History
Maryland, since 1998
The facts, stated once, with their sources.
At a glance
1998, in Maryland. The STS-99 commission and the founding came in 1998; the movement passed chronometer testing in 1999; Hartwig Balke and George Thomas built the watch in 2000, and it flew that February.
George Thomas, a Prague-born master watchmaker, and Hartwig Balke, a German engineer and watchmaker.
Designed in Maryland. Components from Pforzheim and Switzerland. Assembled and regulated in Baltimore.
Kevin Plank's Sagamore Ventures took a 25% stake in 2016. Spencer Shattuck has led the company since 2021.
Sold direct. Serviced at Baltimore Watch Company, with a two-year warranty from the date of purchase.
Timeline
Thomas and Balke meet in an Irish pub in Annapolis. Balke takes a commission to build a chronograph for Space Shuttle mission STS-99.
The movement for the STS-99 chronograph passes chronometer testing at COSC in Bienne: certificate No. 006, testing completed September 23.
Hartwig Balke and George Thomas build the chronograph. It flies aboard Endeavour on STS-99, February 11 to 22, on the wrist of ESA astronaut Gerhard Thiele, mission specialist.
The Towson Watch Company trademark is registered, after a January 2004 filing.
The Smithsonian chooses George Thomas to open Abraham Lincoln's pocket watch at the National Museum of American History.
Sagamore Ventures takes a 25% stake.
Spencer Shattuck, who interned at the company at 13, takes over. An apprentice programme under Balke trains the next generation.
TALBOT, the first design by the next generation.
CHOPTANK Series 2 introduces the Observatory field: the shield as a working subdial.
The bench moves to Baltimore Watch Company, where the watchmakers the founders trained now work. STARMARK, designed by Towson Watch Company and built with Roland Murphy, is shown at Lancaster Watch Weekend in October: 100 numbered pieces.
On the record
Lincoln's watch: Thomas opened it before about 40 reporters on March 10, 2009, and the story ran on the front page of the New York Times. The Smithsonian's own account is linked below.
STS-99: NASA's mission record and ESA's crew record confirm the flight and Thiele's role. NASA's Johnson Space Center certified TWC No. 1 as flown for Hartwig Balke. The watch is kept as company heritage and is not for sale.
Museum: according to the Craftsmanship Museum, three of Thomas's tourbillon watches are held by the National Watch and Clock Museum in Columbia, Pennsylvania.
Sources: Smithsonian · NASA · TWC No. 1 and STS-99: the flight record · Craftsmanship Museum · The Daily Record, 2016 · USPTO record · The founders
