Kes Crockett | Watch Department
Our online Watches and Watch Accessories auctions are going from strength to strength. Today we will take a look at a brand that features in our next sale on April 11th. Hamilton.
The Early Days
The Hamilton Watch Company started its life in Lancaster, Pennsylvania during the year of 1892. Its home was a large factory which had previously been used as the production headquarters of three other brands. This ensured that both the mechanical infrastructure and highly skilled staff were already in place. However, as with any business these attributes were no success guarantee as shown by the demise of the previous enterprises. Hamilton would need to do something a little different to their predecessors and did so via the power of marketing. They focused on a reputation of durability and reliability. They did this whilst pitching their watches to the up-and-coming industries and pursuits of America at the time.
The first and most important of these links was with the U.S. railroad. The railroad was in desperate need of accurate timekeepers following a horrific head on crash at Kipton station in 1891. An accident caused by discrepancies between the pocket watches of the train’s engineers.
Hoping to avoid such incidents happening again, a watchmaker named Webster Clay Ball devised a set of standards. A railroad watch should meet these standards. They were adopted over the following decade throughout the country.
These Were as Follows:
- Be open face, size 18 or 16.
- Have a plain white dial, bold black hands and bold Arabic numbers.
- Have the winding stem at 12 o’clock.
- Be lever set. To set the time, the case had to be opened and a lever pulled out, to prevent an accidental change.
- Have a minimum of 17 jewels, a double roller, steel escape wheel, micro-metric regulator and grade on the back plate.
- Be adjusted to at least five positions (stem up, left side up, right side up, face up and face down).
- Temperature compensated for 34 to 100 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Keep time accurately to plus or minus 30 seconds a week.
Webster Clay Ball went on to build an impressive empire himself during this period. However, it was Hamilton who could eventually claim that 56% of the railroad community was using its product. Hamilton capitalised on this in 1912 with the release of a Railroad Watch. This had the tagline “Let your watch be as accurate as an engineer’s”.
Hamilton Watches during the Second World War
Following the success of their railroad watches, Hamilton became the supplier to the American armed forces in 1914. A few years later the company created the 981 wrist watch. They did this after noticing the trend of pocket watches attached to soldiers’ wrists. By 1942 Hamilton had become linked to land sea and air. The company were fully concentrated on producing for the military, no longer selling any watches at all to the public. Over four million timepieces were produced during this period. The situation changed once WW2 was over. Hamilton were very much producing for the public again when they introduced the first battery powered wrist watch. 1957 saw the introduction of the very funky Ventura watch. This was later worn by a little known pop star called Elvis Presley in the film Blue Hawaii. A situation which certainly wouldn’t have hurt sales figures.
Hamilton Watches during the Sixties & Seventies
The 1960s saw a number of further exciting milestones. These included a project to produce futuristic wristwear for Stanley Kubrick’s film “2001: A Space Odyssey”. There was also a part in the development of (arguably!) the world’s first automatic chronograph, the Calibre 11.
Perhaps one of the most interesting horological innovations came in the 1970s, with the release of the Pulsar Time Computer. The world’s first digital wrist watch and a timepiece without a single moving part. The watch was housed in a solid gold case and with only 400 pieces produced. The $2100 price tag made it more expensive than most cars at the time.
Hamilton Watches in the Modern Day
This proved to be the final major contribution from Hamilton as an independent maker. Like a number of companies, they were purchased by Swiss powerhouse, Swatch Group. For almost the next thirty years Hamilton continued to be based in the USA. In 2003 however, both the headquarters and production facilities were moved to the new home of watchmaking, Switzerland.
Building on past success, the new era of Hamilton has continued to draw inspiration from its rich heritage. The Hollywood link has lived on with watches appearing in films to include “Men in Black” and “Independence Day”. Associations with adventure pursuits resumed in 2005. There was a partnership with aerobatic pilot Nicolas Ivanoff. Moreover, there was significant involvement with the Red Bull Air Race and the Swiss Aerobatic Association. The company has created a number of its own personalised ETA calibres. It has celebrated its 60-year anniversary since the Ventura made its debut.
With such an interesting history, Hamilton is a brand very much worth considering at a relatively affordable price point. Here is a small selection from the upcoming sale which may tempt you to take a closer look.
From top left to bottom right: Lot 13 – Khaki Field, Lot 15 – Jazzmaster Day-Date, Lot 17 – Ventura
Lot 18 – Bagley, Lot 21 – Vintage wrist watch
The Auction
The auction will take place on Monday 11th April from 9am. You can view the full auction by clicking here or viewing during the times below.
Birmingham
7th April 10am-4pm
8th April 10am-4pm
Virtual viewings are available by request.
Valuations
Our valuations are free, with no obligation to sell with us. Our experts will value your item with an estimate, so you can find out what it could achieve at auction.
The process is simple, so you can get a valuation now:
Fill in a form online. In addition, you can book an appointment to visit our offices in Birmingham and London. Moreover, you can book a virtual valuation appointment.
