Ingersoll Watches

As a child growing up in the 1970s, Ingersoll Rand was a name that I often saw on large industrial equipment in the factory my dad worked. A few days ago, the name Ingersoll popped up on my friend Jack’s wristwatch which surprised me. Was the industrial machinery supplier into wristwatches now?   I had known the Ingersoll brand as a supplier of industrial technology heavy machinery and equipment.

Jack couldn’t shed much light on the topic but my curiosity got the better of me. Why not check out the history of the Ingersoll watch brand? Perhaps there was a connection between the industrial giant and the watch brand.

My research threw up some interesting facts about the Ingersoll watch brand. Also, there seemed to be no connection between the industrial machinery manufacturer and the watch maker. The only connection perhaps is the fact that both companies were founded in the 1800s with the Ingersoll watch company being founded in 1882. It was established by two brothers Robert and Charles Ingersoll in New York. The watch brand has been around for more than a century, although not many people are aware of it.

The Ingersoll brand started off as a mail order business in 1882. After ten years in 1892, the company launched their first watch, “The Universal” which was basically a pendant watch worn round the neck. Then came the Columbus and the Yankee. The company was going full steam ahead and by the turn of the century produced 8000 watches a day.

By 1904, Ingersoll went to England with the Crown pocket watch and continued to sell its timepieces up until the 1920s. All this while the focus of the Ingersoll brand was to produce cheap but good quality watches that the people could afford. The recession resulting from the first World war caused the company to go bankrupt. The company then changed hands as it was bought by the Waterbury Clock Company.

The brand has changed ownership several times during the past but Ingersoll is now owned by Zeon Watches, a branch of the Herald Group from Hong Kong. Although not as popular as some of the other watch brands, Ingersoll has a reputation of manufacturing reliable, stylish and practical timepieces.

Ingersoll watches are considered medium-range timepieces with prices under £500. Automatics and quartz timepieces make up the collections. Several models follow the skeleton design where the internal mechanism of the watch is on display. See-through case backs are another intriguing design feature of the Ingersoll brand.  If skeleton design is your thing, then you’ll love the beauty of the Ingersoll watch. If not, they do have simpler designs that are in keeping with the times. Check out for more at  https://www.citywatches.co.uk/