A Towson Watch is a purpose-built instrument for its respective use. The RECRUIT vs CADET was made for trainees in the military seeking an affordable American-made mechanical timepiece. The sources of inspiration around us prompt us to make the wide variety of watches that we do.
The watchmaking industry has small-town roots. When the scene originated about two centuries ago, companies named themselves after the town they were located in. The watchmakers would provide timepieces for their local clientele. Some towns provided better timepieces than others, and over time, customers would begin to travel to other towns to purchase a specific timepiece for their profession or lifestyle back home. This began the world of watch branding.
The TWC brand originated with an astronaut’s request in 2000 for an American Chronometer that would last on a space mission. Hartwig Balke and George Thomas were the two watchmakers at the time capable of fulfilling such a request. This is why we named Towson Watch Company as such two decades ago. Like our raw handmade approach to the craft, our localized brand name represents what and who we are…a team of artisans in Towson, Maryland making fine timepieces by hand for specific professions and lifestyles. Providing American collectors with a watchmaker in their backyard to take care of their Towson Watch needs for the longevity of their ownership.
A Towson Watch is a purpose-built instrument for its respective use. The RECRUIT vs CADET was made for trainees in the military seeking an affordable American-made mechanical timepiece. The sources of inspiration around us prompt us to make the wide variety of watches that we do. We always intended for an olive green or Navy-blue field watch to be part of the collections. The Army vs. Navy rivalry comes head-to-head right here in our home state of Maryland every year, but only now has it finally come to fruition.
Young officers come to our store in Baltimore, MD wanting that handmade American watch, but they often don’t have the means of purchasing a higher-end Towson offering. So, we made this watch to give them access to the same qualities found in the rest of our collections. By naming Recruit and Cadet on the dial, we suggest why and who it was made for. All Towson watches are aspirational pieces, suggesting success and prowess. The RECRUIT vs CADET embraces where its owner is in the development of their career and collection.
In many ways, our CR250 Field Watch requires use in the field. For the full palette to reveal itself, the timepiece must see the light of the day as the lume coating on the hour markers and hands stores light to glow in the dark. The wearer’s active outdoor-oriented lifestyle produces the intended aesthetic for the timepiece.
Hartwig Balke’s vision and design language for the CR250 Field Series are revealed through our deliberate inclusion of the date window. The topic has long been up for debate. Some take the utilitarian stance, claiming that because a watch ultimately serves the purpose as a tool, then the date is a helpful function. Others prioritize the aesthetic function of a fine timepiece, arguing that every element of the dial must remain perfectly symmetrical. For Towson Watch Company, the answer was obvious for the RECRUIT vs CADET. After all, they are tool watches. When in the field for months, a soldier must know the date.
