The Croton Watch Co., Inc. was founded in 1878, when there was not as many watch companies as there are now. Croton was a small manufacturer with the philosophy that precision, quality, style and value go hand in hand. The Croton Watch Co, was located in Croton NJ. The family-owned and operated business specialized in diamond weight high-end watches that sold to small jewelry boutiques throughout the United States. As Croton’s reputation grew, there was more and more demand for their high quality watches. Croton expanded its bejeweled line, as the discriminating tastes of their customer changed. In the early 1930s Croton started selling their Thin Este line. This watch became the standard for affordable but elegant watches.
In the the 1970 with the introduction of the quartz movement the company scaled down production of their mechanical watches. Also, I have heard the company manufactured watches for the police department in NJ and NY. The Croton Watch Co now produces their watches overseas using Japanese and Swiss movements. Croton is currently experiencing a renewed interest in their watches, and they are still producing quality watches at affordable prices. I will post an article on one of their new watches soon.
Back to the Thin Este, my Thin Este has a 17 jewels mechanical movement in mint condition and works and keeps time perfectly. It is a beautiful small watch (all watches from that era are small), with Arabic numeral on the dial, and a sub-dial with the seconds hand at the six o'clock position. The sub dial second hand was the most popular complication of the time. The blemishes on case, crystal, and dial are testament of this watch long journey, but they also reveal its character. I have this watch running next to my regulator watch and I have not observed any variation on its time keeping. I am so glad I own this watch a piece of American watch making history.
Croton Thin Este 17 Jewels Mechanical Movement Circa 1930-1940
My mother had a Croton watch which was not working. I took it to a jeweler with the intent of having a digital movement added to it. However, the watch repair man could not find a digital movement that would fit; said that the main spring and the workings of the watch were in excellent condition; made a new crystal for the watch and cleaned it.
ReplyDeleteMy mother was born in 1910 and I believe the watch dates from the 1930s. Is there any way to identify when the watch was made.
It has a gold expansion band. The face is a rectangle with a narrow gold outer edge and a copper innerband that is wider. The center rectangle is gold. Around the outside edge are black Roman numerals - the 2 - 4- 8 -10 and 12. Where the six would be is a round insert with the seconds tickings. Below the word "Croton" are the words "THIN ESTE" These are at the top of the innter gold center. No markings are on the back of the watch.
If possible I would like to know when this watch was made. To me it has a kind of deco appearance - probably more in the 1930's or possibly in the early 1940s.
By the way, the watch repairman said the workings of the watch were in excellent condition and he was surprised that it only needed a minor cleaning. The crystal had to be remade because it pressed against the hands and was cloudy.
Thanks for any assistance you can provide.
I have a very similar Croton Thin-Este. The only difference is it is a T30 716. Do you know anything about this particular model?
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