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Seth G. Atwood
Born(1917-06-02)2 June 1917
Rockford, Illinois
Died21 February 2010(2010-02-21) (aged 92)
Rockford, Illinois
NationalityAmerican
Alma materCarleton College
Stanford University (B.A)
University of Wisconsin, Madison
Harvard University (M.B.A)
Occupation(s)Industrialist, collector
Known forAtwood Vacuum Machine Company
Time Museum

Seth Glanville Atwood (June 2, 1917 – February 21, 2010) was an American industrialist, community leader, and horological collector.[1][2] He was the chairman of Atwood Vacuum Machine Company, one of the world's largest manufacturers of automobile body hardware, and a long-time leader of the Atwood family’s business which involved in manufacturing, banking and hotel industries, with over 2,500 employees.[1][3][4] In addition, Atwood was a director of the Illinois Manufacturers' Association, and had served in the Illinois Chamber of Commerce and the Graduate School of Business at the University of Chicago.[5][6]


In 1971, Seth G. Atwood founded the Time Museum at the Clock Tower Resort in Rockford, Illinois, which later became one of the leading horological museums in the world with nearly 1,500 pieces of horological collection, including atomic clocks.[2][5][7][8] The museum's notable collection included ancient Chinese sundials and water clocks, early pendulum clocks, a quarter-repeater by Thomas Tompion, and the Patek Philippe Henry Graves Supercomplication which currently holds the title of the most expensive watch ever sold at auction, fetching 24 million US dollars (23,237,000 CHF) in Geneva on November 11, 2014.[2][9][10][11] However, the museum was shut down in 1999.[2][5]

Early life

Seth G. Atwood was born in Rockford, Illinois on June 2, 1917. He attended Carleton College, and graduated from Stanford University with a B.A. degree in 1938.[3][5] He later studied at the University of Wisconsin for a year, and obtained an M.B.A. from Harvard University in 1940.[3][5] From 1942-1946, he served as an officer in the United States Navy, achieving the rank of lieutenant commander.[5][6]

Seth G. Atwood later returned to Rockford and joined in the Atwood Vacuum Machine Company, which was founded by his father, Seth B. Atwood, and his uncle, James T. Atwood in 1909 specializing in manufacturing vacuum cleaners.[5][6][12]

Family business

By 1920, the Atwood Vacuum Machine Company had already shifted its focus from manufacturing vacuum cleaners to door silencers for cars.[4][5] Eventually, the company began to manufacture a complete line of automobile body hardware.[5] Seth G. Atwood became the president of the Atwood Vacuum Machine Company in 1953 when his father became chairman of the board.

In 1967, Seth G. Atwood became the chairman of the company, and under his leadership the company became the world's "largest independent manufacturer of internal auto body hardware" in 1968.[4] In 1970, the company re-organized and established the Automotive and Contract Division and the Mobile Products Division, employing over 2,500 employees with five plants in Canada and the United States.[4][5][6] In 1971, the annual sale of the company reached around US$50 million.[6] In 1985, Atwood Vacuum Machine was sold to Anderson Industries in Rockford, Illinois, and the annual sale of the company was US$138 million at the time of this acquisition.[4][5]

Seth G. Atwood also managed other businesses of his family involving banking, venture capital, hotels and real estate properties.[1]

Timepiece collection

Time Museum

In 1971, Seth G. Atwood founded the Time Museum at the Clock Tower Resort in Rockford, Illinois.[2] The resort was originally built by the Atwood's family in 1968.[13] In 1980s, the museum became one of the leading horological museums in the world, with nearly,500 pieces of horological collection, including quartz wristwatches and atomic clocks.[2][5][7] The museum's notable collection included ancient Chinese sundials and water clocks by Su Song, early pendulum clocks, a quarter-repeater by Thomas Tompion, an astronomical and world time clock by Christian Gebhard, the Harrison wooden regulator clock, and so on.[2][5][7] In 1990s, the museum attracted over 50,000 visitors each year.[7]

Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago

However, the museum was shut down in March 1999 when United Realty Corp., a company owned by Atwood family interests, sold the Clock Tower Resort to Regency Hotel Management.[2][5][13] As a result, the majority of the museum's collection went to the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago.[5][14] In 2004, a campaign to raise US$35 million to buy the collection for Time Museum failed, and the collection was broken up with its timepieces sent to auctions.[14][15]

Over the years, hundreds items from the museum's original collection went up for sale in Sotheby's auctions, and several pieces became the most expensive watches and clocks ever auctioned in the world.[2][5][16][17] These included the Patek Philippe Henry Graves Supercomplication and the Breguet No.128 and 5009 Sympathique clock (the Duc d'Orléans Breguet Sympathique, from Ferdinand Philippe, Duke of Orléans), which was originally restored by English watchmaker George Daniels at the request of Seth G. Atwood.[2] The Patek Philippe pocket watch currently holds the title of the most expensive watch ever sold at auction, fetching 24 million US dollars (23,237,000 CHF) in Sotheby's Geneva auction on November 11, 2014,[2][9][10][11] and the Breguet clock currently ranks as one of the most expensive clocks ever sold at auction, fetching 6.802 million US dollars in Sotheby's New York auction on December 4, 2012.[18]

Coaxial escapement

During the quartz crisis, Seth G. Atwood commissioned a mechanical timepiece from English watchmaker George Daniels to fundamentally improve the performance of mechanical watches.[19] As a result, Daniels invented the revolutionary coaxial escapement in 1974 and patented it in 1980.[19][20][21] The Atwood watch for Seth G. Atwood was completed in 1976.[22]

The coaxial escapement was later used in the watches of watch manufacturers such as Omega SA.[23][24]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c Gary, Alex. "Business, community leader Seth Atwood dead at 92". Rockford Register Star. Retrieved 2019-02-17.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k June 21, Nicholas Manousos; 2018. "Historical Perspectives: Rarely Seen Documentary Video Featuring George Daniels And Seth Atwood". HODINKEE. Retrieved 2019-02-17. {{cite web}}: |last2= has numeric name (help)CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  3. ^ a b c "Seth G Atwood". www.bloomberg.com. Retrieved 2019-02-17. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  4. ^ a b c d e "History of Atwood Mobile Products – FundingUniverse". www.fundinguniverse.com. Retrieved 2019-02-18.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p "prhtml". www.timemuseum.com. Retrieved 2019-02-17.
  6. ^ a b c d e Chicago Tribune. "SETH GLANVILLE ATWOOD". Legacy.com. Retrieved 2019-02-17. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  7. ^ a b c d Stanek, Steve. "IF YOU`VE GOT THE TIME, THEY`VE GOT THE MUSEUM". chicagotribune.com. Retrieved 2019-02-17.
  8. ^ "Patek Philippe. An extremely important and one of only two known 18K gold double-dialled keyless lever watch with secular". www.christies.com. Retrieved 2019-02-18.
  9. ^ a b Adams, Ariel. "$24,000,000 Patek Philippe Supercomplication Pocket Watch Beats Its Own Record At Auction". Forbes. Retrieved 2018-11-23.
  10. ^ a b "Swiss Pocket Watch Sells for Record $24 Million". Time. Retrieved 2018-11-23.
  11. ^ a b "Patek Philippe (THE HENRY GRAVES JR. SUPERCOMPLICATION)". Sotheby's. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  12. ^ Gary, Alex. "Northern Illinois Business Hall of Fame inductees". Rockford Register Star. Retrieved 2019-02-17.
  13. ^ a b "Clock Tower demo underway". The Rock River Times. Retrieved 2019-02-17.
  14. ^ a b "The Time Museum". www.timemuseum.com. Retrieved 2019-02-18.
  15. ^ "Atwood". Crain's Chicago Business. 2005-10-14. Retrieved 2019-02-18.
  16. ^ "RECORD-BREAKING $11 MILLION WATCH SELLS AT SOTHEBY'S PROVING THAT TIME IS MONEY". Sotheby's. Retrieved 2019-02-18. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  17. ^ "Sotheby's Sale of Important Watches Including Property from the Time Museum to be held on October 17, 2008". Sotheby's. Retrieved 2019-02-18. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  18. ^ "The Duc d'Orléans Breguet Sympathique". Sotheby's. Retrieved 2019-02-17. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  19. ^ a b Ramsay, Rachel (2012-03-08). "Sale of a Master's Collection". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-02-17.
  20. ^ May 12, Nicholas Manousos; 2015. "A Brief History Of Escapement Development". HODINKEE. Retrieved 2019-02-17. {{cite web}}: |last2= has numeric name (help)CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  21. ^ "Watch 101: What is a Co-Axial Escapement?". www.schwarzschild.com. Retrieved 2019-02-17.
  22. ^ June 21, Nicholas Manousos; 2018. "Historical Perspectives: Rarely Seen Documentary Video Featuring George Daniels And Seth Atwood". HODINKEE. Retrieved 2019-02-18. {{cite web}}: |last2= has numeric name (help)CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  23. ^ "6 Myths about the Co-Axial Escapement | MONTREDO". www.montredo.com. Retrieved 2019-02-17.
  24. ^ "Co-Axial, Omega's primal scream – FHH Journal". journal.hautehorlogerie.org. Retrieved 2019-02-17.
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