Star Watch Case Company
Encyclopedia
The Star Watch Case Company was a company in Ludington, Michigan
, that operated from approximately 1905 to 1982. It designed and manufactured watch cases.
, Longines
, Elgin, Gruen, Omega
and Pulsar
.
Pocket watch cases were the only product made to World War I. They were solid gold or gold filled, sterling silver, rolled nickel-silver and brass. They included open face style and hunting style cases. After this time wristwatch cases were additionally produced. The company also manufactured certain military items during World War II.
started in 1897 making watch cases for the Elgin Watch Company. The founders were Otto A. Starke, Fred Hermann and Alfred W. Church. The company incorporated on February 7, 1905. The first officers of the new Star Watch Case Company were Otto A. Starke as its president; Fred Hermann, vice president; Warren Antoine Cartier
, secretary; and Alfred W. Church as the treasurer. The Illinois Watchcase Company changed its name sometime between 1903 and 1905 to the Star Watch Case Company, which is sometimes referred to as the Star Watchcase Company.
, in 1905. By 1913 it had about 150 employees. The company was Ludington's largest employer and had a peak employment of about 550 employees at its height, which was in the middle of World War II. The building for the company was three stories for offices and manufacturing. Over time it expanded to over 70,000 square feet.
, used for dropping bombs accurately from airplanes in World War II.
machine that allowed up to 32 watch backs to be engraved at the same time. Star watch Case Company was the patent owner of this invention since Mr. Hallberg was an employee of the company. The cutting-edge technology was kept secret so competitors would not learn of this mass-production method. This gave the company an advantage in fast watch case production.
The tool and die engineer would place the watch cases in a fixture that would hold them in place. A Master Plate design was then selected for the design desired. The pantograph machine would then reduce the design and accuractely reproduce it on the backs of the watch cases. The operator would use a lever that followed the Master Plate design and the diamond tipped cutting tools would cut the design into the blank watch cases. The pantograph machine invented by Andrew Hallberg around 1910 led to hand engraving of pocket watches becoming obsolete after 1930.
The raw materials Star Watch Case Company used for watch cases were gold, silver, nickel, brass, zinc and chrome-plated cases; solid gold or gold filled being the most preferred. Their gold supply in bars was held in a local Ludington bank, then as need some bars were transferred to the factory for melting down. The factory always held around $200,000 worth of gold at any one time for watch cases of 10, 14, or 18 karats.
that had a well known slogan of Remember the Maine, to Hell with Spain!.
decided in the 1950s that a single vendor should not supply more than a third of the company's needs. Star Watch Case Company was dropped off their list of suppliers of watch cases when they obtained another company that made such cases. Two decades later the company was all but out of business. In 1979 it was sold to Société Suisse pour l'Industrie Horlogère
and by 1982 it was entirely out of business. All of the company's furnishings and machinery were soon sold.
Ludington, Michigan
Ludington is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 8,357. It is the county seat of Mason County.Ludington is a harbor town located on Lake Michigan at the mouth of the Pere Marquette River...
, that operated from approximately 1905 to 1982. It designed and manufactured watch cases.
Product
The Star Watch Case Company manufactured watch cases. Watch movements (the mechanical mechanism), the dial, hands, glass that covers the face of the watch (sometimes called the crystal), and some of the crowns (the button used to wind the watch) were made in another location and shipped to Star to assemble the final watch product. Some of the companies it made watch cases for were Manistee Watch Company, HamiltonHamilton Watch Company
The Hamilton Watch Company was originally formed to produce high quality pocket watches and wristwatches mid-range and luxury. Hamilton would become a corporate conglomerate diversified in other operations...
, Longines
Longines
Longines is a Swiss luxury watchmaker based in Saint-Imier, Switzerland. The company was originally founded by Auguste Agassiz in 1832 and it currently holds the oldest registered logo for a watch company . Longines is currently owned by the Swatch Group.Longines is known for its 'Aviators' watches...
, Elgin, Gruen, Omega
Omega
Omega is the 24th and last letter of the Greek alphabet. In the Greek numeric system, it has a value of 800. The word literally means "great O" , as opposed to omicron, which means "little O"...
and Pulsar
Pulsar (watch)
Pulsar is a brand of watch and a division of Seiko Watch Corporation of America . While Pulsar was the world's first electronic digital watch, today Pulsar watches are usually analog...
.
Pocket watch cases were the only product made to World War I. They were solid gold or gold filled, sterling silver, rolled nickel-silver and brass. They included open face style and hunting style cases. After this time wristwatch cases were additionally produced. The company also manufactured certain military items during World War II.
Trade Marks
The company's trade mark is a five-pointed star and also the double-headed eagle. Additional Trade Marks that were used are below:Early history
The Star Watch Case Company Elgin, IllinoisElgin, Illinois
Elgin is a city in northern Illinois located roughly northwest of Chicago on the Fox River. Most of Elgin lies within Kane County, Illinois, with a portion in Cook County, Illinois...
started in 1897 making watch cases for the Elgin Watch Company. The founders were Otto A. Starke, Fred Hermann and Alfred W. Church. The company incorporated on February 7, 1905. The first officers of the new Star Watch Case Company were Otto A. Starke as its president; Fred Hermann, vice president; Warren Antoine Cartier
Warren Antoine Cartier
Warren Antoine Cartier was a northern Michigan businessman famous for helping to develop the beginnings of Ludington, Michigan, in the nineteenth century.- Biography :...
, secretary; and Alfred W. Church as the treasurer. The Illinois Watchcase Company changed its name sometime between 1903 and 1905 to the Star Watch Case Company, which is sometimes referred to as the Star Watchcase Company.
Turn of the century
Sometime around 1902 to 1903 there was a large fire that destroyed the factory. The materials were well insured, so the factory was able to recover from this. At the time the factory had 27 employees and was a bustling business.Move to Michigan
Star Watch Case Company moved to Ludington, MichiganLudington, Michigan
Ludington is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 8,357. It is the county seat of Mason County.Ludington is a harbor town located on Lake Michigan at the mouth of the Pere Marquette River...
, in 1905. By 1913 it had about 150 employees. The company was Ludington's largest employer and had a peak employment of about 550 employees at its height, which was in the middle of World War II. The building for the company was three stories for offices and manufacturing. Over time it expanded to over 70,000 square feet.
Engravers
Fritz A. Baumgartner was the company's key hand engraver from 1906 in the Ludington factory. Other hand engravers were Emil Allemann and Otto Starke.Military
Pocket watch cases were 90% of Star's production up to 1938. Upon the entry of the United States in the Second World War the factory was converted to making brass compass cases, small weapons, and submarine parts. The company had a reputation for making quality military stainless steel military watch cases and cases for military compasses. During World War II the company also manufactured components of military navigational aides. One such military component was the top secret Norden bombsightNorden bombsight
The Norden bombsight was a tachometric bombsight used by the United States Army Air Forces and the United States Navy during World War II, and the United States Air Force in the Korean and the Vietnam Wars to aid the crew of bomber aircraft in dropping bombs accurately...
, used for dropping bombs accurately from airplanes in World War II.
NASA
Star Watch Case Company made watch cases for the model Omega Speedmaster Professional, one of which was worn by astronaut Eugene A. Cernan on a trip to the moon. This watch is commonly referred to as the "Moonwatch." Other like models of Star's were worn on various space missions.Pantograph machine
Andrew Hallberg invented a pantographPantograph
A pantograph is a mechanical linkage connected in a special manner based on parallelograms so that the movement of one pen, in tracing an image, produces identical movements in a second pen...
machine that allowed up to 32 watch backs to be engraved at the same time. Star watch Case Company was the patent owner of this invention since Mr. Hallberg was an employee of the company. The cutting-edge technology was kept secret so competitors would not learn of this mass-production method. This gave the company an advantage in fast watch case production.
The tool and die engineer would place the watch cases in a fixture that would hold them in place. A Master Plate design was then selected for the design desired. The pantograph machine would then reduce the design and accuractely reproduce it on the backs of the watch cases. The operator would use a lever that followed the Master Plate design and the diamond tipped cutting tools would cut the design into the blank watch cases. The pantograph machine invented by Andrew Hallberg around 1910 led to hand engraving of pocket watches becoming obsolete after 1930.
Case Grades
Case Grade Materials:- "Star" Gold-Filled, guaranteed for 20 years as late as November 1906, 25 years by April 1909
- Defiance Gold-Filled, guaranteed for 10 years
- Majestic Gold-Filled, guaranteed for 5 years
- Stellar, 10K Rolled Gold Plate case
- Scepter, Gold-Filled or Rolled Gold Plate case
- Excellence, Silver case
The raw materials Star Watch Case Company used for watch cases were gold, silver, nickel, brass, zinc and chrome-plated cases; solid gold or gold filled being the most preferred. Their gold supply in bars was held in a local Ludington bank, then as need some bars were transferred to the factory for melting down. The factory always held around $200,000 worth of gold at any one time for watch cases of 10, 14, or 18 karats.
Designs
An early popular design was of the battleship USS Maine (ACR-1)USS Maine (ACR-1)
USS Maine was the United States Navy's second commissioned pre-dreadnought battleship, although she was originally classified as an armored cruiser. She is best known for her catastrophic loss in Havana harbor. Maine had been sent to Havana, Cuba to protect U.S. interests during the Cuban revolt...
that had a well known slogan of Remember the Maine, to Hell with Spain!.
Demise
The beginning of the end of the company came when Elgin Watch CompanyElgin Watch Company
The Elgin National Watch Company, most commonly known as just the Elgin Watch company was a major US watch company.-History:The Elgin National Watch Company, was founded in August 1864 as the National Watch Company. A number of former associates of the Waltham Watch Company and Chicago watchmaker J.C...
decided in the 1950s that a single vendor should not supply more than a third of the company's needs. Star Watch Case Company was dropped off their list of suppliers of watch cases when they obtained another company that made such cases. Two decades later the company was all but out of business. In 1979 it was sold to Société Suisse pour l'Industrie Horlogère
Société Suisse pour l'Industrie Horlogère
Société Suisse pour l’Industrie Horlogère was the second most important Swiss Watch Group, holding Omega and Tissot.It was created on February 24, 1930 in Geneva by Tissot et Omega, to be joined as from 1932 by Lemania Watch Co & A...
and by 1982 it was entirely out of business. All of the company's furnishings and machinery were soon sold.
Primary sources
- Baumgartner, Fritz A., Memoirs of a Watch Case Engraver, Morrisville, N.C. Lulu.com, 2007, ISBN 1430323116
Secondary sources
- Book review of Memoirs of a Watch Case Engraver by Fritz A. Baumgartner
- Ludington Daily News, April 16, 1994; p. 1 and 2
- Ludington Daily News, March 20, 1995; p. 10 & 11
- National Association of Watch and Clock Collectors (NAWCC). Reprinted with permission. Bulletin No. 360 @2006 from article "Star Watch Case Company 1897-1982 by Jack Linahan with photos and comments from Dimitry Grabbe."
- Niebling, Warren H., History of the American watch case. Library of Congress Card Number 74-152358, Whitmore Publishing 1971