Henry Pitkin | |
|---|---|
| Born | 2 January 1811 Hartford, Connecticut |
| Died | 18 September 1846 |
| Resting place | Hartford, Connecticut |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | silversmith / watchmaker |
| Known for | American watchmaker |
| Partner(s) | Maria Kingsbury Goodwin married 29 June 1837 |
| Children | Maria Goodwin, b. 2 April 1838 |
| Parent | Captain John Pitkin / Olive Forbes |
Henry Pitkin (2 January 1811 – 18 September 1846) was a silversmith and watchmaker of Hartford, Connecticut.[1]
Pitkin with his brother James in the 1830s had a successful jewelry manufacturing business in Hartford, Connecticut. Pitkin was known to have outstanding mechanical ability. However, due to poor economic times they eventually closed their jewelry business in the later part of the 1830s.[1]
Pitkin was the inventor of the American lever watch movement for pocket watches. He came up with the idea of making pocket watches by mass production methods using mechanical manufacturing equipment. Pitkin with his brother designed and built the machine apparatus's themselves for their automation of pocket watches.[2] Production began in 1836. Pitkin with his brother designed the first American pocket watches containing the first American machine made parts.[3][4] The Pitkin Watch Company was the first to manufacture pocket watches by automation in America.[5]
Pitkin's pocket watches had an excellent reputation for being accurate and durable.[3] The plates for the Pitkins pocket watches were punched out with stamping dies. The movements were three-quarter plate, slow train, and about the diameter of the modern 16-size pocket watch.[1] The watch cases they made themselves from gold and silver. They imported from Europe all the dials, hands, hair springs and balance jewels needed for the watches. Pitkin named the first fifty movements after himself, however after that the name H & J. F. Pitkin was used.[2] Pitkin and his brother made about 800 watches between 1836 and 1841.[4]
There were cheaper imported watches made by the Swiss so they struggled to keep the business afloat. In 1841 the company moved to New York. The cost to manufacture the movements was too great to compete. After they moved to Fulton Street in New York they concentrated on just making cases until 1845 when Pitkin committed suicide. His brother James died a few years later. An employee of the Pitkin brothers by the name of Amariah Hells continued the business until 1852. Pitkin started the trend of making pocket watches of mass production by automation.[2]