Benjamin Bacon

American Innovation: Charles S. Moseley’s Patent Safety Pinion: Improving Merritt Burt’s Design (Part 5)

By Nathan Moore

Charles S. Moseley joined the National Watch Company in 1864 after being lured away from the American Watch Company in Waltham. Moseley exhibited a brilliant mechanical mind and was offered the position of superintendent and master mechanic at the new Elgin factory. Charles S. Moseley...

Elgin , Patents & Innovations

American Innovation: Benjamin Bacons’s Patent Safety Pinion: Improving Merritt Burt’s Design (Part 4)

By Nathan Moore

Around 1869, the National Watch Company (Elgin) faced the reality that the safety pinion used in its watch movements was inherently flawed. As a result, the company was forced to.

Elgin , Patents & Innovations

American Innovation: Merritt Burt’s Safety Pinion: Inside America’s First Patented Safety Pinion (Part 2)

By Nathan Moore

Merritt Burt's Patent Safety Pinion (Center Wheel and Pinion from National Watch Company Movement) On September 13, 1864, Merritt Burt was granted the first patent for a safety pinion design.