Philadelphia, 1876. The U.S. celebrates 100 years of nationhood with the Centennial Exhibition, held in a 285-acre park in the country's first capital. Nine million people attend, including a small delegation of Swiss watchmakers eager to visit the pavilions that house exhibitions of the flourishing American watch industry.

That moment became a turning point. What the Swiss saw frightened them. In Switzerland, watchmaking happened mostly by hand in small workshops with an output of about 1,000 expensive watches a year. In stark contrast, the U.S. manufactured watches in large factories where machines operated by unskilled workers churned out interchangeable parts, enabling the production of hundreds of thousands of affordable timepieces a year.

The Swiss delegation returned home and issued a warning to their country's watchmakers: Adopt the American methods or perish. They listened. In less than a century, inexpensive watches from the Alpine republic obliterated the American industry.

But in the last two decades, U.S.-based entrepreneurs have been finding the money and skills to relaunch watchmaking on a small scale with potential for future growth.

Though most of these American companies use Swiss-made parts -- manufacturing the components of a mechanical watch is complex and expensive -- a few brands are investing the money and time necessary to craft their own, producing watches that have 80% to 90% U.S.-made parts. Here, four companies that are making it possible to buy American.

Xetum

ESTABLISHED: 2009

LOCATION: San Francisco

ANNUAL PRODUCTION: Under 5,000

When Xetum founder Jeff Kuo abandoned management consulting to design watches, he drew on the clean and functional aesthetic of his home base, Northern California. Think Apple, aerospace and the state's pervasive car culture.

Even though the watches are manufactured in Switzerland, Mr. Kuo's designs are distinctly American, down to the timepieces' monikers. The Stinson is named for a Marin County beach, the Tyndall for a mountain in the Sierra Nevada range and the Kendrick after a mountain in Yosemite National Park.

All three Xetum watches have stainless steel cases without lugs (the pieces at the top and bottom of a watch case that hold the band in place), something Mr. Kuo sees as part of the brand's uncluttered look. He added, 'Our designs appeal to people who want a watch they can wear anywhere.'

Bozeman Watch Company

ESTABLISHED: 2002

LOCATION: Bozeman, Mont.

ANNUAL PRODUCTION: About 200

Bozeman's watch names, like Xetum's, reference local icons. His styles include the Yellowstone, as in the park, and the Sidewinder, as in the Western American rattlesnake. The designs are crisp with clean dials. Though Bozemans are assembled both in Montana and Europe -- with components made mostly in Germany, Switzerland and Italy -- wearing one is like having a piece of Big Sky on your wrist.

In 2009, the brand worked with baseball player Josh Beckett to create the Herradura, a watch named for Mr. Beckett's Texas ranch and the Spanish word for 'horseshoe.' It has a handsome beige dial with red symbols reminiscent of Western blankets, matching red numerals and red and silver arrowhead hands.

'Our clients are people who are over the big, famous brands,' said Bozeman founder Chris Wardle. 'They're buying a bit of the lifestyle associated with an American Western company. Don't underestimate the touch of class that folks have out here. We're rugged but also refined.'

Kobold

ESTABLISHED: 1998

LOCATION: Pittsburgh

ANNUAL PRODUCTION: 800

Kobold may be the only watch brand that began as a class project. Michael Kobold, a scion of the German family that controls manufacturing conglomerate Kobold Group, attended Carnegie Mellon University in the late '90s and founded Kobold in a class on entrepreneurship. 'I was slated to take over from my dad,' said Mr. Kobold, 'but I never liked that idea. I always loved watches.' After graduation, he made the watch company a full-time gig.

Mr. Kobold retains his German citizenship but considers the brand 100% American. 'We do all the designing, assembly and advertising here in Pittsburgh,' he said. 'You can't be more American than that.'

At first, Mr. Kobold depended on Swiss and German suppliers for everything. However, in 2008, after about a decade of research and a cash injection, including $250,000 from the late actor James Gandolfini, Kobold launched the Spirit of America, a watch with 87% U.S.-made components. 'I wanted to bring watchmaking back to America,' said Mr. Kobold. The Spirit, Mr. Kobold said, is the first mechanical watch (that's not a limited edition) produced in this country in more than 40 years.

RGM Watch Company

ESTABLISHED: 1992

LOCATION: Mount Joy, Penn.

ANNUAL PRODUCTION: 250 to 300

Roland George Murphy trained to be a watchmaker, first in his native Maryland, and then in Switzerland. In the 1980s, he worked for Hamilton, a Swiss-owned American brand, but eventually went solo.

'I wanted to do things my own way and see my own name on the dial,' Mr. Murphy said. He began with one employee, designing and making watches with components imported from Switzerland, the way RGM still produces most of its watches. But in 2000, the company embarked on an in-house manufacturing effort. Seven years and an untold amount of money later, RGM became the only company in the U.S. turning out some of its watches with 90% American components. Today, 50 to 70 watches in RGM's yearly output are made mostly in Pennsylvania. 'It was very difficult to do,' said Mr. Murphy. 'The investment was steep, and to maintain quality we have to keep production small. It is not an equation for getting rich.'

RGM is now the sole American entry in the Swiss-dominated haute horlogerie market. Its Pennsylvania Tourbillon required two years to develop and takes months to complete. With a stainless steel case, the watch costs $95,000.