Welsbro: The Quiet American

When I buy a vintage watch I normally do a deep dive on the company and model (if I can) to place the watch into it's proper historical perspective. The story of the American watch industry, like the Swiss, is filled with big personalities and many firsts. The market was large, the largest, and competition was fierce.

The American market had high tariffs to protect it from the Swiss industry with its high tariffs. In the first few decades of the Twentieth Century many watch companies found the cost of manufacturing movements to be too expensive and settled into the assembleur business model of importing Swiss movements or ebauches (movements that required some finishing) and casing them in the United States. This was the watch world of Bulova, Gruen, Helbros, Clinton, Benrus, Wakmann, and many others.

Those companies had larger than life owners, fought the Federal Trade Commission, and the case of Benrus, attempted an unsuccessful hostile takeover of a rival. Well, I looked. Welsbro isn't like that. I looked for the story, the hook.  All I found were well made watches with better than average Swiss movements.

Welsbro was the brand of the S. Weissman Company that was started in either 1924 or 1926 in New York City. Weissman trademarked the Dweisa name in 1924. Very early on they sold watches branded as Weisbro, thought to represent the Weissman brothers. When Weisbro was printed in all capital letters is was read as WEISBRO, and it became known as Welsbro. By 1930 the name Welsbro was trademarked and the watches followed that branding until the company quietly closed around 1970.

This watch follows the WWII military style, although it was surely a civilian watch. I think that I am going to use it as my vintage field watch. I sleep in hotels now more than under the stars and in the elements. I think that it can survive the occasional walking trail.

Recently, the brand was revived.  The name was bought and very interesting colorways released. There are old brand names out there for sale. I have my eye on Britix.