In about 1914, the company stopped producing anything but high-quality watches, watches with a minimum of 17 jeweled bearings. Of the 11 watch models from several factories that passed an accuracy test posed by the National Naval Observatory in Washington, D.C., 10 were from the Illinois Watch Factory.

When did the Illinois watch company go out of business?

The Illinois Watch Company was founded on December 23, 1870, in Springfield, Illinois, by John C. Adams, John Whitfield Bunn (1831–1920), and various additional financiers. Twenty years later, Jacob Bunn Jr., (1864–1926) took over and ran the company until his death in 1926.

Where are Hamilton watches manufactured?

Switzerland Since 1974, Hamilton has been a part of the Swatch Group and, in 2003, we moved our HQ and production to the center of watchmaking country in Biel, Switzerland.