Their names were John C Adams, John W. Bunn, John T Stuart, John Williams, George Passfield, George Black, and William B Miller. Two years later the company presented its first watch to the world called the Stuart, named after one of the founders. More than a hundred years later, Illinois Pocket Watches still retain their character and their history.
In the more than seventy years that the company was operational, they produced a variety of watches as well as underwent many name changes, but they were always sure to include “Illinois” as part of the company’s new names. Some of the earliest models of the Illinois Pocket Watches made had a key by which you could wind up the watch, and these are some of the most valued amongst collectors.
In the later years they produced something called The Railroad Quality watches. These were of very high quality, very accurate as well as finely detailed. Like most companies, the Illinois Watch Company went through a series of reorganizations. In 1879, they faced a financial setback and had to restructure and this is when they changed their name to the Springfield Illinois Watch Company. In 1885, they went through the same problem and changed their name yet again, this time they made it simply, the Illinois Watch Company.
By the time the 1920s came, independent operation was no longer an option for the company and it was sold to the Hamilton Watch Company. Even though it was sold, the Illinois factory continued to operate for several more years until 1932 when the last Illinois Watch was manufactured.
After closing the Illinois factory, the Hamilton Watch Company continued to produce watches under the Illinois name until 1939. Most of these watches that were manufactured were not sold; they were just packaged and stored for a few decades. Despite this, Illinois Pocket Watches continue to be collected and are quite valued by collectors worldwide.