SOURCES:
The Goddard panel at the National Watch & Clock
Museum, 2016.
Harrold, Michael C. “American Watchmaking: A
Technical History of the American Watch Industry
1850-1930.” NAWCC Bulletin Supplement 14 (Spring
1984): 9-12.
English-style fusee with verge escapement and full plate
with American patriotic symbolism.
Eagle hallmark stamp on back of watchcase.
American motif
decoration on
balance cock.
WATCHMAKING IN EARLY AMERICA
Opportunism and American ingenuity
sparked watchmaking in America. In
response to Britain impressment of
American sailors, the U.S. Congress passed
and President Thomas Jefferson signed the
Embargo Act of 1807, which prohibited all
trade with other countries. Its intent was
to harm France and Britain, who were at
war. However, the Embargo Act proved to
be ineffective, hurt the American economy,
and led the United States into another war
with Britain in 1812.
The absence of French and English
imports created an opportunity for
Americans to manufacture goods
Renaissance Watch Repair. “Brief History: Luther
Goddard & Son Watch Company.” Accessed
January 10, 2016.
with which they normally could not
compete. Luther Goddard (1762-1842)
of Shrewsbury, Massachusetts, was an
entrepreneur who took advantage of the
embargo. He is considered to be one of the
earliest American watchmakers and the
first watchmaker to create serialized, or
numbered, timepieces.
Goddard began his career in 1778 when
he apprenticed as a clockmaker under his
cousin Simon Willard. He later settled his
own homestead where he farmed during
the summer months and repaired clocks
in the winter. Seeing his opportunity,
Goddard, along with his sons and a
handful of apprentices, converted his clock
workshop into a watch factory and opened
up a storefront in Shrewsbury.
When trade resumed after the War of
1812, Goddard could not compete with
less-expensive imported watches and
in 1817 ceased production. Goddard and
his son, Daniel, moved to Worcester,
Massachusetts, and established a watch
repair business. He also served as an
itinerant Baptist minister and often
received watch commissions while visiting
his flock. Before he died in May 1842,
Luther Goddard had created nearly 600
serialized pocket watches. His efforts are
widely considered to be the first major
push for the watch trade in America.
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