Towson Watch Company is one of the oldest American-owned mechanical watch firms that still exists today, having been founded by Hartwig Balke & George Thomas in 1998. The master watchmakers moved to America in their early retirement, first conceiving the company together at a sailor's pub in Annapolis, MD. Hartwig brought his expertise as an engineer and George as a horologist. They sailed the Chesapeake Bay while rapidly developing the Towson Watch Brand, and unknowingly, the Chesapeake Collection that would come close to a decade later in 2010.
When one begins to understand the makeup of the Towson Watch Collections, the locally drawn inspiration may strike a chord. The Choptank takes from the tonneau-shaped lighthouses resting along the Chesapeake Bay’s tributary rivers. The timeless utility of 1800’s crabbing vessels lent to use of the vintage decor for contemporary appeal on our current Skipjack GMT. Naval Academy midshipman kept coming to our showroom in Baltimore, MD., wanting that premium American timepiece for the everyday, so we gave them the RECRUIT vs CADET.
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The diverse array of timepieces offered in the Chesapeake Collection materialize the identity of Towson Watch Company as an independent American firm with a traditional localized approach to the craft. A conjunction of today’s local talent with the industrial achievement of our past. Restoring the manufacturing and artisanal innovation that has occurred here in our backyard. A legacy that happened to bring the USA to where it is today.
The history and inspiration drawn from the Chesapeake Region acted as a catalyst for the development of Towson Watch Company. The Pride II celebrates these foundational roots of the brand, having the same shape as the TWC Shield logo. The Pride of Baltimore Schooner built in 1977 was America’s official sailing ambassador, built here in Baltimore, MD. A reproduction of it continues to sail the harbor today. When standing atop the mass looking down at the bow, one will see the same shape found on our Pride II timepiece.
