Non-Magnetic Watch Co.

A progression of companies using the phrase "Non-Magnetic Watch Co." in their names existed for a period of about thirty years, since beginning in late 1886. Through it all, their function remained to market magnetically immune watches using Paillard's patented balance and hairspring.


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The Geneva Non-Magnetic Watch Company, already in business in January 1887, marketed Swiss-built, non-magnetic watches. It is interesting to note that the U.S. office was located at 177-179 Broadway, New York, the same address as Payne, Steck & Co., Geneva Non-Magnetic Watch Co.'s general agents. There will be more on this further down.

The company’s designs were based on a suitable magnetically immune palladium alloy balance and hairspring developed by Charles-Auguste Paillard, who had previously been a régleur (final adjuster) for Patek, Philippe & Co. Paillard, who had been selling palladium non-magnetic hairsprings since 1883, became one of the principles of the Geneva Non-Magnetic Watch Co., owning 20% of the firm (Fuller, 1990, page 239) (Marsh, 1993, page 707). The 16-size watches (fitting American cases) imported into the U.S. were available in a variety of grades, the top several of which, containing either 20 or 18 jewels, being suitable for railroad time service. The grades are distinguishable by the shape of their plates and the damaskeening patterns. The reason for the even number of jewels is that the Swiss tended not to use a lower center wheel jewel in the pillar plate, where there was virtually no friction or wear. Its not clear if the Geneva Non-Magnetic Watch Co. added the balance and hairspring to the various ebauches obtained from other Swiss firms and then finished the movements themselves, or if they contracted for finished movements to be supplied by others, utilizing Paillard's palladium alloy balance and hairspring.

The higher grade Swiss-built, 16-size watches must have been very slow sellers. After the first change to service the American market in early 1888, after which watches carried the name “Non-Magnetic Watch Co. of America,” grades 71, 72 and 73, still marked “Geneva Non-Magnetic Watch Co.“ were being closed out by A.C. Becken, a Chicago wholesaler, in January 1895 (“Costs And Values Totally Ignored!” The Jewelers' Circular - Weekly and Horological Review, January 30, 1895, pg. 24).

Even though the Geneva Non-Magnetic Watch Co. held the full and exclusive rights to the use of Paillard's patented palladium alloy balance and hairspring, that didn't give the firm exclusive rights to the market. See the "Waltham Non-Magnetic Watches" section of the Waltham Watches Enccyclopedia article which describes the non-magnetic watches that were introduced in November 1887, utilizing Waltham's own non-magnetic balance, hair-spring and escapement. Waltham claimed that most of the Geneva-built non-magnetic watches would stop in a strong magnetic field while their own watches would not, even going so far as to run a fanciful ad to drive home the point!


Geneva Non-Magnetic Watch Co. Grades
"These watches contain Paillard's Patent Non-Magnetic Compensation Balance and Hair Spring, are Accurately Adjusted to Temperature and will not rust or corrode."

On January 5 1888, the Non-Magnetic Watch Co. of America was formed and purchased the American and Canadian business of the Geneva Non-Magnetic Watch Co. (as noted in their February 1888 ad). This included the exclusive right to use the Paillard non-magnetic compensation balance and hairspring throughout the United States and Canada. 16-size 3/4-plate movements, adjusted to temperature, isochronism and positions, continued to be imported from Switzerland. An interesting Non-Magnetic Watch Co. of America "Magnetic / Non-Magnetic" 'demonstrator' is shown and discussed in an October, 2016 Message Board thread.

However, the supply of full-plate, 18-size movements, noted at the bottom of the above referenced ad, as becoming available "... as soon as practicable ..." was contracted out to the Peoria Watch Co. and the movements reached the market that same year. Three adjusted grades were available by March 1889, with four unadjusted grades being introduced in April 1890. All seven of the Peoria-built, 18-size movements were fitted with "Paillard's Non-Magnetic Compensation Balance and Hairspring."

Curiously, the new firm's general agent, Alfred C. Smith (who became deeply involved in the struggle for control of Non-Magnetic Watch Co. business, see below), was located at the same address (177 Broadway, New York) as Payne, Steck & Co., the general agents for the Geneva Non-Magnetic Watch Co. two years earlier. Regardless of who they were represented by, the Non-Magnetic Watch Co. of America was a short-lived venture, being placed in receivership on February 15, 1890 (according to a Paillard Non-Magnetic Watch Co. August 1890 ad). Nevertheless, Non-Magnetic Watch Co. of America products continued to be distributed through the usual jobbers, with the prices unchanged. However, one change occurred, that of replacing the firm's agent, A.C. Smith. Charles S. McCulloh, the receiver of the Non-Magnetic Watch Co. of America, requested that all communications be directed to his office at that same address, 177 Broadway, New York.

A.C. Smith, now an agent of the newly formed Paillard Non-Magnetic Watch Co.(see below), must have continually overstated the holdings and rights of that company throughout the Spring and Summer of 1890, since the receiver, Charles S. McCulloh, published a cautionary notice in June and a stronger notice in September (see below) stating that the Non-Magnetic Watch Co. of America still retained the Paillard patents and controlled their full rights. In both notices, Mr. McCulloh stated that those rights would be protected "... to the full extent of the law."

Non-Magnetic Watch Co. of America Grades


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Upon the Non-Magnetic Watch Co. of America being placed into the hands of a receiver, A.C. Smith, and others, formed the Paillard Non-Magnetic Watch Co. The stated purpose of the new company (according to their August 1890 trade journal ad) was "... continuing the manufacture and sale of non-magnetic watches containing Paillard's inventions. ... The Paillard Non-Magnetic Watch Co. are licensees under the Paillard patents and no other organization possesses the right to use them. ..." However, Mr. Smith and his partners were a little premature with this ad. The following issue of the same trade journal carried a notice from Charles S. McCulloh (whose first name was misspelled in the published notice), the Receiver of the Non-Magnetic Watch Co. of America, stating "... I have never made any arrangement, compromise, sale or transfer of any merchandise, patents or other rights of the Non-Magnetic Watch Company of America with or to the Paillard Non-Magnetic Watch Company or to Alfred C. Smith, its Selling Agent (formerly the Selling Agent of the Non-Magnetic Watch Company of America), but have obtained a temporary injunction against both of the said parties, ..." The full notice published in September 1890 makes for very interesting reading.

After a year or so of wrangling (through the latter part of 1890 and all of 1891), a new firm, the Non-Magnetic Watch Co., with A.C. Smith as vice-president and general manager, emerged. That firm, as claimed in their January 1892 ad, purchased all assets of the Non-Magnetic Watch Co. of America and merged it with the Paillard Non-Magnetic Watch Co., causing those two companies to be dissolved. This new firm thus had the full, exclusive rights to market non-magnetic watches, using Paillard's non-magnetic balance and hairspring, in the United States and Canada.

The Non-Magnetic Watch Co. proceeded to cut the price of the grades No. 81 & No. 82 and later, to introduce four new grades of imported Swiss, 16-size watches, sized to fit the new thin model cases being made for the thinner 16-size Elgin watches that were beginning to appear on the market. The grades are described in a September 1892 ad. Nevertheless, after another year or so, the Non-Magnetic Watch Co. ran into difficulties, probably caused by the panic of 1893, and eventually came to an end (see below).

The Non-Magnetic Watch Co. was bought out by the A.C. Smith Watch Co. in August 1894 as seen in a press release published on August 8, 1894 and an ad printed September 5, 1894. Shortly thereafter, the A.C. Smith Watch Co. brought out a line of Swiss-made movements under the Princeton name and, "to make room for regular movements ...," discontinued the sale of complete (cased) Paillard Non-Magnetic (and other) watches. Nevertheless, also at the same time, the company introduced a line of complete, inexpensive, "Charmilles" initial watches which were complete watches.

As did so many other watch companies, the A.C. Smith Watch Co. continued the practice of it predecessors and produced its watches as "nameless" grades, that is, the grade numbers (there were no grade names) were not stamped on the movements. This was done so that the consumer could never be sure that the watches sold by a discounter were truly the same as those sold by the full price jewelers.

It's not clear at this time what happened to the A.C. Smith Watch Co., but an interesting note appeared in the trade press, see below.

A brief note in a trade publication documented an interesting fact about the Non-Magnetic Watch Co. as an aside from the main topic. In describing the change of ownership of a jewelry store, it stated that the new owner ... was manager for R.A. Loveland, the owner at that time of the Paillard Non-Magnetic Watch Co., which was later bought by A.C. Becken ... Jewelers' Circular, September 13, 1899, page 42. As it happens, "R.A. Loveland, a wealthy lumberman of Saginaw, Mich., ..." was A.C. Smith's father-in-law (see the last paragraph of A.C. Smith's biography in the March 1, 1893 issue of The Jewelers' Circular). At this time, nothing further has come to light on the subject. Perhaps Loveland funded Smith's activities, or perhaps he was the silent owner of the A.C. Smith Watch Co. Whichever, Smith and/or Loveland seem to have owned the Non-Magnetic Watch Co. for a short period, insofar as the company is known to have been in the hands of A.C. Becken by November 1896.


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In late 1896 an ad for Paillard Non-Magnetic Watch Co. products appeared with a notation at the bottom "A.C. Becken Co., Proprietor, 177 Broadway, New York - 103 State St., Chicago" (Jewelers Circular - Weekly and Horological Review, November 18, 1896, pg. 37). The ad showed cuts and descriptions of Peoria-built 18-size and Swiss 16-size movements.

By 1897, 16-size and 18-size Illinois watches were being produced marked "Paillard Non-Magnetic Watch Co.." Curiously, corresponding movements of some of the grades were marketed with convention steel hairsprings and balance parts labeled "Paillard Watch Co."

It's not clear how long the A.C. Becken. Continued the Paillard line, but Elgin watches labeled "Paillard Non-Magnetic Watch Co., Chicago, Ill, U.S.A." were being produced in about 1911 and were still being offered by jobbers as late as 1917 (Ehrhardt, 1976, page 101).


A.C. Becken Co. Grades
Movements Engraved "Paillard Non-Magnetic Watch Co. Chicago, U.S.A."


A.C. Becken Co. Conventional Grades
Movements Engraved "Paillard Watch Co. Chicago, U.S.A."

Descriptions, cuts and prices of Paillard Non-Magnetic Watch Co. movements are shown on page 19 of the 1896 A.C. Becken Jewelers' Wholesale Price List.


Books & Articles
Back issues of the NAWCC Bulletin are available online to NAWCC members who are currently logged in at https://nawcc.org/index.php/watch-a-clock-bulletin/past-issues-. Also, the following books and back issues of the NAWCC Bulletin are available to members on loan by mail from the NAWCC Lending Library.

“Prolegomenon to the Story of The Non-Magnetic Watch Company of America,” Elias J. Marsh, NAWCC Bulletin No. 287 (December 1993): pg. 707.

“The Non-Magnetic Watch Company - A Chronology,” Eugene T. Fuller, NAWCC Bulletin No. 266 (June 1990): pg. 236.

“A Note Concerning The Non-Magnetic Watch Company of America,” Thomas L. De Fazio, NAWCC Bulletin No. 174 (February 1975): pp. 39-49.

"Railroaders' Corner - The 1880s Magnetism Scare, Part 1: The Watches," Ed Ueberall and Kent Singer, NAWCC Bulletin No. 345 (August 2003), pp. 485-492.

Elgin Watch Company - Identification and Price Guide, Roy Ehrhardt, Heart of America Press, Kansas City, MO, 1976, page 101.