Rockford Gold Filled Open Face Pocket Watch. Back screws off to show insignia. 15 jewels. Philadelphia Watch Case Co. White clock face with black numbers. 

Condition: Unknown if in working order. 

Size: 2 x 3 in. 

Gross Weight: 57.0 dwt. 88.8 g. 

#3707 . 

The Rockford Watch Company was formed in Rockford, Illinois in 1874 by three local businessmen, Hosmer P. Holland (a Civil War veteran), Israel Sovereign (one of the city’s leading merchants in hardware and stoves), and George Troxell (a city politician). Fifty-seven former Cornell Watch Company employees joined forces to get the factory and machinery up and running. The factory opened on the banks of the Rock River in 1876, producing 10 watches per day in 5 different mechanisms. By 1881 they were producing 70 watches per day, and by the 1890s they were one of the most significant industrial businesses in the region. However, competition from other watchmakers drove prices down, causing the brand to reduce production and briefly suspend operations during a short depression. In 1896 the company became insolvent, and was sold and reorganized as The Rockford Watch Company, Limited, in 1901, under the auspices of the Illinois Watch Case Company in Elgin, Illinois. A fire originated at the factory in a pile of polishing material in 1903, followed a few months later by a bolt of lightning that struck the factory and destroyed the boiler house and damaged the machine room. In 1904 the company laid off 75 factory workers indefinitely, but struggled along until shuttering for good in 1915, having manufactured nearly 1 million jeweled railroad-grade watches. The ruins of the factory still stand in the original site, and their watches are highly sought after by collectors for their consistent quality and elegant style.

Unknown if in working order.