A.M. Cook Wristwatch: Building American Watchmaking from the Ground Up

The face of American watchmaking is not a large company. It is small groups of men and women building watches in machine shops, garages and basements across the United States. The face looks something like Matthew and Andy Cook, the two-man operation behind A.M. Cook Wristwatch.

The story of A.M. Cook Wristwatch is similar to many modern American watchmaking companies. It’s a story of struggle, achievement and, finally, of success. The Cook brothers have been making their World War I trench-style watches–cleverly dubbed the 1am–for about six months now. By mid-December, they had shipped out their 19th unit. While it may not sound like a huge milestone to many, it’s a significant achievement for two brothers who had been developing their watch for more than four years before shipping out their first one.

Watches had been a long-time interest of the Cook brothers. But the idea of starting their own company didn’t start until Matt became a trained tool and die maker and Andy became a WOSTEP-trained watchmaker. Matt says he was looking at a picture of a Bell & Ross that his brother had sent him. He looked at the case and realized he could probably make something similar. From that idea sprung four years of research, design and prototyping for their own watch.

The Cook brothers scrimped and saved to buy watchmaking machines and equipment. Matt quit his job and opened a machine shop in Madison, Wisconsin. Andy continued his watchmaking work in Phoenix and took on additional duties for the newly formed A.M. Cook Wristwatch.

Matt machines the cases and dials in his shop. The watch cases are available in metals including stainless steel, bronze and titanium. The brass dials can be painted any color.

Being able to make original colored dials and to use unique materials for their watches is a byproduct of the Cook’s commitment to small-batch production. The brothers make their watches as orders come in. Conversations are had about what the customer wants the watch to look like. A personal connection is formed between themselves and the customers placing the orders. That’s because the guys on the phone taking orders will also be the same guys building the watches. Even the spartan website is intentional. Though Matt readily admits it needs some polishing, he would much rather interested parties reach out directly and start a conversation.

“What we can’t do is make 2,000 watches in a month,” Matt admits. “But what we can do is make one watch at a time for people who are expressly interested in the work we’re doing.”

Once the parts are created, they’re sent to Andy. He modifies the ETA 2824 movements, assembles the parts, finishes the watch and ships it out to the customer. Each watch is assigned a number based on when it was ordered and completed. A.M. Cook Wristwatch plans to only make 100 watches in this style. After they’re gone, Matt says they plan to retool and develop a new watch case for their next batch.

A.M. Cook Wristwatch joins the ranks of a handful of upstart American watch companies, like VERO Watches (which we wrote about here), that focus on designing, machining, painting and assembling their own pieces. Matt proudly acknowledges that he and his brother are among a crop of American watchmakers that are trying to produce small-batch watches largely in this country.

Matt admits he was shocked to find out how difficult it was to get information on making dials, with so many companies interested in keeping their processes away from their competition. “The theme seems to be that Americans have to do everything ourselves because there’s no American watchmaking infrastructure in place,” Matt says. “It’s kind of cool to be a part of a group of a few companies that develop their own processes organically since there’s no precedent for what we’re doing.”

As a result, many American watch companies come up with interesting solutions for problems they run into. For example, Matt and Andy didn’t know how best to attach the dials to the movements. So they decided to use screws to attach the dials to movement casing. It solved the problem and gave their watches a unique look.

Matt says he closely follows the work being done by other American watch companies. Though it’s not about competition, he explains. It’s more about learning how others solve problems. “It’s been a fun experience watching how other people solve the problems we all have,” Matt says. “It’s a small group of people right now. I’d like to see it grow.” Matt hopes American watchmakers will be able to come together for a future event of some sort to talk about design, production and everything watches.

As far as labels go, Matt has a broad definition of who is an American watchmaker. The term can include people who use overseas parts and assemble in the United States, people who make all watch components in America and everyone in between. “It’s better if everyone is welcome and we can all come together.”

The price for a custom-made A.M. Cook 1am watch begins at $1,899.