Mozart watches are one of the rarest and most unusual ever made in
the United States. Invented by Don J. Mozart, who was born in 1820
in Italy, he migrated with his family to the United States at 3
years of age where his parents settled in at Boston, Massachusetts.
His father was a watchmaker in the old country and reportedly
practiced his trade in Boston. Young Don was mysteriously kidnapped
to sea at the very early age of nine, spent three years at sea
before he finally escaped from the ship, and eventually found his
way back to the US after another four years. He never located his
parents after searching the eastern United States and Italy.
At 34 Don settled down, married and opened a jewelry store in Xenia,
Ohio. Finding that retail was not to his liking he began spending
most of his time experimenting and developing his horological
inventions. Soon he closed his store and relocated to New York, then
moved on to Connecticut as he strayed from watches to
begin development of his complicated clock of which he held several
patents, August 1859 and December 1863. All of this resulted in
failure due to clock manufacture difficulties.
After this brief interruption he moved again back to New York and
his true love--watches. He invented a 3 wheel watch
which was a cross between a lever and a chronometer. His idea was
trashed while in Providence, RI and those involved began the New
York Watch Company in a new location in Springfield, Mass circa
1866. Meanwhile Mozart moved to Ann Arbor, Michigan and incorporated
the Mozart Watch Company in 1867. Historians report that 10 watches
were originally assembled and cased by Mozart and Ernest Sandoz;
later another 20 were finished and cased also. About 1870 Mozart
soon was back at his jewelry store attempting other watch
innovations but was committed to the county mental hospital in
Kalamazoo, Michigan. He was deemed incurable from his breakdown and
was committed to the state hospital where he died in 1877.
Just ten watches/movements have been recorded and seen by me, but
only 4 remain in their original G. W. Ladd gold
filled hunting cases. An additional example was reported to me years
ago, but it has not come to light. While some movements are
just company signed, others are named (presented) or satirically
signed, such as the first one recorded and found by Major
Paul Chamberlain (It's About Time author and described by him in
detail in the 1919 Feb 5th Jewelers' Circular), signed on the back
plate, "Made expressly for Clarke Cornwell, stock holder of the
Mozart Watch Co. at a cost of $2500 under Don J. Mozart, patent Dec.
24, 1868, Mozart Watch Co., Ann Arbor, Mich., No 7," and on the
cuvette "Chronometer escapement by Don J. Mozart, full
jeweled, made for Clarke Cornwell, who is a chip off the old block,
A.D. 1869" and another which is engraved "Tightwad." Some finds,
including ones by yours truly, are legendary and will be discussed
at another time. The most publicized discovery was made by the late
Dave Olson, clock and watch collector, who captured his movement at
the well known watch supply house of Ray Smith in downtown Los
Angeles in 1956 for a reported $5.00! Word spread like wildfire,
especially in So. California watch circles (a hot bed of early
American watch activity during the 1950s and 1960s), and this
discovery was well publicized at the time and later by Chas.
Rosenberg (of Beverly Hills, Calif.) in his small
watch identification booklet (American Watches and Their
Identity). Eventually the gossip leaked back to Ray Smith and he
forever refused to allow collectors behind the counter to rummage
through his inventory. Sometime in the 1960s Russ Nelson also
discovered one (for even less money) with the same number as an
existing example in a museum. Word quickly spread that this one was
stolen which proved to be untrue as Russ's lacked the name identity,
other characteristics such as a different and a repaired click,
plus the whereabouts of the other movement with the same serial
number. Several others were discovered in shoe boxes with other
watches; one, all original, was discovered in Long beach, California
and another movement in an attic in Connecticut. It is interesting
that 4 of the ten known examples were discovered or unearthed in So.
California! It is interesting to note that the original cased one
discovered in Long Beach was found along with a very low numbered
and all original New York Watch Company stem wind with matching case
number and various dollar watches. However, the greatest example, in
pristine all original condition and presented to Chas Tripp,
President of the Mozart Watch Co., was unearthed over 20 years ago
from a bank vault in Colorado. This watch ranks of one of the
greatest of all American watches -- for the serial
number, historical significance, rarity, originality and condition.
All products are 18s key wind and set from the back, three
quarter plate, gilt and were originally cased in fancy gold
filled Ladd hunting cases of the period. Very few of these watches
are known and they are totally of a unique American design. Thanks
to Don Mozart for creating these fantastic watches and the stories
associated with them. Collecting, researching and hunting these
watches have been a thrilling, ongoing experience.
Jon Hanson
April 2008