RGM Watches: True American Timepieces

I was particularly entranced by the GMT Alarm (pictured here).Even their basic bell & ross use high-grade movements that are finelydecorated. ETA, for example, comes in 5 grades of movement, fromundecorated to COSC chronometer, and RGM uses the best. Gorgeous stuff.Not a lot of people understand, want, or need such watches, but if youdo, an RGM is both a classic and a classy choice. As unique as you want,complete with historic American movements, RGM is a fascinatinganomaly in the world of mass-produced European and Asian brands. Idon't own one, but someday I hope to change that.We don't usually talk about high-end dress watches, and even more rarely about custom-made mechanical pieces, so this article is a bit of an experiment for us. But RGM -- both the company and the watches -- is too unique not have some mention on Watch Report.As amazing as it might sound, America used to be the preeminent watches gift maker in the world in the pre World War II timeframe. Brandslike Hamilton, Elgin, Gruen, Benrus, and Illinois led the way inautomated production and railroad-grade watches, producing high-quality timepieces at a broad range of prices. Their decline can mainly be attributed to the quartzrevolution of the 1960s.I'm explaining a bit of history to give you some idea of how unusualRGM is. Roland GMurphy, based in Lancaster PA, makes and sells high-end and custommechanical watches for prices that are a lot less than the Swissmarques. Moreover, many of his creations are available with vintageAmerican movements such as the Hamilton 921,for a beautifulwatch that is truly American made.His company is called RGM (his initials), and is known forimpeccable hand craftsmanship and the use of unusual techniques likerose-engine guilloché (an interwoven, ornamental pattern). As a small company, you can actually talk toRoland himself, which is not exactly an option with most watch companies.RGM also specializes in one-off custom pieces, so you can call up andget exactly the watch you've always wanted. That's not to say it'll be cheap, ofcourse. From the RGM history page: An RGM watch can be had starting at about $1,750, although themajority of the collection ranges from $4,500 to $26,000. Major watchcomplications, like its Minute Repeater Perpetual Calendar orTourbillon, are the crown jewels of the collection exceeding $80,000to over $100,000. Even still, RGM is considered a bargain. Thequality of the $1,700 RGM watch matches that of many other brands'watches costing many times as much.And further:RGM bell & ross watches are crafted in extremely small series of 18k yellow orrose gold, platinum, and stainless steel. They feature hand-finishedcases and such elements as engine-turned (guilloché) dials and blued-steel hands. In every case, they are of the highest quality in theirprice range. Most components are Swiss made although some modelsfeature American and Swiss made components. Every limited-editionwatch is individually numbered and signed.Their low-priced watches use Swiss movements from ETA, Valjoux, and ASchild.