Waltham has had a much bumpier passage. It has been traded back and forth like a slightly damaged (not in mint condition) Spiderman Amazing Fantasy #15.
Sure, it's interesting, it has historical "what's it", but because it has been neglected, it is not going to fetch "new/mint in mylar" prices. A few folks tried to take whatever goofball idea that they had and slap the name Waltham on it and hope it would sell. And this has proven that there is more to a successful watch brand than simply a well-known brand name.
One thing that is known is that the Waltham name has been registered in one form or another by a few different entities, but the word around the campfire is that the actual rights to use the name in the manufacture and sale of watches belongs to one unique owner based in New York, and according to the TESS search system, it is M. Z. BERGER & CO.
Here is the info just as it arrived -
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Courtesy of Watch Angeles |
The forerunner of the Dive Watch is coming back!
All dive watches watches owe their existence to the Waltham Depollier Waterproof "Field & Marine" Watch, the watch that started the waterproof market. In February 2021 a new chapter of the biggest story in American Watchmaking - Waltham Watches - will be Crowdmanufactured by Watch Angels.
Follow the project on our social medial channels and sign-up to participate.
And this is where, gentle reader, I have to admit that I am a bit, well, scoobied. Does this mean that the "Angels" at Watch Angels have struck a deal? Does it mean that the watch will bear the Waltham name, or the Depollier label?
And truly confusing, why use both names?
They are currently operating out of a website labeled: https://waltham.ch
And good news for all of you out there who believe in pixies - a truly nationalistic tag line to appeal to real red-blooded Americans -
Making American watchmaking great again.
And then if you read the top menu language, that apparently means - Making American watchmaking great again...in Switzerland.
Well, we will wait, and we will see.
In the meantime, for those of you seeking some interesting background on a real Waltham Trench Watch from a trained historian and actual archeologist, I highly recommend Dr. Jack Carlson's entry in A Man & His Watch. Just promise me you won't buy it from Hodinkee ; )
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