Hamilton

The name Hamilton is well known to collectors of American watches. The company was formed from the Adams & Perry Manufacturing Company of Lancaster, Pennsylvania (1874) which became the Lancaster Watch Company in 1877 and the Hamilton Watch Company in 1892.

Hamilton has produced many different watches over the years and the company's products have even appeared in movies such as Men In Black. They also produced the world's first commercial digital watch. However amongst collectors Hamilton is probably best known as the US railroad watch company.

Railroad Watches

The need for accurate timekeeping has been historically connected with the expansion of the railroads - a fact that might seem ironic to an unfortunate traveller on Britain's privatised 21st century rail network. In many ways it was the railroads who were the impetus for standardised time.

Railroad workers needed to know the time accurately and reliably. This wasn't just in the interests of passenger service but also safety. Trains leaving at the wrong time could be involved in serious collisions. For this reason the railroads needed watches that were reliable when subjected to the motion and dirt of rail as well as easy to read.

One of Hamilton's first watch ranges was the 1893 vintage "Broadway Limited" which was marketed as "the watch of Railroad accuracy". The Hamilton railroad watch was also adopted by the American Expeditionary Forces.

Later on Hamilton produced the iconic 992 series railroad pocket watch. Since these were mass produced they are (relatively) easy to find and you can sometimes buy a piece of railroad and horological history for just a few hundred dollars.

The Hamilton brand is today owned by the Swatch group.

This site is not associated with or endorsed by the Hamilton Watch Company or Swatch
Contact an authorised dealer for prices and availability
All trademarks are the property of their respective owners

	All About Clocks, Watches and Time
Hamilton The name Hamilton is well known to collectors of American watches. The company was formed from the Adams & Perry Manufacturing Company of Lancaster, Pennsylvania (1874) which became the Lancaster Watch Company in 1877 and the Hamilton Watch Company in 1892. Hamilton has produced many different watches over the years and the company's products have even appeared in movies such as Men In Black. They also produced the world's first commercial digital watch. However amongst collectors Hamilton is probably best known as the US railroad watch company. Railroad Watches The need for accurate timekeeping has been historically connected with the expansion of the railroads - a fact that might seem ironic to an unfortunate traveller on Britain's privatised 21st century rail network. In many ways it was the railroads who were the impetus for standardised time. Railroad workers needed to know the time accurately and reliably. This wasn't just in the interests of passenger service but also safety. Trains leaving at the wrong time could be involved in serious collisions. For this reason the railroads needed watches that were reliable when subjected to the motion and dirt of rail as well as easy to read. One of Hamilton's first watch ranges was the 1893 vintage "Broadway Limited" which was marketed as "the watch of Railroad accuracy". The Hamilton railroad watch was also adopted by the American Expeditionary Forces. Later on Hamilton produced the iconic 992 series railroad pocket watch. Since these were mass produced they are (relatively) easy to find and you can sometimes buy a piece of railroad and horological history for just a few hundred dollars. The Hamilton brand is today owned by the Swatch group. This site is not associated with or endorsed by the Hamilton Watch Company or Swatch Contact an authorised dealer for prices and availability All trademarks are the property of their respective owners Clocks-Watches-Time / Watches / Makes A-H / Hamilton / All original material copyright © Trevor Mendham 2005-2008. All trademarks are the property of their respective owners Please read the site terms of use		Clocks Watches Celebrity Famous Makes A-H Blancpain Breitling Bulova Cartier Casio Citizen Ebel Elgin Fossil Gucci Hamilton Hublot Groups Makes I-Z Mechanics Types Store Time Time & Motion More...