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Paul Morphy’s Pocket Watch
April 19, 2017
The American Watch Company was a pocket watch maker arising from a consolidation of brands in 1859. It manufactured approximately 425 watches per day in its heyday around 1877 and employed around 900 people. It was renamed The American Waltham Watch Co. in 1885.
In the year of American Watch Company’s founding, American chess master Paul Morphy (1837-1884) was honored by the New York Chess Club with a pocket watch made by the company. Morphy was a chess prodigy, and many considered the New Orleans native to be the best player of his era.
The pocket watch was gifted to Morphy after he returned from a successful tour of Europe, during which he further established his name among the greats of the game.
The dial is white enamel with chess pieces in red and black representing the hours. In the top centre is the designation:
MADE FOR
Paul Morphy
BY THE
AMERICAN WATCH COMPANY
Upon his return from Europe, Morphy retired from chess to begin his career in law just as the Civil War broke out. The watch disappeared at some point after 1921, more than 37 years after his death, but the dial survived and is now on display at the NAWCC Watch and Clock Museum in Pennsylvania, a place where Roland Murphy spends a lot of time.
And it was here that Murphy spied the unique enamel dial boasting red and black chess pieces representing the hours instead of numerals or markers: kings at 12 and 6 o’clock, queens at 1 and 11 o’clock, bishops at 2 and 10 o’clock, knights at 3 and 9 o’clock, rooks at 4 and 8 o’clock, and pawns at 5 and 7 o’clock.
I was curious as to why the chess-themed dial interested Murphy so and found out that the watchmaker also plays chess. “I love chess and history,” he enthused. “Of course, the tie to Paul Morphy was a draw for me as well: his historical family name was changed to Morphy when his great-great-grandfather moved to Spain from Ireland (their name was previously Murphy). It’s also an American story.”
_________
There are photos of the original dial of Paul Morphy’s pocket watch and the new RGM Chess in Enamel timepiece. The design is pretty faithful to the original, with only the wording in the upper half of the dial changed. It now reads
RGM Watch Co.
Lancaster, Penna, USA
25 of these watches have been made and the price for one is $13,900.
http://quillandpad.com/2017/04/19/ch...n-watchmaking/
and
http://www.rgmwatches.com/watches#/p...ess-in-enamel/
April 19, 2017
The American Watch Company was a pocket watch maker arising from a consolidation of brands in 1859. It manufactured approximately 425 watches per day in its heyday around 1877 and employed around 900 people. It was renamed The American Waltham Watch Co. in 1885.
In the year of American Watch Company’s founding, American chess master Paul Morphy (1837-1884) was honored by the New York Chess Club with a pocket watch made by the company. Morphy was a chess prodigy, and many considered the New Orleans native to be the best player of his era.
The pocket watch was gifted to Morphy after he returned from a successful tour of Europe, during which he further established his name among the greats of the game.
The dial is white enamel with chess pieces in red and black representing the hours. In the top centre is the designation:
MADE FOR
Paul Morphy
BY THE
AMERICAN WATCH COMPANY
Upon his return from Europe, Morphy retired from chess to begin his career in law just as the Civil War broke out. The watch disappeared at some point after 1921, more than 37 years after his death, but the dial survived and is now on display at the NAWCC Watch and Clock Museum in Pennsylvania, a place where Roland Murphy spends a lot of time.
And it was here that Murphy spied the unique enamel dial boasting red and black chess pieces representing the hours instead of numerals or markers: kings at 12 and 6 o’clock, queens at 1 and 11 o’clock, bishops at 2 and 10 o’clock, knights at 3 and 9 o’clock, rooks at 4 and 8 o’clock, and pawns at 5 and 7 o’clock.
I was curious as to why the chess-themed dial interested Murphy so and found out that the watchmaker also plays chess. “I love chess and history,” he enthused. “Of course, the tie to Paul Morphy was a draw for me as well: his historical family name was changed to Morphy when his great-great-grandfather moved to Spain from Ireland (their name was previously Murphy). It’s also an American story.”
_________
There are photos of the original dial of Paul Morphy’s pocket watch and the new RGM Chess in Enamel timepiece. The design is pretty faithful to the original, with only the wording in the upper half of the dial changed. It now reads
RGM Watch Co.
Lancaster, Penna, USA
25 of these watches have been made and the price for one is $13,900.
http://quillandpad.com/2017/04/19/ch...n-watchmaking/
and
http://www.rgmwatches.com/watches#/p...ess-in-enamel/
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