Dollar watch

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A dollar watch was a pocket watch or later, a wristwatch, that sold for about one dollar.

The sale of such watches began in 1892 by the watchmakers Ingersoll, Waterbury, and New Haven. Later, Western Clock (Westclox) in 1899 and the E. Ingraham Company also began manufacturing them. Dollar watches were practical, mass-produced timepieces intended to be as inexpensive as possible. Trademarks of the dollar watch are their simple, rugged design, either unjeweled movement or movement with just one jewel, width of about eighteen size (two inches), and sale price of about a dollar from 1892 until the mid 1950s. Many other companies made them, with literally hundreds of names on the dials.

To keep costs down, the watches were often sold in flimsy cardboard boxes, which are now highly collectible.