Figure 3.—Original Patent Model of the Hopkins Watch, U. S. Patent 161513, July 20, 1875, now in the U. S. National Museum (cat. no. 309025).
Figure 4.—Drawing from U. S. Patent 165831, showing Hopkins’ first design improvement, an arbor for the barrel and train to turn on and the balance displaced from center.
Probably no attempt was made to produce a finished and practical watch at this time, although Hopkins, the inventor, was an actual watchmaker as well as a retail jeweler, with premises virtually in the shadow of the Patent Office. He was a native of Maine[6] and had been established in Washington since 1863, or perhaps some time in 1862.[7]