Craig Duling directs Heritage Management Services, Inc., and provides leadership in all aspects of the San Francisco firm as CEO. A longtime collector of antique pocket watches, Craig Duling maintains HeritagePocketWatch.com. One topic covered is American-crafted mechanical watches, which were archetypal of the railroad era. With hunter-cased and open-faced varieties of timepieces manufactured, railroad-grade pocket watches were by definition open faced, as they needed to be read quickly and without obstruction. Both types featured clear crystal faces that protected the watch from impact and scratches. At the back would be an opening mechanism that allowed viewing of the movement. Before the mid-1920s, watch movements in American-made timepieces were not cased at the factory, but constructed by watchmakers whose services were rendered through local jewelers. This enabled almost infinite variations in quality and durability of movements within watches with the same exterior. Now highly prized, American mechanical watches are largely a thing of the past, as less-expensive overseas manufacture and quartz imports, in tandem with digital technologies, have led to a major decline in manufacturing viability in the United States. Leave a Reply. |
AuthorBefore accepting his current position, Craig Duling served as an engineer with Lockheed Missiles and Space Company in Sunnyvale, California. Archives
September 2017
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