2010 National Association of Watch and Clock Collectors, Inc. Reproduction prohibited without written permission.

Transcription

1 Watch Repair America in Part Four A Brief Study of Membership in National Professional Watchmaker Associations by David A. Christianson (IN) ark Twain once said: I never knew what became of all the unsuccessful shoemakers and blacksmiths until I got my watch fixed. He spoke more truth than he knew, and the facts in his statement form some of the background and incentive for the work of horological organizations. 1 In 1866 the first known watchmakers organization in the United States was formally started in New York City by 16 of the city s watchmakers and was known as the New Yorker Urmacher Vereins (the New York Watchmakers Club). This organization was the predecessor of the present Horological Society of New York. Sometime between 1866 and 1896 the second horological organization in the United States was started in Philadelphia. This studious group of watchmakers and clockmakers organized an extensive library and museum dedicated to timepieces. 2 Watchmakers, in general, tend to be rather solitary individuals. They spend their working day focused on that 12 x 12 inch space that the late Jesse Coleman called the Old 144 that 144 square inches of space directly in the center of their workbenches. Yet in times of mutual need they do tend to band together. In 1892 Theodore Gribi, a Swiss watchmaker in Chicago, called for the formation of watchmakers into the first national association of professional watchmakers, the American Horological Society. He wanted a national organization to receive and entertain the distinguished European horologists whom he expected to attend the World s Columbian Exposition (World s Fair) in Chicago in But beyond this immediate need, he foresaw a society that would represent and advance the status and standing of the watchmakers of the country. This has always been the goal of a professional organization: to advance the knowledge and skills of its members and to improve the professional standing of its members in the eye of the public. Long before Gribi, American watchmakers recognized the values that were to be gained by associating with each other for the improvement of all the members of the group. These watchmakers met in small local and regional groups throughout the country. But it wasn t until Gribi s American Horological Society (AHS) that an attempt was made to organize nationwide. Unfortunately, the AHS didn t grow much beyond the Greater Chicago Area Fred M. Lund, The Aim and Purpose of the United Horological Association of America, The American Horologist, Orville R. Hagans, ed. (Denver, CO: April 1937): p American Watchmakers Institute Charter Convention book (June 18-19, 1960): p Orville R. Hagans, AWI s Heritage, Horological Times, Harold J. Herman, ed. (Cincinnati, OH: May 1978): p NAWCC Watch & Clock Bulletin October

2 Advent of National Watchmaker Associations From the beginning of World War I and on through to the Korean conflict, watchmakers and repairmen were viewed by the U.S. government as essential to the strategic defense of our country, not only in maintaining the timing of military operations but in maintaining the timing of industrial efficiency and commercial growth. In response to the government s need for a central organization, the Horological Institute of America (HIA) organized into a national association in It had a close working relationship with the National Bureau of Standards and saw its mission as certifying watchmakers to a national standard that would ensure a qualified reserve of watchmakers for national defense and commercial and industrial development. To their credit the HIA certified about 1,250 watchmakers by 1934, but its membership had not even reached 250 members, certainly not much larger than any one of the other 71 known horological associations scattered around the country at the time. 4 Each of them was local in character and serviced either metropolitan areas or entire states. State Licensing Laws The United Horological Association of America (UHAA) was formed in 1934 and boasted a membership of 10,000, 5 counting its membership by affiliating with most of the other 71 local associations around the country. Their mission included promoting state watchmaker registration laws, encouraging the formation of more standardized schools, and exposing the substandard ones. Members saw this as a viable means of raising the status of the watchmaker to that of a licensed professional and ensuring the quality and ethics of watchmakers with the backing of state statute. The UHAA was somewhat successful in the state registration efforts. In 1937 Wisconsin initiated the first Registered Watchmaker Law, followed in 1939 by Indiana. 6 These and subsequent similar legislation in several other states were spurred on by the conscientious efforts of the UHAA. However, by 1948 only eight states had enacted such laws: Wisconsin, Indiana, Louisiana, Idaho, Iowa, Oregon, Minnesota, and Oklahoma. By 1955 North Dakota, Michigan, North Carolina, Florida, and Tennessee were added, for a total of 13 licensed states in the country. By late 1957 Oklahoma and Tennessee had lost their laws when challenged in court. 7 By the late 1970s most of the others had been challenged and lost for various reasons. Iowa kept theirs until the late 1980s. Indiana s law withstood several court challenges over its 52-year history, but in the end its licensing law was eliminated through a Sunset Law in With less than 500 watchmakers the state decided that the watchmakers could be regulated just as effectively through the state s Consumer Protection Division, as by the state s Professional Licensing Agency. A New Association In 1949 the joint membership of the Horological Institute of America and the United Horological Associations of America had been 8,594; in 1950 it had dropped to 6,720. By 1959 they could muster only 3,500 members together. In 1960 the two national organizations merged into the new American Watchmakers Institute. The merger actually increased the new national association membership to 4,000, and AWI enjoyed a steadily increasing membership for the next 20 years, even with a rapidly declining pool of practicing professional watchmakers to draw from. (See Graph 1.) From 1980 to 1985 the membership had reached a plateau and then began the steady decline that continues today. This steady decline can certainly be attributed to the continuing decline in watchmakers. With a membership of something just over 3,000, of which 1,800 were watchmakers and 1,200 clockmakers, AWI s membership represents almost one-fourth the current estimated number of practicing watchmakers in the United States today. (See Graph 1.) Factors Impacting Membership By comparing the association memberships (Graph 1) with the number of watchmakers in the United States (Graph 2), 9 we can make a couple of interesting deductions: 1. There is a core membership that stays with the association, supporting their endeavors and taking ad- As a historical note, Theodore Gribi was quite influential in the world of watchmaking. He led the Swiss delegation from the Intercantonal Society of Jurassian Industries (the Swiss Jura Mountain watch manufacturers) to the 1876 Philadelphia Centennial Exhibition to take a look at the American watches that were made by machinery; and along with Jacques David (of the Longines plant) visited the principal American watch factories following the exhibition. As a result of this visit Jacques David, Theodore Gribi and others were the principal agents for the modernization of the Swiss watch industry. A quotation taken from Jacques David: American and Swiss Watchmaking in 1876, by Richard Watkins, Kingston, Tasmania, Australia, and published by Richard Watkins, November 2003, p Servicing the Watchmaker (editorial), Horology, Samuel Levin, ed., vol. 1, No. 12 (Los Angeles, CA: February 1935): pp David Christianson, Mr. Horology Turns 90 Years, Hoosier Horologist, David Christianson, ed., vol. 8, No. 11 (Brookville, IN: Whitewater Publications, July-August 1987): p Wisconsin Watchmakers Licensing Bill is Now Law, The American Horologist, Orville R. Hagans, ed. (Denver, CO: May 1937): pp James M. Turke, Secretary of State, Laws of the State of Indiana, 81st General Assembly, 1939, Chapter 162 (Indianapolis: Burford Printing Co., 1939): pp News items, American Horologist & Jeweler, Orville R. Hagans, ed. (Denver, CO: April 1959): p. 70. News item, American Horologist & Jeweler, Orville R. Hagans, ed. (Denver, CO: June 1959): p October 2010 NAWCC Watch & Clock Bulletin

3 Graph 1. Association Memberships Graph 2. Number of Watchmakers vantage of the technical information, interchange of ideas, advancement of knowledge and skills, and the social interactions with their peers. 2. The other members, beyond the core, are a much more fluid group, banding together when there is a perceived threat against their livelihood, and dropping their membership when they are comfortable that the threat has been lessened. The peaks on the association graph correspond to specific events that probably elicited a perceived threat: 1934: low wages, low self-esteem, and low public respect. By 1934 there were 35,000 watchmakers but only six formal watchmaker s schools and two factory schools in the United States. There were numerous reports of shoddy workmanship and inept training among watchmakers by the jewelry industry press : advent of new technology. Surprisingly, the growing popularity of the self-winding (automatic watch) that started in the 1940s and escalated in the 1950s, along with the balance wheel electric watches that appeared in the 1950s didn t seem to cause much concern to the practicing watchmaker. Their technologies were closely enough related to the standard wristwatch, and the watch manufacturing industry backed up these new technologies with clearly presented technical guides to their disassembly and repair. These guides were freely and generously sent to as many of the practicing watchmakers as could possibly be identified. 11 It was the completely unique solidstate quartz watch technology that so threatened the traditional watchmakers starting in The public news media made a big issue about the demise of the watchmaker and the public bought the idea and the new watches, discarding their mechanical watches and the periodic servicing that they required. Since the solidstate watches were made by the electronics industry, rather than the traditional watch manufacturers at the time, no technical information was forthcoming. Fortunately, the AWI rose to the occasion, immersed their instructors in the new technology and then sent them around the country training their members. Through this perceived fear for their livelihood, non-members joined in order to get the training and availed themselves of the next new technology, the analogue quartz watch and the many variations that arose from this technology over the next ten years. As the new technology became familiar and routine, membership again dropped 8. David Christianson, personal files from the State of Indiana Board of Examiners in Watch Repairing. 9. David Christianson, A Historical Census of Watchmaking, Part 2, NAWCC W&C Bulletin, No. 386 (June 2010): p. 318, fig Note Mark Twain s quote at the beginning of this article. Also Christianson, Watchmaking Education, NAWCC W&C Bulletin, No. 387 (August 2010): p. 420, table Evidenced by the shear volume of technical data, literature and service guides from the 1940s through 1960s that were sent to the shop at the time and that are still in my files. NAWCC Watch & Clock Bulletin October

4 back down to the core member base. Of course this base was being eroded at the same time by a rapidly aging membership along with those who felt the public and news media were right, which were primarily watchmaker/jewelers who simply stopped servicing watches and concentrated on jewelry sales. 1995: rapid growth in luxury watch imports and the popularity of vintage watches, tied directly to a rapidly rising stock market and then the Internet dot-com bubble of To protect the image of the luxury watch brands, access to luxury watch parts were restricted by the watch manufacturing industry. Vintage watch parts were in limited supply. Watchmakers again turned to AWI for help, hoping AWI could negotiate parts access from the luxury manufacturers and supply technical data for both the luxury and the vintage timepieces. 12 Although the graph shows just a small increase in members at this time, the membership represents nearly 30 percent of the estimated watchmaker population. This is a significant number as far as the other association memberships (outside of watchmaking) go. 2001: continuing and growing lack of access to spare repair parts, testing instruments and technical data for these luxury watches that, from the 1990s, are now coming in for service. Here again the increase in AWI membership is small by comparison but significant when compared to the smaller number of watchmakers in the population. A New Dynamic in Membership It is important to note that from 1990 the number of watchmakers in AWI decreased more than what the membership graph shows, although we don t know for sure how many. AWI didn t have a definitive handle on the number of watchmakers vs. clockmakers in their membership. But they did know the number of clockmakers was increasing quite a bit. In October of 1984 AWI started using the legend, Watchmakers, Clockmakers & Allied Craftsmen, on the front cover of their journal, Horological Times, and in its advertising in an effort to attract related craftsmen to its membership. In August of 1992 AWI started calling itself the American Watchmakers-Clockmakers Institute to recognize the roughly 30 percent of their members who were clockmakers, yet continued using their acronym, AWI. 13 In 2004 they officially changed their name to the American Watchmakers-Clockmakers Institute and Table 1 National Membership Historic Data , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,193 started using the acronym AWCI. At this point they knew, from a membership survey, that they now had 60 percent watchmakers and 40 percent clockmakers These two paragraphs reflect my own experiences as a watch repairman in the 1970s to the present and as an active and involved AWI member, director, and president, during the 1980s to The legend, Watchmakers, Clockmakers and Allied Craftsmen began to appear on the cover of the October 1984 issue of Horological Times, Harold J. Herman, ed. The hyphenated name The American Watchmakers-Clockmakers Institute became evident in the August 1992 issue of Horological Times. The change was noted on page 92 of The History of the American Watchmakers- Clockmakers Institute, , by Marvin E. Whitney and Fred S. Burckhardt (Harrison, OH: 2000): p. 92, as a proposal from the affiliated chapters during the 1992 AWI Annual Meeting. 14. Jack Kurdzionak announced the change to AWCI to the membership in his President s Message in the Horological Times, Donna Baas, ed. (Harrison, OH: May 2004): p. 2. The new AWCI acronym was announced publicly in a press release in Jewelers Inc. issue of July 2004 (Philadelphia, PA): p. 24; and in other industry publications. 15. Christianson, Orville Hagans Turns 90, p The 1950 Annual Meeting of the Horological Institute of America, The HIA Journal, vol. VI, No. 4, L. R. Douglas, ed. (Washington, DC: July 1950): p Watchmakers Give Rapid Response in AWI Charter Drive, The HIA Journal, vol. XIV, No. 12, Daniel J. Stallman, ed. (New York: December 1959): pp Orville R. Hagans, When a Repair Department Can t Make Ends Meet Watchmaker May Need Association, American Horologist and Jeweler, vol. 27, No. 6, Orville R. Hagans, ed. (Denver, CO: June 1960): p The membership numbers for the years were reported in the Membership Committee s annual reports to the AWI Board of Directors. This list represents all the committee reports that mention specific membership numbers. Many thanks go to Nancy Wellmann, education coordinator at AWCI, for compiling this data to 2009 membership numbers reported by Jim Lubic in his Executive Director s Message in the Horological Times, Donna Baas, ed. (Harrison, OH: April 2007) in the April issue each year. 558 October 2010 NAWCC Watch & Clock Bulletin

5 Table 2 Watchmaker Associations Formed between 1866 and Urmacher Vereins, New York City Philadelphia Horological Society 1892 American Horological Society, Chicago 1912 Colorado Horological Society 1915 New England Watchmakers Club 1917 Associated Watchmakers of America, St. Louis (included members from OH, KY, OK, KS, NE, MO) 1919 Greater Cincinnati Horological Association 1920 Western Horological Association, Pacific Northwest 1921 Horological Institute of America, Washington, DC 1922 Pacific Horological Society, California 1929 Youngstown Council of Approved Watchmakers, Youngstown, OH 1930 Horological Society of New York (Urmacher Vereins, New York City) Master Watchmakers Association of Colorado Tennessee Watchmakers & Jewelers Association Horological Society of Cleveland, OH 1934 United Horological Associations of America, Washington, DC and then Denver Tri-State Horological Association, Pittsburgh, PA United Watchmakers Association of New England Kentucky Watchmakers Associations Master Watchmakers Association of Missouri Miami Watchmakers Guild Horological Association of California 1935 Milwaukee Watchmakers Guild Wisconsin Watchmakers Association Greeley Watchmakers Guild, Colorado Watchmakers Organization of Buffalo, NY Watchmakers Guild of Tampa, FL Horological Association of Nebraska Ohio Watchmakers Association 1936 Horological Association of Pennsylvania Connecticut Horological Association Cowlitz County Watchmakers Guild, Washington Texas Horological Association, El Paso Master Watchmakers Association of Illinois 1937 Horological Guild of Seattle, Washington Horological Guild of Spokane, Washington Horological Association of Idaho Butte Watchmakers Guild, Montana Watchmakers Association of Indiana 1938 St. Paul Watchmakers Guilds, Minnesota New York State Agriculture School Horological Department Unit Sioux City Horological Guild, Iowa Detroit Horological Society, Michigan New York State Capitol District Horological Guild Rhode Island Horological Associations Mohawk Valley Watchmakers Guild DC Horological Associations St. Petersburg Guild, Florida Horological Association of Iowa Horological Association of Oklahoma Grand Rapids Watchmakers Guild, Michigan 1939 Minnesota Master Watchmakers Association Arkansas Valley Horological Association Kansas State Horological Association Central Kansas Guild Syracuse Horological Guild, New York Watchmakers Association of New Jersey Horological Guild of Roanoke Virginia Rhode Island Watchmakers Association Michigan Horological Association Chicago Horological Guild Tennessee Watchmakers & Jewelers Association Sarasota-Bradenton Watchmakers Guild, Florida 1941 New Mexico Horological Association Tampa Watchmakers Guild Hot Springs Horological Guild, Arkansas 1942 Towel City Guild, Florida New York State Horological Association Illinois Watchmakers Association North Carolina Watchmakers Association 1945 Los Angeles Horological Association, California Central Arizona Watchmakers Guild 1946 Greenville Horological Guild, North Carolina 1947 Mobile Watchmakers Guild, Alabama Florida State Watchmakers Association North Carolina Watchmakers & Jewelers Association 1948 Watchmakers Association of South Carolina Horological Guild of Baltimore, Maryland American National Watchmakers Association 1952 Watchmakers Guild of Columbia South Carolina 1956 South Alabama Watchmakers Guild 1957 Contra Costa County Watchmakers & Jewelers Guild of California 1959 Ohio Watchmakers Association reorganized North Dakota Watchmakers & Jewelers Association 1960 American Watchmakers Institute Other associations formed during these years include: Japanese Chapter of the Horological Institute of America Arkansas Watchmakers Association North Alabama Watchmakers Guild Greater Washington Watchmakers Guild Florida State Watchmakers Guild Central Illinois Horological Guild Michigan Watchmakers Guild South Jersey Watchmakers Guild Rochester Watchmakers Guild, New York Roanoke Valley Watchmakers Guild, Virginia Piedmont Guild, Virginia Peninsula Guild, Richmond, Virginia Central Virginia Guild Northern Virginia Guild Richmond Guild, Virginia Shenandoah Valley Guild, Virginia South Virginia Guild Spottswood Guild, Virginia West Virginia Watchmakers Association Pinellas County Guild, Florida Central Florida Guild Lower West Coast Guild, Florida Palm Beach Guild, Florida Tallahassee Guild, Florida Dade County Guild, Florida Indian River Guild, Florida Jacksonville Guild, Florida Broward Guild, Florida *It is important to note that most of these local guilds were associated with a state or regional association, and many state and regional associations were made up of many local guilds that are not listed here. 21. AWI Charter Convention Program, pp NAWCC Watch & Clock Bulletin October

6 Summary From our look at national professional watchmaker associations over the years it appears that, despite their altruistic endeavors, only a core of dedicated members has supported them consistently until a perceived threat to their livelihood tends to shake the profession. The profession then looks to the association to alleviate that threat. The association s membership increases as a result. When the threat is gone, only the core members remain to support the efforts of the association again. The 1934 threat that peaked the membership was alleviated by the national need for more watchmakers, the government s involvement in filling that need, and the two associations roles in promoting qualified educational standards and certifying both the schools and the practicing watchmakers. The 1960s-1980s threat of technology was alleviated by the association s role in retraining watchmakers in the new technology and becoming a repository of worldwide watch technical data. The 1995 and 2001 threats of withheld spare parts and technical data for luxury watches have still not been resolved, disillusioning those who looked to the association for help. Consequently, membership has dropped to about 20 peercent of the watchmaking population. However, the future still looks bright for the national association. The American Watchmakers-Clockmakers Institute has made great strides in gaining industry trust and accreditation. It appears to be only a matter of time until luxury spare parts and technical support might be available to AWCI and the members who hold the new industry supported professional certifications. Through this study, we can safely predict that current non-members will again seek the association to overcome this continuing threat to their professional livelihood. D About the Author David Christianson is a practicing watchmaker and published horological historian. He is a past-president of the American Watchmakers & Clockmakers Institute as well as a Fellow of both the American Watchmakers & Clockmakers Institute and the British Horological Institute. In Memory of We recognize here those individuals and chapters whose gifts to the NAWCC have been given in memory of fellow members. Joseph G. Mann given by Little Egypt Ch. 77 In Memoriam Joseph G. Mann Earthly time ended July 6, 2010, for Joe Mann, long-time member of southern Illinois Little Egypt Chapter 77 and dear friend to many clock, car, and gun collectors. I met Joe soon after moving to Illinois and starting to attend Chapter 77 meetings in He shared his knowledge and extended hospitality freely to anyone with like interests. He established the annual picnic and benefit auction that Chapter 77 continues even now, and was the first auctioneer. I can still see him holding up a battered 30-hour brass clock movement with several missing parts, and saying What am I bidding for this amazing piece of American engineering knowhow? Always on the lookout for something few others had, Joe collected clocks of every age, size, and shape, from wood movements to jeweler s regulators. Nothing even a large tower clock movement was too big! He worked many years as an electrician in a southern Illinois coal mine, retiring in Joe was a U.S. Army paratrooper, and was well known as an antique car show organizer. Left with memories of Joe as a devoted father and family man are his wife Mary Ann, four children, and a very large extended family. Farewell, Joe! We will miss you at chapter meetings, but we re fortunate for having known you. Phil B. Jones 560 October 2010 NAWCC Watch & Clock Bulletin