This is a letter written by a gentleman from London back in 1897.


Gentlemen:  About three years since, acting on the advice of a
friend who had one of your watches for about eighteen years,
I purchased a Lever Waltham Watch.  I am happy to say it has
turned out a marvel of accuracy, and under the circumstances
I feel I am only doing my duty in bringing this fact to you
notice.  But perhaps its most unique performance and the one of
which I am especially proud, is the fact that by its aid I was
able to detect an error in the fall of the time-ball at the
Royal Observatory, Greenwich, which gives the standard time to
the civilized world.  It happened as follows:

I make a practice of watching the fall of the time-ball each day
at one o'clock p.m., whenever the air is clear enough, and one
day, to my surprise, I found the ball had dropped some few seconds
before I had expected it to.  I had such confidence in my watch
that I did not believe it was at fault, and felt sure that some
mistake had been made a the observatory.

On telling the some of my friends of my convictions, I was simply
laughed at for my impudence in daring to pit my Waltham watch
against the accuracy of the Royal Observatory.  However, to set
the matter at rest, I wrote to the Astronomer Royal telling him
of my conviction, and asking him if he would let me know whether
I was right or wrong.

In return I received a courteous reply from the Astronomer Royal,
stating that I was quite right, and that on the day named, owing
to an accident, the ball was dropped about eighteen seconds too
soon.  This seems to me such a remarkable proof of the
reliability of your watches that I feel justified in bringing it
to your notice.  If you would care to have at the Astronomer
Royal's letter as a memento, I should be pleased to hear from
you to that effect.  Wishing you every success and prosperity to
you deservedly world-famed company, I remain,

Your very sincerely,

Thomas Wheate
26, Ormiston Road, Westcombe Park, London, S.F., England  10-2-97

I found the following of interest also in the same book:


The Perfected American Watch

A good watch is a necessity of civilization.  Many a man has lived
to a ripe old age without taking closer note of time than he could
from the sun's advance or the recurrence of his desire for food.
So, many have dwelt within sound of the locomotive without ever
having traveled by railroad train.  Such persons are as
milestones by which the surrounding community marks its progress.
Everyone may not always feel the need of a good watch.  The same
may be said of bread or of meat: but there often comes the moment
when a reliable watch is master of the situation.  That is the
necessity; and the point is the possession not only of a pocket
timepiece, but of a good one.  With a good watch one need never
be late nor hurried.  "A poor watch is worse than one"

Copyright:  The Perfected American Watch, by the Waltham Watch
Company, Waltham, Mass, USA  1907

Tim Sweet
TIMEKEEPR2@AOL.COM
M.O.S.T (MY OWN SWEET TIME) WATCH COMPANY.
14002 Tuckey Lane
El Paso, TX, 79927
(915) 852-2409  (See my add in the MART)

Requests and comments welcome
enjoy