Exploring RGM and American High Horology

I recently visited the RGM Watch Co. in Mt. Joy Pennsylvania as part of a larger pilgrimage through the epicenter of American horology.  This included seeing the old Hamilton factory (now a trendy apartment complex), visiting the brand’s first ever North American boutique in historic downtown Lancaster, and spending an afternoon at the National Watch and Clock Museum in nearby Columbus.  I will talk about all of that in a separate post. What I would like to focus on here is my visit to RGM. 

Founded by Roland G. Murphy in 1992, RGM is one of only a few North American houses offering truly artisanal, hand-made, hand finished, in-house movements and rose engine turned guilloche dials. Originally trained at the Bowman Technical School just down the road in Lancaster, Murphy later moved to Switzerland where he graduated from WOSTEP before being hired by Hamilton where he worked in product development for several years.  In 1992 he branched out, founding RGM with the intention of producing the sorts of watches that he found most interesting. 

Typically these are classically styled, but his designs also shows an acute awareness of, and reverence for, the role of timekeeping in several iconic American industries including the railroads, aviation and the military. These were the same sectors of the economy that drove the growth of watch making in Lancaster in the late 19th and first half of the 20thcentury. As such, RGM positions itself, both aesthetically and spiritually, as the inheritor of the region’s rich horological legacy. 

He currently has three entirely in-house movements that are produce for the higher end pieces. These include the relatively well known Caliber 801, a shaped movement with a motor barrel system (the Caliber 20), and his own tourbillion. In other pieces they use hand assembled, decorated and modified Swiss ebauches. Certain of their cases are produced locally in Mt. Joy, whereas others are manufactured in Germany.  All of their gorgeous enamel dials are produced by a friend in Switzerland using the Grand Feu technique. Their equally stunning guilloche dials are all hand turned in house.

If you would like to visit the shop you should make preparations to do so well ahead of time.  Visits are by appointment only and they only have two openings per day where they receive guests (10:00am and 1:00pm).  I was politely told over the phone that it was not possible to give any sort of tour of the facility but if I provided the reference numbers of a few pieces I was interested in one of the watchmakers would be happy to show them to me.  Unfortunately I was not able to meet Mr. Murphy himself as he was in NYC giving a talk for the Horological Society of New York during my visit.

None of this sounded terribly auspicious, but as long as I was in the area I thought I should go ahead and make an appoint.  When I arrived I was greeted at the front door by a watchmaker named Benoit Barbe who proceeded to give me an absolutely fascinating tour of the small workshop.  A French watchmaker who had previously been employed in Switzerland, Benoit resettled in Lancaster to work for RGM.  He went over the antique rose engines in some detail, including the differences between the various machines on the floor and what they were like to work on. 

As the discussion became more detailed we soon we found ourselves in the vault (the building used to be a bank) pulling out various dials and projects to illustrate differences in technique and style.  His passion for the work was infectious and it was clear that he had thought deeply about the history and legacy of American watchmaking.  I also saw base plates for movements being milled from raw stock and a couple of other watchmakers hard at work on various benches. 

Eventually we retired to a meeting room on the upper floor of the building and Benoit produced a couple of cases with perhaps a dozen display pieces as well as sample components.  There is a bit of a wait when you order a watch from RGM as everything can be customized and done to your specs. The wait is longer for some models than others, depending on the complexity of the project and the popularity of the model.

For instance, their Model 600 chronograph (a military inspired Type 20 design with a Valjoux 7753 movement) had only a two week wait time provided no special customizations were ordered. But the lead times for anything with their in house 801 movements were running in the 12-14 month range at the time of my interview and could go up from there depending on how they were optioned. 

I found the hand finishing on 801 movements to be spectacular, particularly for the prices of 9 to 15 thousand USD. It’s hard to think of many places where you can find truly hand-made, hand-decorated, pieces for that price point. The anglage was broad and beautiful when examined through a loop, demonstrating in no uncertain terms the amount of manual labor that went into the each example. The 801 itself is a larger movement and it offers a satisfying amount of real estate for decoration.  Its basic architecture is broadly reminiscent of what one might have seen in period pocket watches.

The decoration and work on their less expensive models with Swiss calibers (generally running between 4-9K depending on how they are optioned) was also excellent. Still, I found the Model 600 to be a particularly intriguing test case as I have handled lots of chronographs with Valjoux movements. But the actuation of the pushers on this one felt truly crisp and satisfying. It turns out that who builds and tunes a movement is just as important as the design that is used, particularly with a chronograph.  This realization alone made the trip worthwhile.

As I mentioned previously, RGM seems to design watches that fall into two distinct aesthetic categories.  On the higher end you see very classically styled pieces with in-house movements, tasteful guilloche or enamel dials, coin edge cases and Breguet hands and numerals. I think that these cases (41-43mm) would wear large for many collectors (though with an 8 in wrist I had no complaints).  The more moderately sized offerings with the classical guilloche dials all feature Swiss movements and are priced accordingly.

Alternatively, within the collection you will also find almost art deco pieces that seemed to be inspired by the American watch and clock industry’s involvement with the transportation sectors, whether trains, planes or ships. I would say that the overall vibe of those watches is more “retro-rustic.” Then there were a few other assorted pieces (including a larger dive watch and a more comfortably sized GMT) that didn’t really fit into either of these categories. Still, nods to classicism on the one hand and America’s transportation industries on the other are the two currents that structure RGM’s design language. 

While looking over the various pieces with Benoit I fell in love with the 222-RR. In my opinion, and on a purely aesthetic level, this is the best design in their current catalog. The watch takes as its inspiration American railroad pocket watches of the first half of the twentieth century. In this case RGM rebuilds, from the base plates up, vintage Hamilton pocket watch movements. All of the springs are replaced and the screws and other components are black polished, though they try to preserve as much of the incredible original finishing on the Hamilton bridges as they can.

These restored movements are then paired with one of three enamel dials of your choosing (a fourth option is currently in development, and Benoit also showed me some customized variations they are working on while we were in the vault).  The substantial hands are heat blued to perfection.  The case is German made and features heavy lugs that hug the wrist.  Given the thickness of the watch (12 mm) and the length of the lugs (52 mm), I found that it felt uncannily like a Seiko King Turtle on the wrist. Getting that same feeling from an art deco masterpiece was an unexpected delight. And buying a watch with a Hamilton movement while touring Lancaster just felt “right.” But I must be patient. The current wait time for an 222-RR is 6-8 months.  Still, I cannot wait for my piece to arrive. 

I remain very interested in RGM’s in-house movements and I love guilloche dials.  Still, most of the work that they do in that area is very classically styled and perhaps my tastes have not yet matured to a level where I can see myself wanting to wear such a formal piece on a regular basis. You could certainly commission a more modern and dynamic guilloche dial if you wanted to do so. It was clear that Benoit could make just about anything that you might ask for. But getting too modern seems like it would contradict RGM’s essential design ethos. I am not sure how I feel about that.

I think the closest thing you will find to a modern “sports watch” with an 801 movement in their current collection is either the “801-Corps of Engineers” or the aptly named “801-Aircraft.”  The first watch harkens back to Hamilton made pocket watches that were issues to American railroad troops during WWI.  It is perhaps RGM’s most iconic piece and the dial is beautiful, if not quite as elegant as the one that I selected for my 222.

Still, I found myself drawn more to the 801-Aircraft. This watch, available with either green or red highlights on the dial, is another one of their transportation inspired designs.  While at first appearing to be some sort of gothic steampunk masterpiece, it is actually an accurate representation of specific cockpit clocks being made for the US Airforce by both Hamilton and Elgin in the 1940s and 1950s. You can find the original piece that inspired this design on display at the National Clock and Watch Museum in Columbus.

I quite liked this watch when I put it on, and it struck me as the Rolex Air King’s evil twin. Once I get my 222 and have had a chance to become more familiar with the quality of their work, perhaps I will need to think about one of these?  Still, for a truly “American Made” daily driver, it is hard to beat the rugged elegance of the 222-RR with its enamel dial, blued hands and vintage Hamilton movement.

Are there areas for improvement in anything that I saw?  I am sure that some consumers would like to see 801 movements being fitted to smaller, svelte, dress watch cases in the 37mm-38mm size. I don’t know what the basic limitations of the movement’s design are in terms of size, but I suspect that may be the issue. 

Further, one wonders if the classicism of their 801 series watches limits the potential customer base in some way.  Certainly these designs have a timeless elegance to them, but it would be nice to also see a slick modern sports option utilizing both the in-house movement and rose engine turned dials. I think those might potentially appeal to a wider base of collectors who are actively searching for independent watchmakers.

Then again, I will be the very first to admit that I don’t know anything about their client base.  RGM has been on my radar for a while and over the last few years I have noticed both their prices and wait times creeping up. That suggests a healthy demand for their designs. When I search Chrono24 I rarely see their watches at all, let alone anything with the 801 movement.  Once these things go into collections, they seem to stay there. That is another indicator of a healthy demand for their products. 

If you are interested in truly artisanal American watch making, and you are going to be anywhere near Lancaster (or Philadelphia), I would definitely consider making a stop at RGM.  You will need to plan several weeks ahead as this is a small facility with a lot on their plate. Still, my visit was the most exciting, intimate and informative experience that I have ever had in the watch space. I cannot thank Benoit and the team at RGM enough for taking a couple of hours out of their day to share their passion and knowledge.