Hamilton Watch Company

The Hamilton Watch Company was established when the Keystone Standard Watch Company was forced into bankruptcy in 1892 and sold at a sheriff’s sale to a group of Lancaster, Pennsylvania businessmen whose objective was to “build only watches of the highest quality.” During this same year, a merger was effected with the Aurora Watch Company of Illinois and a decision was made to name the new company after James Hamilton, owner of a large tract of land which was granted to him from William Penn and included what is now the city of Lancaster. The new company would be known as The Hamilton Watch Company.

The following year, the Hamilton watch brand introduced its first watch, designed by H.J. Cain, one of the company’s founding fathers. That same year, Hamilton unveiled “The Broadway Limited,” a railroad watch referred to as “the watch of Railroad accuracy.” Initially used as a reliable timing device for the country’s railroads, the Hamilton Railroad Pocket soon became the official watch of the American Expeditionary Forces. A wristwatch version of the Railroad watch was gifted to General Pershing and his doughboys in World War II.

It was also on Admiral Byrd’s wrist during his expeditions to the North and South poles, accompanied the Picards on their first ever balloon trip into the stratosphere, and was worn by the first American to scale Mount Everest.

In 1928, after the Yankees won the World Series, the Hamilton Watch Company announced the Yankee watch, establishing it as a pioneer in watch design. The brand helped America keep up with the energy of a new lifestyle. Cutting-edge Hamilton designs, including the Yankee and the Piping Rock, symbolized the independent spirit of the day.

Hamilton watches continued to embody the soaring spirit of the ‘30s, as the world turned its attention to the skies with the start of commercial aviation. Soon after, Hamilton was named the official timepiece of popular industry leaders, including Eastern, TWA and Northwest.

During WWII, Hamilton stopped producing watches for consumers and began developing new timepieces exclusively for military purposes. Today, the Hamilton ‘Hack’ is a favorite item among watch and military collectors alike.

In 1957, Hamilton’s advanced engineering and innovation led to a significant breakthrough in timekeeping—the first electric watch. The Ventura shocked the market and became an instant success.

In 1965, the Cadillac tailfins of the ‘50s inspired the design of the Ventura, which became the preferred watch among icons of American style. Elvis Presley sports this model in his movie Blue Hawaii.

In 1969, the Hamilton Watch Company completely ended American manufacturing operations with the closure of its factory in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, shifting manufacturing operations to the Buren factory in Switzerland.

From 1969 to 1972, all new Hamilton watches were produced in Switzerland by Hamilton's Buren subsidiary. In 1971, the Buren brand was returned to Swiss ownership and by 1972, the Buren-Hamilton partnership was dissolved and the factory liquidated, due to decreased interest and sales of the Hamilton-Buren product.

In 1972, Hamilton introduced the Pulsar, the world’s first digital watch.

On May 16, 1974, the Hamilton brand was sold to SSIH (subsequently The Swatch Group).