Who made the Flytimer chronograph?
History of Karl Plepla: the watch and clock maker
The Plepla Family moved from Austria to Russia in 1820 by
the Congress of Vienna under the leadership of Hans Rasumusky. Karl’s father served in the Austrian Army
during the occupation of Bosnia and the Balkans. In 1873, Karl attended the Imperial &
Royal School for Watch and Clock making located in Karlstein, Germany.
Karl and his family moved to Budapest, Hungry in 1916 and
worked there until the armistice in 1918. They returned to Salazia and started
a business until 1920. In 1923, Karl immigrated
to New York with only $25.00 in his pocketbook. Karl obtained his first
American job with Tiffany & Company
as a watchmaker and chronometer maker. Karl received his US Citizenship in
1928.
After working with the watch company Gruen, Karl began his
own watch company under his own name, KARL PLEPLA (Plepla Watches* Clocks) in 1934. His retail business was located at
522 Fifth Avenue, NYC and his wholesale business was called the Superior Watch Company.
Between 1942 and 1948, Karl imported watches for the Armed
Forces, working along with watch company Felca. After 1948, Karl began selling his watches in
the post exchanges (along with the Jardur
Import Company) and the veteran’s administration. Once the Eisenhower administration decided
the watch companies couldn’t sell in the post exchanges, taking jobs away from
jewelers, Karl stopped importing watches. In 1955, the watch market took a decided dip.
Many companies, such as Karl’s watch company and the Jardur Import Company, contracted their merchandise
by planning various models that had the most appeal on the market. Karl designed the watches and the Switzerland
offices then contracted to build them.
It was a common practice of all contract factories. The contracted
factories finished the watch to the piece so that the customer could afford to
pay. They made several grades of
watches. Karl had his contract lined up
so that he was several steps ahead on construction. The watches were 100% anti-magnetic, by that
he made the parts out of Varillium.
Accomplishments
and Models:
Watches: Flytimer (1944), Utilitimer (1942), Dualwind (1943)
Clocks: Atmos and World Timer
Vice President: Movado
Restoration:
·
A pocket watch from the RMS Lusitanian
Admiral Richard Byrd’s pocket watch
No comments:
Post a Comment