The history of Hamilton Watch Company began in 1892 in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Hamilton Produced its first watch in 1893, designed by H.J. Cain, one of the company's founding members. This watch company was named after the man who donated a large plot of land to the city community. Some time later a new watch factory appeared on this territory. In 1893, Hamilton produced the first collection of pocket watches “Broadway Limited”. Initially manufactured to provide the country's railroads with reliable timing devices, the Hamilton railroad pocket watch was adopted as the official watch of the American Expeditionary Forces worldwide. A wrist watch version of the railroad watch was issued to General Pershing and his dough-boys in WWI, accompanied Admiral Byrd on his expeditions to the North and South Poles, served the 'Picards' well on their first balloon ascent into the stratosphere, and were on the wrist of the first American to scale Mount Everest. The watches were successfully used by the staff of the railway transport department in the USA. These watches quickly advanced in popularity thanks to their accuracy and reliability. That is why, Hamilton watches were known as the "Watches of Railroad Accuracy." The accuracy of Hamilton watches made it possible to improve the work of the U.S. transport department. The watches had put an end to numerous accidents. 1928 The Yankees win the World Series. Hamilton introduces the Yankee Watch, establishing it as a leader in watch design. Hamilton helped America keep pace with the energy of a new lifestyle. New Hamilton designs, such as the Yankee and the Piping Rock, projected the independent spirit of the day. 1930 Hamilton continues to capture the soaring spirit of the 1930's. The world turns to the skies as commercial aviation takes off. Hamilton soon becomes the official timepiece of the most famous industry leaders --- TWA, Eastern, United and Northwest. 1940 WWII Hamilton stops production of watches for consumers and creates new timepieces exclusively for military use. Soon, Hamilton Company became the official watches supplier of the U.S. Army. Hamilton watches became the accessories that were used as the equipment of the famous First Infantry Division of General Pershing during the World War II. Close to one million Hamilton military watches are produced. During the World War II the watch company created a collection of military watches that had a round dial, Arabic numerals and a khaki-colored strap. So there was a beginning of famous Khaki watches production. Today, the 'Hack' has become very collectible among watch and military collectors. In 1957, Hamilton Company made a breakthrough by creating the fist electric watches, running on batteries. So, Hamilton Watch Company broke new ground in the history of matchmaking. In 1970, Hamilton's watchmakers introduced a new product development - the first electronic watch. 1957 Hamilton's leadership in engineering and innovation creates a significant breakthrough in timekeeping. Hamilton introduces the first electric watch in 1957. The Ventura becomes an instant success. See "Hamilton Electric" 1965 Inspired by the sleek lines of the Cadillac tailfins of the 50's, the Ventura becomes the watch of choice for the icons of American style. Elvis Presley chooses to wear the Ventura in his movie, 'Blue Hawaii.' 1972 The future is close at hand and Hamilton shocks the world with a completely new kind of watch. Manufactured at its headquarters in Pennsylvania, Hamilton introduces the world's first digital watch - the Pulsar. There are two areas of watch manufacturing in Hamilton Watch Company. They are American Classic, associated with Hollywood style, and Khaki - marine and aviation watches for the U.S. Army. In the past, Hamilton was rather a categorical watch brand. Hamilton wrist watches were sold mainly in the USA, France, Japan and Italy. However, at the turn of 90-s the watch company was bought by the Swatch Group, which decided to make Hamilton the international watch brand. To this end, the main office of Hamilton Watch Company and the company's workshop moved to Switzerland. Hamilton watch brand has found its own niche in the the Swatch Group structure. These watches combine the wonderful spirit of American dream and unsurpassed accuracy of Swiss watch movements. Today, Hamilton s primary collections include the American Classics collection and the Khaki collection, updated versions of the legendary military timepieces of yesteryear. Comments are closed.
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Old Time WatchesI enjoy collecting mechanical (manual wind and automatic) and early electric and quartz timepieces. I take great pleasure in researching and writing about the companies and people that created these beautiful watches. PF
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September 2018
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