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The Ingersoll watch brand was established in 1892 by the two Ingersoll brothers. They created this company as a partnership with the Waterbury Clock Company CT, USA. Ingersoll can be credited with one of the first non-face-to-face sales techniques in watchmaking. They were the first company to sell watches by direct mail order.
In 1896, the Ingersoll company launched their hugely successful Yankee watch. This watch sold thousands of units per day and only cost $1. This is the equivalent of selling a $31 watch in today’s money.
The company ran into financial troubles due to the first world war as disposable income became much more restricted and the demand for watches plummeted.
In modern day, the Ingersoll brand is owned by Zeon Watches. This company is a subsidiary of the Herald Group, which operates out of Hong Kong. Ingersoll is a brand known for producing very aesthetically pleasing dials which look a lot more expensive than they cost.
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Is Ingersoll A Good Watch Brand?
Ingersoll is a fashion brand that makes good quality automatic watches. By using movements and parts from China, Ingersoll is able to keep costs down whilst making reasonably complex watches for the fashion market.
The reputation of the brand will never be the same since it moved its production away from USA to China. However, the brand is thriving and makes legitimately good quality mechanical watches, which it would not have been able to do, had it stayed in the USA.
You could argue that the legacy of the brand has been destroyed. But really it has just adapted to keep afloat amidst a very competitive watch environment.
Who Makes Ingersoll Watches?
Ingersoll watches are made in China. Typically they contain Seagull movements, although sometimes make use of other Chinese movements depending on the watch.
Seagull is a Chinese mechanical movement brand. Although it has the stigma of “made in China”, Seagull are not too far off the accuracy or reliability of brands such as ETA. They are not thought of in the same high regard as Swiss manufacturers. But are considered to be one of the best watch movement manufacturers in the far east.
Are Ingersoll Watches Good Quality?
Ingersoll are a good quality watch brand. They are not a luxury brand, but neither are they a cheap fashion brand either.
Although the company makes its watches in China. It is able to produce original designs and uses decent automatic movements that offer good value for money. Ingersoll is not the brand it once was, but it is still very respectable and makes decent watches.
Are Ingersoll Watches Good Value For Money?
Overall Ingersoll watches are pretty good value for money. Long gone are the days when they were an American brand producing watches for $1. With that said, Ingersoll is not a brand producing Chinese junk either. Admittedly there were teething problems when the brand first switched over to production in China. However, the brand has now been able to produce decent quality watches for an affordable price.
If the brand had not moved its production to China, it would likely be priced out of the market and have been forced to fold.
9 Best Ingersoll Watches Review
Ingersoll I00103
One of the very few quartz models that Ingersoll offers, so if you’re a fan of the brand but do not like automatic movements. This is one of a select group of watches you can choose from.
The model makes use of a large 47mm dial by having 3 subdials and a date window. The watch is made to look less oversized by the clever use of long, but shallow rectangular pushers. This adds to the watch dial size, but does not make it look gigantic.
Ingersoll Trenton
The Ingersoll Trenton has a classic day/date dial design. It is very clearly laid out and simple to read. The case of the watch is somewhat unusual, it has been textured and distorted to make it look like a very old watch, almost to give it a rust-like effect.
Inside the watch is a standard seagull automatic movement, which can be viewed through the exhibition caseback.
Check The Price Of Ingersoll Trenton Watches On Amazon
Ingersoll I00401
Ingersoll’s take on a skeleton dial watch looks pretty good. The movement has been plated rose gold to match the case and has been beautifully engraved. The crown is a classic round shape, rather than a modern style with straight edges.
The movement of the watch can be viewed from either the front or the back, as the case is perfectly transparent.
Ingersoll The Chord
You are first greeted by a soft grey dial. The chord is a truly unique timepiece design by Ingersoll. This is another watch by the brand that looks far more expensive than the price tag. The top subdial of the watch features both a date and moon phase indicator, which aren’t necessary for modern day, but add to the aesthetic appeal of the dial design.
Ingersoll Chinook
At 47mm, the Chinook is relatively large for a non-chronograph watch. In addition to this, for a pilot’s watch, although it is so big, the numbers are quite small. This doesn’t take away from the design of the watch, which features a plane at the 3 o’clock indicator and clever propellor which measures seconds at the 6 o’clock position.
Ingersoll Bison
With a black and purple dial, the Bison looks incredibly different from all of the other Ingersoll watches and is not what you’d usually expect. The watch dial has 3 subdials which measure day of the week, date and month of the year.
Another unusual thing about this watch is that when you charge the lumes under a light, the dial numbers and hands become fluorescent green.
Ingersoll The Jazz
As you can see, there is a lot going on visually with the Ingersoll Jazz dial. The logo is placed at the 3 o’clock position, with a moon phase indicator at 12. There isn’t enough room for hour indicators on the complex skeleton dial, so instead, they are placed in a convex fashion around the outside of the dial.
It should be noted that Sturhrling make an almost identical watch to this for a slightly cheaper price.
Ingersoll Hudson
The dial layout of the Hudson is very unique. It is extremely rare to find an automatic watch with a 40 hour power reserve indicator for under $300. If you’re a frequent traveler, this watch has its uses as it boasts 2 timezones on either side of the dial. It also features a double date window at the 6 o’clock position, which is unusual as this is normally found at the 12 on most dials.
Check The Price Of Ingersoll Hudson Watches On Amazon
Ingersoll Yuca
The Ingersoll Yuca is the closest thing you will find from the brand that resembles a sports watch. It should be noted that the watch does not have a chronograph. Instead, the 3 subdials measure date of the month and day of the week, rather than being a stopwatch.
The bracelet of the watch is stainless steel covered by rubber, similar to what you will find in other dive/sports models from brands such as Tag Heuer.
How To Spot A Fake Ingersoll Watch
Since Ingersoll is made in China, it can be a lot more difficult to figure out what is fake, since it has not been made to extremely high Swiss standards.
With that being said, there are a few ways to tell whether your watch is fake or not. First of all, almost all Ingersoll watches have an exhibition caseback. If you are able to see the movement through the caseback, you should be able to match it to the correct model online. It should also be noted that Ingersoll movements are decorated, the rotor is always engraved with the Ingersoll logo. So if there is a plain movement inside, this should be an immediate giveaway that the watch is fake.
The second main area to look at are both the hands and dial. If these do not match the images of the exact model then something is wrong. You should always pay careful attention to the intricacies of how long each hand is relative to the dial, as well as blurred printing and poorly separated minute/hour indicators.
