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The Encyclopedia of Horology

Glossary · Trade

Jobber

A wholesale dealer who bought movements, cases and dials separately and supplied assembled watches to retailers.

Explanation

A jobber was a dealer or retailer who bought watches or movements from manufacturers and resold them, often with his own name added to the dial or movement. In American trade the term also covered retailers who had cases fitted to bare movements. Private-label names are therefore not proof of manufacture; the movement's design and serial number usually identify the actual maker.