Asian Surprise

SPOTLIGHT

LUX BOND & GREEN

36

With the adoption of the international time standard in 1884, train traffic increased, and schedules became more predictable, making the watches carried by conductors and engineers more important than ever. But only when tragedy struck did the quality and precision of those watches become an issue that would push the industry’s achievements to even greater heights.

FOUR FATEFUL MINUTES

On April 19, 1891, in Kipton, Ohio, a fast mail train heading east collided with a passenger train heading west, killing eight people. The passenger train was supposed to stop to let the mail train pass, but it had been late in getting to the stopping point because the conductor’s watch was running four minutes slow. The general superintendent of the railroad appointed Cleveland, Ohio, jeweler Webster Ball to investigate time and watch conditions on all lines. Founding the Ball Watch Company, he established strict guidelines for the manufacturing and maintenance of all timepieces used by railroad personnel. Established watchmakers such as Waltham and Elgin were quick to adopt the new railroad standards, but so were newer, smaller companies eager to capitalize on the requirement for more accurate and high-quality timepieces.

In 1892, the Hamilton Watch Company of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, was created through a merger of the Keystone Watch Company and the Aurora Watch Company. Utilizing the Keystone factory location in Lancaster and the Aurora equipment from Illinois, Hamilton quickly came to dominate the railroad timepiece industry, reportedly acquiring more than a 56 percent market share. By the turn of the century, its advertisements in Harper’s Bazaar called the company “The Railroad Timekeeper of America.”

According to Nicholas Manousos, executive director of the Horological Society of New York, “The American railroad expansion in the late 19th century was half of the reason why the American watchmaking industry rose to prominence in the early 20th century. This expansion gave manufacturers a reason to improve the quality of their watches and gave consumers a reason to buy those watches.”

Waltham and Elgin remained the top two producers of American watches, with Hamilton a close third. Many other companies began successfully producing railroad grade watches as well, including Illinois, Trenton, South Bend and the E. Howard Watch Company, which marketed its watches directly to rail workers through railroad trade magazines. (In 1858 Edward Howard had left the Boston Watch Company, Waltham’s predecessor, to form the eponymous E. Howard.) The American watchmaking industry boomed throughout the early part of the 20th century before a sharp and devastating decline. By 1932, only the big three and the Ball company remained.

After the 1929 stock market crash and the onset of the Great Depression, watches were among the first luxury goods the American public stopped buying in favor of necessities such as food and clothing. Entry into World War II, which largely pulled the U.S. out of the Depression, further complicated matters in the watchmaking industry as companies like Elgin halted commercial manufacturing to aid in the war effort. Instead of watches, these companies manufactured chronometers, fuses for artillery shells, altimeters and other aircraft instruments and sapphire bearings used for aiming cannons. Ironically, the

In 1892, the Hamilton Watch Company of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, was created through a merger of the Keystone Watch Company and the Aurora Watch Company. Hamilton had a monopoly on the railroad timepiece industry, and by the turn of the century was dubbed “The Railroad Timekeeper of America.” Waltham and Elgin remained the top two American watchmakers of the era (with Hamilton a close third), but neither exists any longer. Another big name of the time was Ball Watch Company. Cleveland, Ohio jeweler Webster Ball was hired to investigate time and watch conditions on the railroads after a fatal crash was caused by a conductor’s too-slow wristwatch. Ball established strict guidelines for the manufacturing and maintenance of all timepieces used by railroad personnel before establishing his own successful brand. Eventually, additional U.S.-based companies started producing railroad-grade watches as well, including E. Howard Watch Company, which marketed its watches directly to rail workers through trade magazines.

defense industry that had inspired the American system of watchmaking almost 100 years before would now have a heavy hand in the industry’s downfall. Elgin’s patriotism and others inadvertently gave the Swiss, who had remained neutral in the war, the opening they needed.

REVENGE OF THE SWISS

Manousos adds: “One other aspect [that also] contributed to the collapse of the American industry…was the structure of the large American brands…. There were almost no independent suppliers of critical parts, like hairsprings, screws or wheels. The large American brands made these parts for themselves. In comparison, the Swiss industry had (and still has) a multitude of independent suppliers for every watch part imaginable. As a result, the Swiss industry was much more flexible in navigating through changing business conditions.”

The Swiss, led by Longines and Vacheron Constantin, eventually heeded Jacques David’s warning and even improved upon the model he had described, ultimately combining the best of American machine-driven efficiency with the finest tradition of Swiss handcraftsmanship into a winning hybrid system that is still in place today.

Elgin and Waltham no longer exist; Hamilton is Swiss-owned; even the Ball Watch Company sold the rights to its name in the 1990s, and yet hope remains. Nick Manousos maintains: “The U.S. watchmaking industry absolutely could be successful again in the future. To a certain extent this is already happening, with brands like RGM and J. N. Shapiro leading the way. The way to see this take place at a large scale is to think differently, just like what happened with the introduction of the American system of… interchangeable parts. Modern manufacturing techniques, like 3D printing and nano-fabrication, could change the way that we think about how mechanical watches are made.”

The brands from the golden age of American watchmaking may have been relegated to the annals of history, the remnants of their once coveted production sitting on the shelves of the Smithsonian Institution or of dedicated collectors. Yet the enduring Yankee spirit of innovation and competition may one day ignite the spark of American watchmaking on a grand scale once again.

IWC: A SWISS BRAND ROOTED IN THE AMERICAN SPIRIT

At the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., there is a photograph on file of a young Union soldier holding a large pocket watch. His name was Florentine Ariosto Jones. Born in Rumney, N.H., in 1841 to Solomon and Livinia Craig Jones, he listed his occupation as “watchmaker” when he joined the 13th Massachusetts infantry regiment at the outset of the American Civil War. After the surrender at Appomattox, Jones left the service and went to work for E. Howard & Company, a leading Boston watch manufacturer. There he rose to the rank of deputy director and manager. Then, in 1867, Jones applied for a passport and traveled to Europe. At a time when the pioneering spirit prevalent among young American men sent them west, Jones went east.

His plan was simple: to manufacture high-quality watches for the American market by “combining all the excellence of the American system of mechanism with the more skillful hand labor of the Swiss.” He ultimately settled in Schaffhausen, Switzerland. Drawing on the skills of highly qualified Swiss watchmakers, modern technology and hydropower sourced from the nearby Rhine River, Jones founded the International Watch Company in 1868. Today it’s commonly known today as IWC Schaffhausen.

LUX BOND & GREEN 37

VIETNAM, SCENE OF A WAR WE TRY TO FORGET, TURNS OUT TO BE A CAPTIVATING DESTINATION WITH SIGHTS YOU’LL LONG REMEMBER.

By Lenae Guarna

For those of a certain generation, the idea of a holiday in For those of a certain generation, the idea of a holiday in Vietnam seems unimaginable at first. But once you get past our Vietnam seems unimaginable at first. But once you get past our country’s troubled history with this Southeast Asian nation, you country’s troubled history with this Southeast Asian nation, you will find aquamarine coastlines, beautiful French colonial archiwill find aquamarine coastlines, beautiful French colonial architecture, lush greenery and a stunning river town. The charming tecture, lush greenery and a stunning river town. The charming fishing villages, with their iconic boats and placid waters, are fishing villages, with their iconic boats and placid waters, are as captivating as the bright green rice paddies and the farmers as captivating as the bright green rice paddies and the farmers who tend them. Vietnam is home to eight UNESCO World who tend them. Vietnam is home to eight UNESCO World Heritage Sites, and there is no end to its diverse offerings. Heritage Sites, and there is no end to its diverse offerings.

In January 2020, just before the world would change in ways In January 2020, just before the world would change in ways we could have never anticipated, my husband and I headed to we could have never anticipated, my husband and I headed to Vietnam to join a bike tour to celebrate our anniversary. Biking Vietnam to join a bike tour to celebrate our anniversary. Biking allowed us to travel the less frequented paths deep into rural allowed us to travel the less frequented paths deep into rural villages to see the culture up close. We were eagerly greeted by villages to see the culture up close. We were eagerly greeted by children and heard “hello” as often as we did “xin chào.” We children and heard “hello” as often as we did “xin chào.” We also had the good fortune to visit during Tet, the Vietnamese also had the good fortune to visit during Tet, the Vietnamese Lunar New Year. Beautiful flowers, especially yellow chrysanLunar New Year. Beautiful flowers, especially yellow chrysanthemums as high as my shoulders, and kumquat trees with themums as high as my shoulders, and kumquat trees with

Hop aboard a private charter or group boating trip to best take in the sights of Halong Bay, translated from Vietnamese as the “Bay of Descending Dragons.” Stunning islands, grottoes and caves surrounded by emerald waters form a spectacular seascape unlike any other.

their bright orange fruit, were everywhere. Fires filled the streets as locals honored their ancestors by burning hang ma or paper replicas of money and luxuries. These offerings are believed to show respect and to enhance the afterlife for their ancestor.

The roads are filled with all types of vehicles: cars, taxis, small motorbikes, bicycles and cyclos—modern-day rickshaws—all of which share the road with few, if any, traffic lights and no bike lanes. Remarkably, many motorbikes transport a family of four, including a baby in her mother’s arms, or carry enough packages on the back to fill a small pickup truck. For a pedestrian, crossing a busy street can often be a heart-in-hand experience, but locals advise that you neither run across nor stop unexpectedly, as the Vietnamese rely on predictability and will navigate around you accordingly.

We began our visit in the historic city of Hanoi, staying at the storied Sofitel Legend Metropole hotel in the Old Quarter. This grand hotel, which opened in 1901, has hosted many notable guests, including silent-movie star Charlie Chaplin, folksinger Joan Baez, U.S. presidents and other heads of state. Hanoi has been called “the Paris of the Orient,” and its beautiful tree-lined boulevards and French colonial buildings are home to enough restaurants, cafés, galleries and stores to ensnare even the most restless traveler’s attention. End your sightseeing at the Quán Thánh Temple, one of the four magnificent temples said to protect the capital from malevolent spirits, or at the more sobering Hoa Lo Prison, once nicknamed “Hanoi Hilton.”

Approximately two-and-a-half hours from Hanoi is the must-see Halong Bay, translated as the “Bay of Descending Dragons,” a World Heritage Site located in the Gulf of Tonkin. It is made up of some 1,600 islands and islets, forming a spectacular seascape of limestone pillars, lush islands and emerald waters. Whether you hire a private charter or join one of the many tourist excursions, these breathtaking islands, grot-

This holiday season marks another beautiful chapter to create a memorable story of your own.

It begins with the opening of a special gold box.

How the story will be told is up to you.

We believe that our quality, designs and values will create a treasured memory to last

generations. May your holidays sparkle with moments of love, laughter, and goodwill.

EVERY BOX HAS A STORY ™

A.

B. C. D.

A. Diamond hinged bangle, $1,795. B. Diamond hinged bangle, $1,795. C. Diamond hinged bangle, $3,350. D. Diamond bypass bangle in 18k white gold, $7,850.

All in 14k gold unless otherwise noted.

Front Cover: Emerald cut diamond eternity ring 5.50 cts. in platinum, $31,700. In and out diamond hoop earrings 6.00 cts., $15,500. Graduated diamond necklace 16.23 cts in platinum, $88,000. Convertible diamond necklace 23 cts., 34”, $51,000. Two row round diamond ring 2.60 cts., $9,500. Lutece round diamond eternity ring 2.96 cts. in platinum, $11,400. Diamond line bracelet 10.05 cts., $31,665.