Most Americans own at least one watch even though most Americans have cell phones that also have a clock on them. Watches are reliable, they have a very long battery life, and they are usually very stylish. In this article, I’ll be looking at watches made in the USA.
How Many Brands Are Selling American Made Watches? (The Short Answer)
After lots of research, I found 6 companies that offer American made watches. They are Vortic Watches, DuFrane, Weiss Watch, RGM, Vaer Watches, and Pelton USA.
6 Manufacturers Producing Watches That Are Made in the USA
Now that we know the watch companies that are American manufacturers let’s take a look at the businesses behind the brands for a closer look.
Vortic Watches
Vortic Watches was founded in 2014. It is a custom watch manufacturer and vintage watch restoration company that conducts its business at its facility in Fort Collins, Colorado. Being a transparent manufacturer is something that Vortic Watches takes very seriously.
The company builds everything it possibly can in the US. If you decide to order a custom watch from Vortic Watches then they will happily keep you in the loop regarding where everything comes from and how the watch was put together.
Also, according to its official website, Vortic Watches offers the only truly American-made watch. It’s referring to its American Artisan Series. What the company means by this is that every aspect of its manufacturing and material sourcing is done within the USA.
The company has a number of honors under its belt despite being a fairly young company. Some of its watches are on display in the National Watch and Clock Museum in Columbia, Pennsylvania. Its watches are also on display in the Charles River Museum of Industry in Waltham, Massachusetts.
Since the company manufactures its watches in small custom batches, its products are always changing. So, instead of linking to a couple of its watches, here’s a link to its watch product page for those wanting to take a closer look.
DuFrane
DuFrane is a small American watch manufacturer. There isn’t all that much information out there about the company, but here’s what I found.
The company assembles its watches in Austin, Texas. It looks like some of its materials are shipped in from overseas and then assembled at its Texas-based location. Technically speaking, this does make it an American manufacturer as there are lots of other companies out there that rely on materials and components from overseas. But as long as some materials are sourced from within the US, it counts as an American manufacturer.
For those wanting to take a closer look at what DuFrane has to offer, here’s a link to the company’s product page. It’s worth noting that at the time of writing this article, DuFrane was out of stock on a lot of its watches. This is due to the sheer popularity of its products. Hopefully, by the time you are reading this article, the company would have replenished its stock.
Weiss Watch
Weiss Watch was founded by Cameron Weiss in 2013. It’s a very transparent company as far as its manufacturing goes. Its manufacturing is carried out primarily in the USA. The company works from a studio in Los Angeles.
The company gets its components from both the US and Switzerland, so while not all of its components come from the US, Switzerland is well known for high-quality watches. This makes it the perfect country to get components from.
Here are a few of Weiss Watch’s products for you to take a look at.
- 42mm Standard Issue Field Watch
- 38mm Standard Issue Field Watch
- Weiss 42mm Standard Issue Dive Watch
- 38mm Automatic Standard Issue Field Watch With Date
RGM
RGM is a watch manufacturer located in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. It is a proud American manufacturer and manufacturing American-made luxury watches is what RGM specializes in.
The company recently celebrated its 30th anniversary. Over the past 30 years, RGM Watches has manufactured countless hand-crafted and custom timepieces for happy customers all over the world.
For those wanting to check out some of RGM Watches’ American-made products, I’ve got you covered. Check out some of its watch categories here.
Vaer Watches
Vaer Watches was founded in 2016 by Ryan Torres and Reagan Cook. It was founded in Venice Beach, California, but as of 2021 a lot of its assembly takes place at its company facility in Scottsdale, Arizona. While it does clearly state on its website that it does manufacture some products abroad, its main base of operation is its facility in Scottsdale.
Vaer Watches does its utmost to use American materials when possible. Its premium leather straps, for example, are fully manufactured in the USA. For more on the company’s manufacturing check this out.
Usually, when companies have manufacturing facilities in different countries it is quite tricky to find out which products are American-made, and which aren’t. Luckily, Vaer clearly labels its products that are made in the USA. Here are a couple of its watches for you to check out.
Pelton USA
Before getting into this entry, it’s worth noting that at the time of writing this article, Pelton USA wasn’t taking any watch orders due to the company having a backlog of orders. Hopefully, by the time you are reading this, the company will be back to taking watch orders.
Pelton USA was founded in 2016. It is a luxury watchmaking company based in Detroit. It also manufactures sunglasses and leather goods but, for this article, I’ll be focusing on its American-made watches.
According to Pelton USA’s official website, it manufactures its watches at its facility in Detroit. It also tries to manufacture as many components as possible from within the US. Its watches are made completely in-house, meaning that the company doesn’t source any of its production to facilities overseas.
For those interested in taking a closer look at some of Pelton USA’s watches, here’s a link to its product page.
Honorable Mention
I came across a company that does some of its manufacturing in the US, but unfortunately, it isn’t clear which of its watches are American-made. Here’s what I found.
Kobold
Kobold was founded in 1997. It was founded by Michael Kobold. He’s worked alongside some of the best master watchmakers out there, which has given him the experience to make some truly remarkable timepieces.
While not all of Kobold’s manufacturing is carried out in the USA, it does conduct a fair amount of its assembly and watch case manufacturing at a facility located in Volant, Pennsylvania.
According to its website, Kobold makes its watches by hand in workshops in the US, Germany, and Nepal. As mentioned above, since I couldn’t find out which of its models are American-made, it gets an honorable mention.
After checking out a few of the company’s products, it clearly states in the product description that its watches are assembled and tested in the US or Germany. I’d recommend reaching out to the company prior to making a purchase if you want one of its watches that was manufactured in the USA. Here’s a link to its watch product page, and here’s another containing the company’s contact details.
A Company That People Mistake as Being An American Manufacturer
I came across one company that doesn’t seem to manufacture any components within the US. It only assembles its products in America. While there are companies on the list above that source some components from overseas, they also make some of the watch components within the US. This doesn’t seem to be the case for this company. Here’s what I found.
Talley & Twine
I came across Talley & Twine on several third-party sites under the title ‘American-made watches,’ but after taking a closer look, It doesn’t look like the company manufactures any of its components in the US.
Just to be clear, the misinformation isn’t coming from the company itself but from third-party sources that don’t seem to be officially affiliated with Talley & Twine. On Talley & Twine’s official website, it clearly states that while its products are designed and assembled in America, the components come from China and Japan.
If you want to take a look at what the company has to offer, here’s a link to its watch product page. Just keep in mind that it doesn’t look like any of its components are American-made.
