The Second Chapter
2021 to today
The founders gave the house its proof. Since 2021 it has kept its lineage: the watchmakers Balke and Thomas trained still build the watches, the Pforzheim relationships continue, and new references carry a new design language.
The through-line
Spencer Shattuck did not arrive as an outside buyer. He collected and traded watches as a teenager and interned at Towson Watch Company at 13. Kevin Plank, a family friend, entrusted the company to him; he graduated from Johns Hopkins in May 2021 and took it over that year.
Since 2021
An apprentice programme under Hartwig Balke. Antonio worked the bench daily for about four years under him, on assembly and repair, and is now a lead watchmaker in Baltimore.
A film of the partnership with Jochen Benzinger in Pforzheim, and new batches with him: the Benzinger CHOPTANK, the HALF-SKELLY and the Towson Classic.
Mission Moon II, including the Royal Blued silver dial. Towson is included in the 2022 Wristwatch Annual.
Gold Potomac commissions, and the Sherwood Potomac: a dial of pressed wood layers on a carbon-fibre plate.
Hartwig Balke recorded on camera, telling the story of the STS-99 commission.
TALBOT, the first design by the next generation, with its own Collector's Handbook.
CHOPTANK Series 2, released July 22, 2025. It introduced the Observatory field: the shield used as a working subdial, now the house design system.
The bench moves to Baltimore Watch Company, where the watchmakers the founders trained now work. A two-year warranty, a 14-day return policy, and a private showroom in Baltimore by appointment.
STARMARK. Designed by Towson Watch Company. Built with Roland Murphy. 100 numbered pieces, shown at Lancaster Watch Weekend in October.
The archive
The founders' record has been gathered in one place: the NASA certificate for the first flown watch, COSC certificate No. 006, a caseback engraved with the six STS-99 crew names, and the photograph of Gerhard Thiele wearing the chronograph in orbit. It is the basis of the corrected STS-99 story told on this site.
Read on: History · The Watchmakers · STARMARK · Service & Repair
