shrowdly guaranteed
them to wear for twenty years or
would refund the purchase money il
they did not. Boss amassed con
siderable wealth through his patent,
and then sold it to a firm who were
fortunate in interesting the late
George w. Childs in it, who, with his
immense wealth and honesty of char
acter, doomed the industry to colossal
proportions. Some years ago the
patents expired and were eagerly apv
propriated by watchcase manu-
faCturers, who are barely supplying
the demand for export. The filed
case today is a vast improvement OF.
tnat of ten years ago, and an inv H1tor
can display his art upon it as success
fully as he can beautify the solid gold
case Europe has taken more kindly
to them than America.