Cornell Watch Company Partners With Hour Precision To Bring End-To-End Watch Production To The United States

The duo will release their first wristwatch in 2025, with American-made case, dial,
hands, and strap, as well as a Swiss movement assembled in the United States.

CHICAGO, Dec. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The Cornell Watch Company is proud to announce a partnership with Hour Precision, one of America's premier micro-machining and horological assembly workshops. Together, the two will work to bring true end-to-end watch production back to American shores after nearly a century of decline. Based in Chicago, Illinois, and Columbus, Ohio, respectively, the two companies are already hard at work on their first wristwatch which will be unveiled in 2025.

The long-term goal of this partnership is to create a vertically integrated manufacturing operation that allows Cornell and Hour Precision to create watches from start to finish in the United States, from design and prototyping to component manufacturing, assembly, regulation, and after-sales service, all by American engineers and certified watchmakers. The main challenge facing American watchmaking today is the lack of domestic supply chain and manufacturing capabilities, requiring U.S. outfits to import key components and to outsource critical labor. Cornell and Hour Precision are creating an important resource for other watchmakers looking to bring horology back to the United States at scale, creating a flourishing ecosystem, quality jobs, and incredible products in the process.

"Staying faithful to the Cornell Watch Company's original vision is central to everything we do," says CEO John Warren. "We want to make the highest quality watches that we can – and we want to do it right here in the United States. This partnership with Hour Precision will allow us to start the process of not only creating our own American-made watches, but also reviving the infrastructure and know-how necessary for others to do the same. This isn't just about us."

Cornell and Hour Precision will unveil their first American-made watch in 2025. The case, dial, hands, and strap will be made in the United States, and it will feature a Swiss-made movement assembled in Hour Precision's workshop, where all final assembly and regulation will take place.

An in-house movement that will be fully manufactured and assembled in the United States is already in design and development.

For more information, please contact Cornell Watch Co. at [email protected].

Cornell Watch Company

The Cornell Watch Company was founded in 1870 in Chicago, Illinois, by Paul Cornell and John C. Adams. It quickly became one of the premier makers of high-end pocket watches in the United States, with hundreds of employees making precise watches for railroad conductors and connoisseurs alike. After decades of dormancy, the company was revived in 2023 by Chicago natives John and Chrissy Warren, with the idea of bringing fine watchmaking back to their hometown. The company's first watch, the 1870 CE, is inspired by the original pocket watches crafted in Hyde Park, Chicago, with a bright white grand feu enamel dial and thermally blued hands, complemented by classic styling and a micro-rotor movement assembled and regulated by the RGM Watch Company in Mount Joy, Pennsylvania.

But this is just the beginning of Cornell's story. Today, the company is working to bring watchmaking back to the United States at scale, with the goal of creating a thriving ecosystem of American watchmaking that has its own distinct style and flavor in addition to providing high-quality jobs in design, engineering, and watchmaking across the country. The partnership with Hour Precision is a key step in making this dream a reality and an example of the company's uncompromising approach to honoring the Cornell Watch Company's legacy and the storied tradition of fine American watchmaking more generally.

Hour Precision

Hour Precision is one of America's premier micro-mechanical workshops, specializing in watchmaking and micro-machining. The company has manufactured components for the medical, semiconductor, and aerospace industries, and is renowned as a contract manufacturer for horological components and assembly. Based in Columbus, Ohio, Hour Precision recently moved into a larger facility to house its unique collection of horological manufacturing equipment, as well as its growing team of engineers and watchmakers.

Founder Zach Smith is a graduate of the Nicolas G Hayek Watchmaking School in Miami, Florida, as well as a WOSTEP certified watchmaker himself, and he has worked for some of the world's finest watch brands. He and Michael Grassi, who leads engineering, product, and process development at Hour Precision, both bring extensive experience as engineers and fabricators of horological components. "Hour Precision is excited to work with Cornell and we believe this partnership has a unique opportunity to reshape the landscape of American watchmaking for the better," says Smith. "The ceiling for what we can achieve here and the impact it can have is extremely high." Hour Precision's combination of design, engineering, and watchmaking capabilities perfectly positions the company to lead the movement to bring true industrial watchmaking back to American shores.

SOURCE Cornell Watch Company