Aaron Lufkin Dennison (March 6, 1812 – January 9, 1895) was an American watchmaker and businessman. He is mainly known for his eponymous line of timepieces Dennison and for the invention of the mainspring gauge. Dennison was also the founder of Waltham Watch Company and responsible for the creation of many watch parts for Rolex and Omega in their early stages of mass production.
Early life
Dennison was born in Freeport, Maine, after which the family moved to Brunswick, Maine. He was the son of Andrew Dennison, a boot and shoemaker who was also a music teacher. As a child, Aaron earned pocket money by carrying a builder's hod, working as a herdsman, and as a clerk to a businessman. Later he cut and sold wood and then worked for his father in the cobbler's shop until the age of 18. While there, he suggested the making of shoes in batches rather than one by one.[1]
Training in watchmaking
In 1830, at the age of 18, Aaron was apprenticed to a Brunswick clockmaker, James Cary. During his