Hamilton Watch Company
Wordmark from 1947

Hamilton Winthrop from the 1939 catalog

Ladies' watch gold 60s

Hamilton Watch Co. Lancaster PA., Model 22, Movement No. 2F16431, Case No. 184123, circa 1942

File:Hamilton Watch Company, Lancaster, PA., Model 7-4-L Ventura, circa 1957

The Hamilton Watch Company was founded in 1893 in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. It evolved from the Adams & Perry Watch Company .

Hamilton Watch Co. Ship's Chronometer Model 22, circa 1942

In 1928, Hamilton acquired the Illinois Watch Company . In 1931, Hamilton acquired the E. Howard Watch Company and continued to produce a few smaller series under the Howard brand name. In 1941, the company developed the Model 21 marine chronometer and the Model 22 precision deck watch . This made Hamilton one of the most important American chronometer manufacturers of the time.

From 1955 to 1960 , the Vereinigte Uhrenfabriken Ersingen company, under new owner Helmut Epperlein , collaborated with the Hamilton Watch Company. Through this collaboration, Hamilton was able to utilize Epperlein 's developments and, in 1957, launched the first electrically powered wristwatch with a balance wheel , the " Electric ." The movement of the " Electric " featured an elongated coil on the balance wheel and a magnet system with three magnets. Epperlein's invention is documented as German Utility Model 1,842,778 (filed on January 28, 1958 ) and was transferred to the Hamilton Watch Company, Lancaster, on September 21, 1959 .

In 1956, Hamilton bought the watch factory A. Huguenin & Fils in Le Locle and Biel , and the company was renamed Hamilton Watch Co. Switzerland. However, the company continued to exist as a separate brand. Presumably, the development of Watches with automatic winding in Switzerland were a reason for this takeover, as Hamilton did not produce its own automatic movements.

In 1966, Hamilton acquired the Büren Watch Company . In 1970, the company launched the first electronic quartz watch with a digital LED display —the Pulsar model.

Watch production ceased in 1972. The Hamilton brand was acquired by the Swiss holding company SSIH .

Details

Some Hamiltons have crowns with an H as their logo. However, these crowns were not used until 1952. Prior to that, the crowns of all Hamilton models had no logo. The H stood not only for Hamilton, but later also for Huguenin .

Patents

• US Patent 3,010,075; filed on September 10, 1958 (Contactless controlled balance oscillation system); Inventor: Helmut Epperlein
• US Patent 2,978,862; filed on November 19, 1958 (same content as German Patent DE 1,066,148)