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The Encyclopedia of Horology

Rockford, Illinois, United States

Rockford Watch Company

Partially verified

Full-plate and later bridge-model American pocket watch movements

History

A mid-western factory that produced well-finished movements in modest numbers, including railroad-grade work, but never reached the scale of its larger competitors and closed before the First World War.

Major innovations

  • High-grade 'Winnebago' and related named grades

Known markings

  • 'Rockford Watch Co. Ill.'
  • Grade names on the plates

Serial numbers

Serial ranges are published but less completely documented than those of the largest factories.

Collecting significance

Scarce enough to interest specialists in American factory history; condition and dial originality dominate assessment.

Photographs

Rockford Watch Company (9791555434)
Rockford Watch Company (9791555434) — Teemu008 from Palatine, Illinois, CC BY-SA 2.0. Wikimedia Commons file page
Vintage Rockford Watch Company Open Face Pocket Watch, Model 1, 9 Jewels, Size 18s, Key Set, "Sidewinder", Circa 1876 (14583818649)
Vintage Rockford Watch Company Open Face Pocket Watch, Model 1, 9 Jewels, Size 18s, Key Set, "Sidewinder", Circa 1876 (14583818649) — Joe Haupt from USA, CC BY-SA 2.0. Wikimedia Commons file page
Vintage Rockford Watch Company Open Face Pocket Watch, Model 1, 9 Jewels, Size 18s, Key Set, "Sidewinder", Circa 1876 (14770114302)
Vintage Rockford Watch Company Open Face Pocket Watch, Model 1, 9 Jewels, Size 18s, Key Set, "Sidewinder", Circa 1876 (14770114302) — Joe Haupt from USA, CC BY-SA 2.0. Wikimedia Commons file page

Photographs are illustrative examples of the type, not necessarily the exact object described. Verify details against the source file page.

Sources & references

  1. NAWCC references on the Rockford factory
  2. Company output figures are incompletely recorded.

Where sources disagree, the disagreement is stated rather than resolved silently.