![]() The company honed its knowledge of horology and delivered accurate time-telling watches that reduced railroad accidents prominent in the 19th century. The Railroad Expansion– 1893 – 1908īefore the first World War, Hamilton controlled more than half of the watchmaking market in the USA. This feature made the military and Railway workers choose Hamilton as its official watchmaker during the railroad expansion and the first world war. 936 was the first grade introduced by Hamilton in 1893, it was specifically manufactured to meet the requirements of the growing railroad industry. 936, 17-jewels, adjusted to isochronism, temperature and 5 positions, lever-set – mfg. The “ Columbian” name was already a Waterbury model, so the new business settled on Hamilton, after James Hamilton (son of Andrew Hamilton, a Scottish-born USA lawyer.)įrom its inception, Hamilton strove for excellence with the vision to “build only watches of the highest quality.” The first watch, made in 1893, was an 18-size pocket watch with 17 jewels with the best accuracy America had ever seen as far as the 19th century was concerned. The Hamilton Watch Co. incorporated its business in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, in 1892, and a year after (1893), it made its first commercial watch.Īnd although the company valued its origin and planned to stay connected to its roots through its name, it lost the patent to the already prominent Waterbury Clock Co. The new business chose the name – Hamilton Watch Company. ![]() It all began in the year 1892, when The Keystone Standard Watch Company sold its business to Lancaster businessmen at a Sheriff’s Sale due to bankruptcy.Īlmost at the same time this happened, the newly acquired business merged with the Aurora Watch Company, Illinois, forming a new and improved watchmaking business. Identifying the Different Types of Hamilton Watch Co.How to Properly Identify a Vintage Hamilton Watch.Broadway Limited Edition Pocket Watch (1940 – 1945).Post-World War I – 1919 – 1939 (Hamilton Military).The Introduction of the Professional Watches (1908 – 1918).If within three months of receipt the watch stops and is then returned to it will be repaired and returned for no additional charge or if a repair cannot be made, a full refund will be offered.įor international buyers any customs charges will be paid for by the purchaser and will be the responsibility of the purchaser. However, Antique and Vintage Pocket Watches can and do stop working as a simple consequence of their age. We guarantee that the Watch will be in full working order when sold. There may be other faults of which I am not aware.Īll images on this page are of the actual Pocket Watch that is being offer for sale. Some hairlines by 7.ĬRYSTAL: Original Mineral glass bevel edge low dome crystal. MOVEMENT ACCURACY: +/- 5 minutes in 24 hours Stripped and ultra sound cleaned within the last 12 months. MANUFACTURED IN: Lancaster, Pennsylvania, USA SIZE OVERALL: 51.7mm (excluding bow and crown) OVERALL CONDITION: The watch is working well and in generally good condition. From the early 1880s until the mid 1920s, American Railroad Watches were arguably the best and highest quality, mass produced watches in the world. Rival companies like Waltham, Elgin and Illinois etc all competed to get the various different Railroad contracts to supply watches and as a result each watch company kept on making their watches to higher and higher specifications. This is called Damaskeening and was brought to America by Swiss emigres who came to work in the booming American Pocket watch industry in the last three decades of the 19th century. Many Railroad (and other American) watches have intricate patterns and designs on the plates and the wheels. They had to have screw on back and front both for the cleanliness of the movement and to prevent the time being changed too easily. Accurate from -5c to +30c and to 6 seconds a month. While still in American hands (until 1969) the company produced fewer than 6 million watches.Īmerican Railroad Watches had to conform to very exacting specifications originally 17 jewels minimum. Hamilton invented and patented The Elinvar hairspring in 1932 and all subsequent watches had a version of this spring the most successful of which was the 992B. The company went through many name changes and was eventually incorporated as a subsidiary of SSHI in Switzerland in 1976. The Hamilton 992 Railroad Watch became very popular with railroad workers and accounted for nearly 50% of their total production. ![]() The Lancaster Watch Co was formed in 1874 and became the Hamilton Watch Co in 1893 when they started to produce Railroad Watches.
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