Smyrna times., 1908-12-02
FIRST CHEAP WATCH
The Story of the Famous Old
Long Winding Waterbury.
SCHEME OF AN OLD C0BBLER


Was Taken Up and Worked out-A
Timepiece That Came to Be Known
All Over the World.
In a small country town in Con-
necticut lived a cObbler. He was
DOOR man and a peculiar one. The
bows called him a gene" and some
thought him crazy. But he kept on
in the even tenor of his way, living
his own life and thinking his own
thoughts. One of these thoughts was
hat he could make a watch that would
have only three wheels.
A matchmaker out of a job heard |
of the cobbler and called at his little |
shop. This was the beginning of the |
famous Waterbury watch, which was |
the first cheap watch to be manufac |
tured. 1t is now a thing of the past. |
But it's cheap price and its remarka-
bly, long wind" Qt was stem winderl
were known around the world.
The Waterbury was named for the
town where it was made. 1t had more
than the three wheels that the cob
bier had planned, but the little old
shoemakers idea was the original
germ from which was evolved the
successful cheap watch.
Having got the idea, the purchaser
of the cObbler's rights found that the
first difficulty in his path was lack of
money. He looked about for a man
with money enough, nerve enough and
imagination enough to lead him to rem
der the financial aid without which
no first step could be taken. He was
found, because it was a Yankee with
an indOmitable will that was looking
for him.
"How much money will it take and
how long a time do you want before
you can begin to make your watches
in sufficient quantities to make the
thing a success" he inquired.
II will be frank with yOu," replied
the inventor. "It will require $4,000,
and l shall need eight months for
preparation"
"GO ahead" said the daring capital
list.
He went ahead. He met unexpected
difficulties and had spent $250OO0 and
used up twenty-eight months before he
turned out a single watch. But the
capitalist never faltered. Then the
factory, for which every piece of ma
chinery had to be invented and spe-
cially made. turned out it's first thou.
sand watches
Not one of them would go! Among
other things. it was found that the
sheets of brass out of which were
stamped the wheels of the watch had
grain somewhat like wood. The
wheels cut out round would not stay
round
This difficulty being remedied, a sec
Ond thousand watches were made. A
large number of these went. but the
percentage of shoppers" watches thai
refused to gO) was still too large.
New study, new experiments. how
ever. finally perfected the cheap little
timekeepers to the point of perfection
that only about 10 per cent were stop
pers. The good watches were teste,
in six positiOns-lying on the face, o.
the back and in four positions on tn
edge. The maker of each part stamps
his mark on the part he made, so tina
if fault was found in that part h
must make it right
Then came the question Of selling th
watches. and over 100000 was sper
in the years of its vogue in advertisin
the Waterbury watch Some of tll
methods used were interesting
A negro minstrel troupe were paid {
open their show by saying I'VE hay
come from Waterbury. the land
eternal spring" referring to the lor
time required to wind the Waterbul
watch.
One day the owner of one of the
timepieces was winding it on the trai
. Across the aisle a traveller noted tn
his neighbOr was winding his waite
1t caused no thought until a secol
81 look and then third showed the win
Al ing still under way. Then the astonis
's ed man spoke Excuse me. sir, b
are you winding a watch?'
g YES" said the winding owner "a,
81 I'm tired of it. You wind awhile W
q your" This led to explanations and
~ suited in the ordering by the strang
ID who had never before seen a Wat
= bury, of $4,000 watches for the use
10Th us business mouse IN It's emma trade
- The great business went on, a
, large sums of money were made in
0lA All over the world people were buyi
these watches, so cheap were tn
All over the world people laughed
the 'long wind" The old backer
60 the enterprise had died. and one of
- successors felt indignant because
son in travelling in some remote p
of Hungary was asked if the Wa
days bury he came from was the pl
where the watch with a long W
was made.
"And." said the man. 81 don't w
the product of my factory laug
about all over the earth" But his
bition led him to try to make g
watch. The new field he soon 70