Lanzetter, Saul (1911 – 1988)

Of Austrian origin, Saul was living with his family in Bolton in 1911 prior to World War One.

A son of Jacob Lanzetter of Bolton, Saul worked with his older brother Leon as a watchmaker in the family business in Bolton and later in Manchester.

In 1915 as an alien, he had a run in with the police, and was brought before the courts. the Bolton Evening news ran an article on Thursday 3 June 1915 headlined as ‘Austrian Resident in Bolton – Defrauded L & Y Co and abused British hospitality’ the article read Saul Lanzetter, watchmaker, 1 Wickliffe St, described as an alien, was fined 20/- and ordered to pay the advocate’s fee, at the Borough Police Court this morning for avoiding payment of his fare on the Lancashire and Yorkshire railway on 22 April 1915.’ (Source: https://jscn.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/An-Industrious-Minority-Bolton.pdf)

By the late 1920’s Saul was living and working in Manchester.

As well as being a watch maker, during the early 1940’s Saul invented the electric watch cleaner, which was marketed as the ‘National Electric Watch Cleaner’

A device for cleaning watches, the watch will first be stripped and placed into a wire basket that will be placed in the first jar of cleaning fluid, this process is then repeated for the other two jars before the basket is lowered into the heated section to dry the watch.

A watch glass cutting machine from Saul Lanzetter.