History in Watchmaking

RGM Watch Company was founded in 1992 by American watchmaker Roland G. Murphy.  It started when he was in high school working half a day for a clock company in the cabinet making wood shop. His interest in timepieces grew quickly, and in the early 1980’s he enrolled in the Bowman Technical School in Lancaster, PA.  In 1986, he furthered his training in Switzerland when he was accepted by WOSTEP, The Watchmakers of Switzerland Training and Educational Program.  After WOSTEP he was hired by SMH to work in product development for the Hamilton Watch Co. in Lancaster, PA.  After a few years he was promoted to Technical Manager; he remained there until he started RGM in 1992.

Ever since, he has been “making history in watchmaking” here in America. This simple phrase describes much of what takes place at RGM.  Many of his ideas come from his vast knowledge and love of watch history in America and Switzerland and his years of restoring watches, which he still enjoys doing today.

While continually producing bespoke timepieces, such as the Caliber 801 and the Pennsylvania Tourbillon, RGM has kept the great traditions of fine watchmaking in focus. Modern manufacturing co-exists with antique, hand-operated machinery. Hand-blued screws and hand-polished components are at home among the close tolerances afforded by automated machines. Our goal is to offer not only the finest watches made in the USA, but the finest watches available, and we believe this requires equal efforts to improve current methods and preserve traditional ones.

The RGM web site enables visitors to become familiar with our company, our products, and our repair and restoration services. Read the interviews, admire the custom-built watches, watch the films, and you will begin to understand why RGM has so many admirers and repeat customers. People who buy an RGM watch often return for another, utilize our repair and restoration services, and tell their friends.

RGM Watch Company is located in a small town in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, an area with a rich history of watchmaking in America’s past. The time-honored approach of dealing one-on-one with people is instilled in RGM, and is as much a reflection of where we live as where we work. We take great pride in doing a job the right way while providing great value. RGM is proud of manufacturing watch parts, cases and movements here in the USA. To commemorate our 20th anniversary, we were introduced the Caliber “20," our third in-house American-made movement, and on our 25th anniversary we introduced our Caliber 801-SW our fourth in-house movement.

In the the late 1800's the great age of modernized watchmaking began in America. Today, both history and watchmaking are alive and well at RGM