1776 Atelier Caliber 621.1788

The 1776 Atelier caliber 621.1788 is a handwound movement with 17 jewels. 1776 Atelier is based in Texas, USA and published their first Instragram post on September 4, 2024. The brand’s head watchmaker is James Goodwin Jr. (@jamesgoodwinjrwatchmaker).

According to 1776 Atelier, the caliber 621.1788 got its name from the date the United States Constitution was ratified (June 12, 1788).

“Just as that historic document laid the foundation for a great nation, this caliber serves as the foundation for two of our inaugural collections.” –Source

No images or detailed technical information could be found on the official 1776 Atelier website (images and videos have been posted to their Instagram page and YouTube channel).

Watch: 1776 Atelier- A New Brand of Fine American Watches is Coming

Note: the existence of caliber 621.1788 in an actual watch is unconfirmed at the time of this article. The cal. 621.1788 is mentioned on 1776 Atelier’s About Us page and on their social media (source), but doesn’t seem to be featured in any watches yet. On December 17, 2024, the brand introduced their debut timepiece called the Monticello, which is powered by the skeletonized caliber 430.1803 (announced on November 10, 2024). It is possible that they changed the caliber number and forgot to change the copy, but since this caliber number is mentioned on their official site, this caliber listing will remain for information purposed.

Update: it appears that 1776 Atelier is poised to launch three collections. They have officially introduced the caliber 621.1788, but their first watch has the caliber 430.1803.

Made in USA:

In an Instagram post, the brand was asked how many of their components are manufactured in USA, the reply is below:

“This has been a common question. About 80%. In order for a company to claim “made in the USA” the Federal Trade Commission has a very high standard. The FTC requires that “all” or “virtually all” components to be made in the USA. The Swiss can claim “Swiss Made” with a much smaller hurdle as they only require 60% of complements to be made in Switzerland. In fact until 2017 the percentage was 50%. There is a tremendous amount of American made content within our watches. When we do source components overseas it’s often because we have no practical alternatives such as with jewels and hairsprings. Often components such as gears may be sourced from Switzerland but then are highly modified in the USA. We hand bevel the gears, black polish them then plate each gear individually. Sometimes we even hand drill decorative holes. Rest assured we aren’t simply installing a Swiss movement into a case and calling it “American assembled”. These are hand made works of art done by American Craftsman.” –Source

In-house?

In their aforementioned About Us page, 1776 Atelier labels their caliber 621.1788 an in-house movement:

“Beyond in-house design and assembly, we are proud to be one of the few American Watchmakers offering an in-house movement. Caliber 621.1788 is manufactured, built, regulated and finished by our classically-trained watchmaker’s right here in the United States.” -Source

The finishing and assembly may be done in-house, perhaps even some components are reworked in-house, but do the sum of the in-house qualify for in-house labeling on the entire caliber?

At one point, 1776 Atelier was bluntly asked if their caliber is “a modified ebauche or a whole new manufacture caliber”, to which the reply is as follows:

“The honest answer is that it’s neither. Though it’s based off of a proven Swiss architecture, we use many components that are proprietary and not commercially available. At the same time this is not a complete new train design. Perhaps “heavily modified” ebauche might accurately classify our movement but as you know this can become a debated topic depending on perspective.” –Source

What is the base caliber?

In a comment reply, the brand reveals the following:

“Our movement leverages the decades proven Swiss 6498 architecture with significant proprietary modifications.” –Source

What are the modifications?

The same source above further elaborates:

“Our main plate is materially different, reduced by just over 1mm in diameter to accommodate a unique case size. Future main plates will be even be made of “German silver” or “nickel silver” that is commonly found in high end movements for its unique silver gold tones. Our proprietary three-quarter bridge is entirely our own design.”

They go on to say:

“While we are developing our own in-house made gears, some of our Swiss-sourced gears are transformed in-house by American artisans. Each tiny gear is circle-grained, hand-beveled using traditional tools, and galvanically plated before being assembled into our timepieces. The distinctive shine you see is the result of hours of meticulous traditional hand watchmaking under a loupe or microscope by American craftsmen. For components like balances, hairsprings, and jewels—parts not yet readily available domestically—we do rely on Swiss-based suppliers. However, we’re committed to integrating as much American craftsmanship as possible into our work.“

Finishing:

1776 Atelier mentioned that the 621.1788 is finished in black rhodium and rose gold, with an optional hand-engraving.

Some of the finishing techniques mentioned in the brand’s marketing includes thermal bluing (blued screws), anglage (aka chamfered edges), and perlage (aka pearling).

“Depending on how the buyer configures Caliber 621.1788, we will perlage the entire main plate. It’s not something we charge the customer for. We do this because we care about details. We love details. We do this even though most of it is hidden under a dial and under bridges. If it’s hidden and looks this good, just imagine how incredibly beautiful the exposed pieces will be….” –Source

See the videos section below for more on finishing…

Warranty and Service:

1776 Atelier includes a 2 year warranty. In order to qualify for warranty coverage, the watch must be serviced by authorized 1776 Atelier repair center.

As for service intervals, the brand recommends servicing every 3-5 years.

“Although our watches are meticulously hand-assembled, finished, adjusted, and regulated to ensure they leave our workshop in perfect condition, it’s important to remember that all mechanical timepieces should be serviced every 3-5 years. Regular servicing, which includes inspection, lubrication, and replacement of worn parts, helps maintain optimal performance and longevity over time.” –Source

Caliber Commentary:

There is a quote above about perspective which may be true, which is why it is so important to research and know your target customer base.

It doesn’t take much effort to learn how any mention of the term “in-house” in marketing materials is bound to raise eyebrows in the watch community.

Industry jargon can become nuanced and should not simply be copied and pasted the way synonyms are collected from a thesaurus. The common misuse of the term in-house is the epitome of this and can make or break a brand’s reputation – almost as fast as Made in USA.

The problem is exacerbated by the numbers and simple math (unfair as it is): In Switzerland, there are more watch brands and more factories, it becomes less questionable when bold claims are made, partly because the claims become watered down by the volume of claims being made – plus, there always seems to be a loophole. That narrative (and the expectations it carries) changes with watches being produced in the United States.

This is because there are far fewer examples, and the myth of the USA-mae movement has largely been debunked after years of disappointment in the community. Now it has come down to two or three known brands, who make so few pieces that even the in-house-made-in-USA claim to fame seems overblown (not to minimize their achievements by any measure, but we can hardly say American watchmaking has been revived).

What’s really interesting here is that this story could actually be one of self-sabotage inflicted by overseas propaganda. Could non-USA makers have anything to do with our own stringent criticism directed towards USA-based brands? After all, it’s safe to say the Swiss watch industry would not exist as we know it today, if not for the strides the American watch companies made prior to WWII.

Furthermore: Nobody questions that a Swiss movement may contain China-made components, but when an American-made movement contains Swiss parts, all hell breaks loose and credibility is lost. So-called Swiss made labeling is afforded the advantage of community accepted smoke-and-mirrors standards, while the moment an American brand steps up to the plate, they are bombarded with demands of transparency and scrutiny. Or is it that we’re tired of being bamboozled by false claims of the seemingly impossible made in USA promise?

Has the community become numb to Swiss made labeling and out of energy to question it? Is it easier to direct that energy to a non-Swiss brand because the stricter rules here result in dissipated smoke and non-reflective mirrors? It’s not just Swiss, even Great Britain can get away with using China-made movements without putting Made in China on the dial.

The sad fact is that any serious collector who has spent time in this hobby will have a physical reaction of dropped shoulders, sighing and head shaking at the claims of made in USA and in-house in the same paragraph – they know too much of the disappointment it entails and won’t be Shinola’ed again. That’s why watch companies should be careful with those terms to avoid undue pressure and stress while building their brand. As to any other cynical dismissals that brands may face from members of the community, it could also be a result of folks who have previously ventured into the emotionally draining, unfulfilled fantasies of made in USA/in-house – akin to the reaction of going to Oz for the third time, knowing it’s all just a guy behind a curtain, while watching all the noobs get excited over the wrong things. Now, if only the wizard had pulled back the control panel and shown the buttons, that would have been cool enough!

It seems that anyone in this industry long enough would know that these are potential points of contention and a dangerous paths to go down – especially for new brands that don’t actually have watches on any wrists, and are grasping for any opportunity to get much-needed attention. One thing for sure, low quality imagery and lack of factory tours (virtual or in-person) does not help (not that it necessary, but it does not help to reinforce bold claims). Red flags are raised immediately when in-house and made in USA are used without pictures to back it up. You mean a company spent thousands and thousands of dollars to develop a rare made in USA in-house movement but cannot afford a decent camera or photoshoot?Ah, they must be too busy with crafting the movement to focus on content (“focus” is a pun here since most of the images are out of focus).

Here is the moral of the story to new brands: Just say what you do and don’t say what you don’t do. That should be enough to garner interest and start building an audience who respects what you’re doing. Bonus tip: Don’t say what you’re going to do in the future if you haven’t even proven the concept in the present. For example, 1776 Atelier has mentioned their plans to use German silver in the future – just use German silver when you’re ready to use German silver. Mentioning it now only distracts from the current offerings and prepares the distrusting enthusiasts to get let down has they have countless times in the past.

Conclusion:

There simply isn’t a lot of information being provided about the caliber, and the announcements seem premature because of that.

Soft launches and proof-of-concept works better in tech than in retail. In tech you can rapidly push updates and iterations. In retail, you generally have a limited amount of time to convert interest into a sale – it becomes more and more difficult the longer a brand takes to deliver a value proposition or demonstrate social proof.

Bottom line: in luxury, people want to see what they desire to acquire. Not to say it can’t be done. A number of crowdsourced watch brands reached great success with mere computer generated images and catchy copy – but rarely does it go well when certain red flag terminology is thrown into the mix, and the $3-5K price point makes it even more challenging.

Regardless, it’s nice to welcome another craft-centered USA-based watch brand to the industry.

Videos:

Mastering Anglage: The Art of Hand Beveled and Finished Movements | 1776 Atelier

1776 Atelier Watchmaking – Thermal bluing of metal and screws.

Discover the art of hand engraving at 1776 Atelier

Additional Resources:

• More USA mentions

Note: this caliber listing is incomplete and still being edited. Check back for updates.