Waltham Watch Company is a storied clock and watchmaker, founded in Waltham, Massachusetts in 1850.
The history of Waltham is rich and deeply tied to military timekeeping, though organization and ownership of the brand after leaving the US, have been scattered. The company ownership changed hands many times and is currently Swiss-owned. In 2014, they did a soft relaunch but instead of bringing out a watch like the attractive, unique, and wearable vintage Waltham Military Trench Watch (shown above), they created a massive 47 mm wide chunk of metal.
It was a design failure of epic proportions — because the history is there but they decided to make a massive watch that’s 44 mm on the top of the case and grows to 47 mm towards the caseback. The aesthetic is hideous for something that goes on your wrist and fails to bring back the retro vibe of the once-thriving, once-American watch brand.
These (pictured above and below) are two of the 47 mm titanium and ceramic Waltham Aeronaval XA monstrosities that Professional Watches photographed in June 2014, during the soft launch in New York. The collection was carried by New York retailer Cellini and had an asking price above $5,000 (which was a huge amount back then and still is today for a brand that’s not even been properly established). It’s our understanding that the brand never made it beyond Cellini, and shuttered sometime after.
Waltham Watch Company relaunched yet again in recent years, albeit with designs that pay better tribute to the brand’s history and at more realistic prices (below $2K) — here’s to hoping they can translate some of their historic designs into something that modern consumers want to buy.
