These are the first three watches I collected  from the Federal Period. The three watches all predate the war of 1812. The Effingham Embree cannot be precisely dated. The Peatling is dated 1804 and the Van Wyck is dated 1802 both with English hallmarks on the 5 knuckle cases. Since Van Wyck bought the Effingham Embree business in New York, it is virtually certain that the Embree dates from before 1802.

The links on the left show a more complete picture of the watches in use in the early days of the United States between the late Colonial Period and the War of 1812. These range from high quality to inexpensive with both English and French origins. The earliest dated watch is the Isaac Thomas with a London hallmark for 1764. It is unlikely that any of the unmarked examples are older.