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The story of the Croton Watch Company begins in Southern Italy in 1878. The ancient town for which the company was named was known for producing Olympic champions of unrivaled spirit and strength. Hundreds of years later, an ambitious young businessman used its name in his new enterprise.

Italy was not known for its watches. Art, architecture, fashion, and food is what they did best. It was Switzerland, and specifically its city of Geneva, that was viewed as the world capital of horology. There was just one problem--it was too crowded! By the end of the 19th century, timepieces where the country's number one export and competition had never been fiercer.

As a result, many experienced watchmakers decided to relocate and ply their trade in a less cluttered environment. Most moved to small cities and towns in the Jura Mountains in Switzerland and France, others moved farther south, into Italy.

The Croton Watch Company hired a small group of Swiss masters and began producing high-quality timepieces in Italy. Since there was less competition and they made a superior product, Croton quickly established itself as one of the top watchmakers in the country. Though they never did become a worldwide brand, their company was known and respected by watchmakers the world over.

Croton muddled on in the wake of the quartz revolution of the 1970s. These electronic watches from Switzerland and Japan nearly put an end to a three-hundred-year-old trade. It seemed the times were changing and that horology was a thing of the past. But some old-world watchmakers refused to throw in the towel. Croton survived as a regional brand in Italy until 1991, when they were offered a unique opportunity.

Watchmakers are a stubborn lot. They hew to old traditions and believe that what they do is not only a trade, but an art. No machine can take the place of a trained artisan and no tool can reproduce the work of a true master. It is as simple as that. Fortunately, the public agreed, which is why companies like Croton survived as niche player in a shrinking marketplace. That was until Nationwide Time offered them a deal they could not refuse.

The two companies had next to nothing in common. Nationwide Time was an American watch manufacturer with only thirty years of experience, while Croton had been around for over a century. But the company was in desperate straits and the deal worked out for both parties.

Croton gave Nationwide Time what it had always lacked: experience and legitimacy, and Nationwide Time gave Croton what it had never had: a first-rate distribution network. Before long, Croton became an international brand that eclipsed the million sales mark for the first time in its illustrious history. The following is a brief list with descriptions of a few of their most popular new http://independent.academia.edu/LarryPickette/Posts