Hamilton Pocket Watches
The history of the company that produced the Hamilton Pocket Watch takes several twists and turns over a period of a hundred years or so, but it's quite interesting, and the pocket watches are collector's items now.
The Hamilton Watch Company began when a group of investors from Lancaster, Pennsylvania bought a bankrupt concern called the Keystone Standard Watch company. Within a year, this new company merged with the Aurora Watch Company of Illinois and was named (after a local landowner) The Hamilton Watch Company.
Hamilton set out to make the finest watches in America. Their first model was a 17-jewel pocket watch that went into production in 1893. Over the next half decade, Hamilton attained the reputation of making some of the finest watches in America, as they had set out to do. The first pocket watch series was called Broadway Limited, and was used as a railroad watch. While this may not sound like a significant endorsement today, being certified as having railroad accuracy was a big deal a century ago. If train engineers had watches that were off by even a few minutes, train crashes could result, and sometimes did. Making railroad watches was a prestigious enterprise, and Hamilton earned much of its good reputation from this.
But that wasn't all. Hamilton introduced a wrist watch in 1917, when wrist watches were starting to become popular among men, particularly soldiers in World War I. This was a 17 jewel wrist watch that was very well made, based on a design for a woman's pendant watch.
The World War II years were in a way, Hamilton's heyday. Consumer watches were not sold, and all watches made were shipped to the troops. Hamilton produced marine chronometers and deck watches in huge numbers, which was a feat that has not happened before or since. Mass production of precision time pieces during the Second World War was one of Hamilton's proudest achievements.
After the war, however, a series of mergers and buyouts moved Hamilton to various places around the U.S. and eventually to Switzerland, where the company still survives as an entity owned by Swatch. The flame of the Hamilton Watch Company in America may not have burned long, but it burned very bright indeed.
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The Hamilton Watch Company was formed in 1892. The first production of Hamilton was a pocket watch in 1893 featuring 18-size and 17-jewels. The goal of the company was to produce the best quality watches and in a short period of six years, the company developed a high reputation for producing the best quality pocket watches.
owner of this watch had this watch since early 1900's until he died in 1952 when the watch went to his heirs. They told me they always remember the watch with this dial-I have been very lucky to acquire it recently. What you are buying it is a beautiful watch always been in their family and they took very care of it, as you can see from the pictures.
This is really a collector's dream watch; you will not have another opportunity to find on ebay such a rare case anytime soon! This case can be found mostly on early rare ball's Howard movements.
This is really a collector's dream watch; you will not have another opportunity to find on ebay such a rare case anytime soon! This case can be found mostly on early rare ball's Howard movements.
