THE REVOLUTION IN WATCHMAKING 363 



When pocket timekeepers first came into general use, 

 the cases were made with exposed fronts over tlie face and 

 hands, now distinguished by the term open face. That style 

 prevailed in the United States as late as seventy years ago. 

 The style called hunter's or hunting case was invented to 

 accommodate the demands of Englishmen, whose vigorous 

 riding in the hunting field necessitated better protection for 

 their watches. In the United States a similar necessity arose, 

 particularly among the more active classes — the pioneers and 

 hunters of that period. In consequence of the frequent 

 breaking of the crj^stal the idea of an entire metallic covering 

 was naturally suggested. But there is a rapidl}^ growing 

 demand for open face watches, the use of thick beveled edge 

 glasses rendering the case quite as reliable a protection as the 

 cover of a hunting case, besides being more nearty dust proof. 



Few, if any, watchcases are now made by the high grade 

 watch movement factories, the manufacture having become 

 specialized. Watch movements and watchcases are made 

 for each other according to standard sizes, so that the jobber 

 or dealer may order them to fit, in style according to the 

 caprice of himself or his customer, just as he can order inter- 

 changeable parts of the watch movement by number for repair 

 work, with no misgivings as to their fitting. The watchcase 

 industry shows the same kind of evolution as the manufacture 

 of watch movements. The effort has been to lower the cost, 

 improve the qualit}^, and increase the uniformity of the prod- 

 uct by automatic machinery and at the same time to furnish 

 a rich variety of effects. In old times crude tools were used, 

 but when the machine made watch appeared improved methods 

 became necessary to meet the increased demand. Cases were 

 made at first by watch movement factories, but their manu- 

 facture was gradually dropped for the more delicate fabrica- 

 tion. The automatic machines devoted to watchcase making 

 are mar^^els, and the s3'Stem of interchangeable parts prevails 

 as in the manufacture of watch movements. The general 

 sj^stem of division of labor is similar in the two manufactures. 

 The metal for the cases undergoes several processes, from the 

 furnace where it is melted, mixed, and shaped, through the 

 cutting, rolling, turning, and stamping, until it reaches the 



