With a history that dates to 1860, the forerunners and founders of Crafts Technology have been innovating with technology from the very beginning, including a number of patented products. Our company highlights are shared in this timeline.
Crafts Technology applied for a patent on a component for the Electronics market.
(More information to come)
Crafts Technology applied for a patent to cover harness Alloyed Diamond in abrasive fluid travel applications.
Crafts Technology applied for a patent to cover innovative AFP “Replaceable Insert Cutter” used in the composites industry.
Crafts Technology & Fives – Ultimate Machine, Ultimate Factory joined engineering and technical teams to co-develop and co-patent an innovative “Cutting Blade Assembly” that is used for cutting carbon fiber tape in Automatic Fiber Placement (AFP) machinery in the composites industry
Crafts Technology was purchased by employees in a 100% employee buyout, establishing Crafts Technology as an ESOP.
Crafts purchased by three investors: Thomas Kuhl, Eammon McDonnell, & Dave LeMaistre
Engineer (William Marston) at Crafts designed and patented specialty “Box Tool” products and “Box Tool Holder”
Engineers at Crafts designed and built specialized profile form grinder….“Crafts Grinder”.
These machines allow for maximum flexibility of forming Superhard materials.
The grinders are still used in a limited capacity today.
Open offices in Boston, Chicago, and Detroit.
Crafts established as the largest shop in the world in the business of cutting diamonds for commercial purposes.
Largest customers included the original Thomson-Houston Co., which was eventually merged with Edison Electric Company to be the General Electric (GE) Company in Lynn, Massachusetts.
Arthur A. Crafts Company history is defined by the purchase of the old Morse shop that was owned by John B. Humphrey at 125 Summer Street, Boston, MA. Arthur A. Crafts purchased the Morse shop from John B. Humphrey after Humphrey had lost his fortune from unprofitable investments in the Brazil diamond mines. Arthur purchased the assets sometime in the early 1900’s and continued the operation under the Arthur A. Crafts Company name, later opening up operations in Waltham, MA, Chicago, IL and Detroit, MI.
Arthur’s family was well established in Boston and in Chicago, as his father, Miles Benjamin, was one of the founding members and past President of the Chicago Open Board of Trade.
As a special note of interest, Arthur A. Crafts is a direct descendant of Thomas Crafts, who was the father of Boston Tea Party fame, Col. Thomas Crafts Jr. and Maj. Edward Crafts, a major in the revolutionary war. Col. Thomas Crafts Jr. is well known for his being a part of the “Loyal Nine”, which was a group of patriots formed to protest the Stamp Act. The “Loyal Nine,” which also included the likes of Samuel Adams, was formed in August 1765 and ultimately evolved into the “Sons of Liberty.” On Dec 16, 1773, Thomas Crafts Jr. and the Sons of Liberty originated and led the Boston Tea Party.
Col. Thomas Crafts Jr. was the commander of the Massachusetts Regiment Artillery, also known as “The Train” to which Paul Revere also belonged. This unit greatly helped the cause of the Revolution by defending the port of Boston from British ships. One of the greatest honors given to Col. Thomas Crafts Jr. was on July 18, 1776, when he was chosen to read the Declaration of Independence from the balcony of the Old State House to the people of Boston.
Henry D. Morse was diamond-cutting operation in Boston, which had been in operation since approximately 1893. Mr. Morse’s shop foreman, Charles Field, invented and patented the first steam-powered diamond-girdling lathe so that they could produce diamonds with a wide range of proportions, angles, and facet numbers. He was considered a pioneer in the production of one-of-a-kind diamonds, often referred to as the “ideal cut,” which was also the world’s first perfectly circular diamond. Some also refer to the cut as the American Ideal Cut, the Transition Cut, Early American Cut, or Early Modern Cut.
