Recommended Reading: Chronicling The History Of A Great American Watch Company

December 04, 2019

The assiduous accumulation and sharing of arcane information has followed the watch hobby for as long there have been collectors. But if you scan the internet to learn about specific brands, you'll likely encounter comprehensive, reference-grade content about extant Swiss makers. This is why I sat up a bit when I saw a recent Los Angeles Times article by Hodinkee Radio alumnus Daniel Miller. Miller's Nov. 14 article and the accompanying video tell the story of watch collector Frederic J. Friedberg and his recently completed 1,648-page history of the Illinois Watch Company.? Friedberg's Illinois Watch Jolly Roger model from 1929. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) A retired attorney who once owned more than 700 Illinois watches and became its leading expert, Friedberg is the author of The Illinois Watch Company And Its Hamilton Years, an horological opus penned over the course of a decade while pursuing a legal and corporate career. Friedberg, who says he could never sleep on planes, whiled away time on transatlantic business flights working on chapters from the book. Just some of Frederic J. Friedberg's collection. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) Friedberg's interest in vintage watches began with the purchase of a 1940s Girard-Perregaux from a shop in Washington, D.C. Before long, the collecting bug bit, and he began accumulating watches. The decision to collect Illinois arose from an interest in Americana and discovering the fine quality with which Illinois watches were made. He also knew that he had to impose some sort of limit on the watches he chased. I was afraid Id put my family in the poorhouse because every time I went by an antique store Id go in and buy watches, he told Miller.Friedberg ended up going deep down the rabbit hole, emerging as the expert on a watch company that few collectors vie for today, but that nonetheless played an outsize role in America's watch industry during its height.? Head over to The Los Angeles Times ?to read the full story and watch the video.? Top image by Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times.