🔎 UNIDENTIFIED 1933 gift pocket watch, from what company?

[Almy]

This Waltham pocket watch was given to me by my great aunt many years ago. It still keeps good time and I use it periodically. It was a gift to my great uncle from his co-workers. I remember that that the company he worked for was American Optical in Springfield, Mass. The inscription inside the back of the watch reads:
"Presented to (name) Sr.
by employees of M D Inc.
May 10, 1933
after 23 years service"
I recently noticed the M D Inc and was surprised it was not A O. I looked up the history of American Optical to see whether it had changed its name, but could not find any change with initials M D. I'm wondering whether someone with better resources could discover what company had these initials in Springfield at that time.

 

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[invent4hir]

Hi, what a great family memento! if no one comes up with the ID consider going to the library and looking at some phone directories from the early 1930s for M D Inc. If a nearby library doesn't have them they may be able to tell you who does. Good luck researching.

 

[Bramblefind]

It's a great family memento! I think you have it connected to the wrong ancestor. This is engraved to "Sr.", who was the father of the James who worked at American Optical.

The James (Sr) (c. 1863-1945) who owned your watch was from the Rochester, NY area.

It was quite a puzzle for me to figure out what M.D. Inc. was, but James does show on the 1925 NY Census (Perinton, NY) as being an "Ass't Foreman M.D. I." I think this was M.D. Inc. / Merchants Despatch-

The Merchants Despatch Transportation Company (MDT) was incorporated in 1871 in the City of Rochester. The
company began manufacturing refrigerated transit business cars on a small scale in 1883. In the spring of 1887, the
company relocated to a larger plant in a town they named Despatch (present-day East Rochester). MDT specialized in the
manufacturing of refrigerator cars, which significantly affected how perishable payloads and ice were transported using
railroads. These cars were also designed to reduce the amount of theft associated with railroad freight transport. MDT
manufactured refrigerator cars under the guidance of New York Central Railroad equipment experts.

 

[jimther]

Can't help with the company ID, Almy, but here's a link to a web site where you can look up the serial number of a Waltham Watch. I plugged in the serial # of the movement on your watch (27144908) and this page came up, showing an estimated production date of 1930. https://pocketwatchdatabase.com/search/result/waltham/27144908

My mother-in-law and several of her relatives all worked for the Waltham Watch Company in Waltham, Massachusetts.