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Some of the greatest brands in the world have had rather humble beginnings. This is definitely true of Timex – one of the very best watch brands across the globe. Timex watches and timepieces tell a tale of innovation and style that goes back to over 165 years.
For long, keeping precision and superior engineering remained the forte of the Europeans. And then finally in 1854, by setting up the Waterbury Clock Company (WCC), brass manufacturer Benedict & Burnham brought home American ingenuity and entrepreneurship back to Connecticut. Benedict & Burnham was a hugely flourishing company that manufactured numerous brass items-from buttons to hardware and fixtures. The company then decided to enter the foray of mass-produced clocks.
The Dollar Watch
The Waterbury Clock Company started mass manufacturing almost 4 decades before Ford decided to come out with the Model T. The idea was to make clocks affordable and at $6 per piece, every American sure could afford one. This marriage of affordability and great quality continues to remain one of Timex’s driving ideals to this date. By the turn of the century, the WCC started to manufacture the $1 Yankee pocket watch. Millions across the US instantly went from watching the tower clock to owning a personal pocket watch. As they say, this was indeed “the watch that made the dollar famous.”
The Wrist Watch
World War I brought in huge demand for arms, ammunition, and the wrist-worn timepiece. Once again WCC rose to the challenge by designing watches that could be easily worn on the wrist with a strap. In 1933, the introduction of the Mickey Mouse watch at the 1933 Chicago World’s Fair, gave over 2 million children their first watches. This combination of Walt Disney’s ever-popular cartoon character with timepieces became an instant nationwide hit.
Innovations Galore
The following decades were marked by many new innovations by the WCC. The V-Conic became one of the earliest high-quality watches to be mass-produced. It is around this time that the WCC moved to Middlebury, Connecticut, and the company became the world’s largest manufacturer of watches. Innovations and technical superiority were no doubt aided by appealing marketing strategies. The iconic “Timex Takes A Licking and Keeps on Ticking” TV commercials where John Cameron Swayze tries to destroy a Timex timepiece are among the best-loved ads in television history. By the time the brand transformed to Timex in 1969, there were Timex sales offices in a great many countries and manufacturing plants in the US, Europe, and Asia.
To Recent Times
One of the great driving principles that have kept Timex at the very forefront, is a keen urge to give the common man the very best of style, quality, and technology while keeping the products inexpensive. The launch of the Ironman Triathlon in 1986 brought precision timekeeping for athletes and sportsmen into the spotlight. Later as the Indiglo was added as a backlight system, it seemed that Timex was reading into the minds of people across the world. Over the past few decades Timex has added numerous new models and has made buying men’s watches online quite the in thing.
Those looking forward to buy smartwatches in India are waiting with bated breath for the introduction of three new trendy and innovative watches from the house of Timex – American Documents, The Marlin Automatic and Q Timex Reissue. “Own a Timex, own a piece of history”, as the saying goes.
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