Croton

Croton was founded in New York in 1878 by Jacob Horton as a watch and jewelry trade business. In 1928, the company formally became CROTON WATCH CO. INC. when it expanded into assembling watches from Swiss and American components. Harold I. Horton, the founder's son and a graduate of a five-year Swiss watchmaking course, continued the family business. In the late 1930s, Croton formed a significant partnership with Swiss manufacturer Nivada SA, leading to the iconic 'Croton Nivada Grenchen' branding for U.S. market watches. This collaboration brought professional-grade timepieces including dive watches and chronographs to American consumers. In 1963, the company relocated to larger premises in Croton-on-Hudson, New York—coincidentally an eponymous village, though the brand name had been chosen in 1928 for different reasons. Around 1970, the company became CROTON TIME CORPORATION INC. The quartz crisis of the 1970s proved challenging for both Croton and its partner Nivada. In 1991, the Croton brand was acquired by Nationwide Time, a family-owned business run by the Mermelstein family, who had been in the watch industry since the 1960s. Today, Croton continues as a family-owned operation from an 18,000 square foot facility in Moonachie, New Jersey.