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| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Watch straps |
| Founded | (as The Speidel Chain Company) |
| Headquarters | , |
Area served |
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| Parent | Textron (Former), Hirsch Armbänder (Former). |
| Website | speidel |
Speidel is a manufacturer of watchbands and related items based in East Providence, Rhode Island, United States. It was originally founded in Germany by Friedrich Speidel in 1867 as a manufacturer of gold and silver chains. The Speidel Chain Company was formed in its modern state in the United States in 1904. It was known for its "Ratchet-buckle" watchbands (introduced in 1920), the "Scissors Action Expansion Band" (introduced in 1936), the ladies' "Mignon" watchbands (introduced in 1939), plus costume jewelry. In the 1930s, Speidel was the first company in the world to introduce ID bracelets. During World War II, the company briefly produced cathode-ray tubes. Speidel experienced a boom in popularity, notably with their invention of the hugely popular expanding strap in the mid-1930s, and in addition to watchbands Speidel produced wristwatches, lighters, writing instruments, small jewelry, and other accessories, before beginning to decline by the end of the century with the struggle to compete with cheaper overseas production, and the boom in quartz watches.