Founded in 1892 in New York City, New York, by David T. Abercrombie and Ezra Fitch, Abercrombie & Fitch (or “A & F”) was an elite outfitter of sporting and excursion goods, particularly noted for its expensive shotguns, fishing rods, fishing boats, and tents.  By 1917, the Abercrombie & Fitch occupied a twelve-floor building at Madison Avenue and 45th Street,

In the mid-20th century, Sears, Roebuck and Company (commonly called “Sears”) was the largest retailer in the world. Sears had retail stores throughout the United States and a booming catalog business, supported by its 350,000 employees.

In many senses, the growth of Sears during the 20th century was fueled by the increasing popularity of the automobile,

In the 1960’s, Heuer produced a series of “Economy” chronographs — models that did not have names (such as “Autavia”, “Camaro” or “Autavia”), and which were usually in chrome-plated cases.  Heuer produced several of these “Economy” chronographs on a private label basis, for Aristo, Clebar, Hamilton and Zodiac.

In the late 1970s, Heuer produced a version of the Daytona chronograph for Aristo. 

“Baylor” was a house brand for Zale’s, a large chain of jewelry stores headquartered in Texas.  The company was founded in Wichita Falls, Texas in 1924 and its headquarters moved to Dallas, Texas in 1946.  The Baylor line of watches offered by Zale’s included a variety of sports and dress watches, and throughout the 1950s and into the 1960s,

The Bulova Watch Company had its origins in the United States, but also set up a factory in Switzerland in the 1920s.  Throughout the 1930s and 40s, and into the 1950s and 60s, Bulova was one of the most popular watch brands in the United States.  Bulova was the first company to advertise on radio and also the first company to advertise on television. 

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The Hamilton Watch Company was established in 1892 in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. In its early years, Hamilton was a dominant producer of watches for the American railroads, and during World War Two, the company’s entire production was dedicated to the military.

In 1966, Hamilton acquired the Buren Watch Company, of Buren an der Aare,

Kingon was a small watch brand, in the 1960s.  For information about Kingon Autavia, see Eric Wind’s posting on Hodinkee — Solving the Mystery of the Early Heuer “Kingon” Autavias

Orvis was a brand

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Founded in 1886, by Richard Warren Sears and Alvah Curtis Roebuck,  Sears, Roebuck & Company,  is an American chain of department stores.  At its peak, in the 1960s, Sears was the largest retailer in the world, with stores in cities and towns throughout the United States.  In addition to operating retail stores, Sears published large catalogs that were distributed to almost every household in the country.

“Tradition” was a brand of chronograph that Heuer produced for Sears, Roebuck & Company.  All Tradition models are derived from Heuer’s Economy line of chronographs, typically made with chrome-plated cases (rather than stainless steel cases).

Zodiac was a brand . . .