The Ingersoll Watch Company grew out of a mail order business (R H Ingersoll & Bro) started in in 1882 New York City by 21-year-old Rorbert Hawley Ingersoll and his brother Charles henry Ingersoll. The company initially sold low-cost items such as rubber stamps.
1896
Ingersoll “Yankee Dollar” pocket watch
The success of the watch costing one dollar, the aptly named “Dollar Watch”, also known as the “Yankee”, was astounding. The Ingersoll brothers increased production and opened new manufacturing facilities in order to satisfy demand. Production expanded also thanks to several pioneering technical solutions that made it possible to start series production of the smallest pocket watches available at that time.
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1910
Theodore Roosevelt
When Theodore Roosevelt, the 26th president of the United States of America, was hunting wild game in Africa in 1910, he was referred to there as “the man from the country where Ingersoll watches are made”. Roosevelt was amused by this and relished telling the story. President Roosevelt was one of many historically significant persons of his day who wore Ingersoll watches, including the author Mark Twain and the famous inventor Thomas A. Edison.
1920
From pocket watches to wristwatches and the Radiolite model
In 1920 the Ingersoll brand truly broke new ground in the wristwatch sector with its innovative watch model with luminescence called the “night light”. The Radiolite model, which had been introduced into production several years earlier, pushed the company to the forefront of the watch-manufacturing industry. Among others, British tank crews used this model during the First World War.
1928
Flight of Sir Alan Cobham
Aviation pioneer Sir Alan Cobham used an Ingersoll watch to precisely determine the time during his flight across Africa in 1928. “Because I could not rely on any onboard clock, I used an Ingersoll watch to measure the time. The watch constantly served as my trustworthy time gauge, for seven months, under variable climatic conditions over a route of 23,300 miles. This flight and the man who accomplished it with his Ingersoll watch are now celebrated as pioneers of the modern age.
1935
Mickey Mouse watches: early era 1933-1935
The idea of the Mickey Mouse watch was conceived in 1932. On 22 May 1933 an American patent was issued and the first watches went into production. Success was enormous and by June 1935 more than 2.5 million Ingersoll wristwatches featuring Mickey Mouse had been sold.
1947
Gandhi’s Ingersoll watch
As Mahatma Gandhi himself said, he was very dependent on precisely adhering to his daily routine. He imposed this discipline on himself and puritanically complied with it. He was convinced that thanks only to this discipline he was capable of maximum exertion and work. Gandhi lived very aesthetically and had little personal property, but one of his most important possessions was a gold-plated Ingersoll pocket watch that he obtained while studying in London. He owned and used this watch until the end of his life and it always gave him what he absolutely needed for his life: the exact time.
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1950
Hollywood
It wasn’t only Ingersoll watches that loved Hollywood (entire lines of watches featuring the likenesses of major Hollywood stars, including Marilyn Monroe, were manufactured), but Hollywood also loved Ingersoll watches, which were worn by many famous film and sports starts, among them Jams Dean, who was wearing an Ingersoll wristwatch when he fatally crashed his Porsche race car.
1971
Mickey Mouse watches: 1957 – 1971
The success of Mickey Mouse watches was unprecedented. By 1957 more than 25 million of these watches had been sold. They were introduced to the market by Walt Disney himself.
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1989
Zeon watches
Steven Strauss acquired the Ingersoll brand in 1983 and it was subsequently bought by Zeon Ltd, the biggest importer of watches to Britain, whose brand is known for its quality. Thousands of Ingersoll watches have been sold throughout Britain and a whole new generation can say: “My first watch was an Ingersoll.”
2000
The year 2000 and the new Bison line (since 2007)
In 2000 new Ingersoll models began to appear on the market. These watches strongly reflect the rich history of the brand, which is continuing with development in the same style with emphasis on quality and affordability of all models, including the popular Bison line that has been in production since 2007.
2011
Present
Since the brothers from a farm in Michigan established Ingersoll, the brand has travelled a long road, but it has not lost any of its value. Today Ingersoll watches are modern classics that recall their origins while providing the highest quality for an affordable price with a design that appeals to the taste of contemporary customers.
Source: Ingersoll