Hamilton Watch Company Wikipedia. The Hamilton Watch Company is a brand of the Swatch Group, a Swiss watch company based in Bienne, Switzerland. The Hamilton Watch Company had its genesis as an American watch design and manufacturing company, which incorporated in 1. After its formation, the Hamilton Watch Company went on to manufacture and market pocket watches and wristwatches, ending American manufacture in 1. Vintage Wrist and Pocket Watch Information Repair, Restoration, Collecting, Supplies, Oiling and Cleaning, Company History, and Recommended Books, Kits, and Watch Tools. ANTIQUE ESTATE AUCTION Sat., Sept. A. M. Preview from 830 a. Day of Sale Rockway Hall, Vineland Ont. PAINTINGSPRINTS James Keirstead signed. Through a series of mergers and acquisitions, the Hamilton Watch Company became a diversified conglomerate itself and was subsequently integrated into the Swatch group. Today the brand is one of more than twenty watch brands belonging to the Swatch Group, the worlds largest watch manufacturer and marketer. Hamilton pocket watch, ca. Hamilton 9. 90 movement, ca. History 1. 89. 21. Hamilton succeeded three watch firms manufacturing timepieces in the same facilities in Lancaster, PA, including the Lancaster Watch Company. The precursor to the Hamilton Watch Co., the Lancaster, Pennsylvania based Keystone Standard Watch Co., was started by Abram Bitner in 1. Lancaster Watch Companys factory. Keystone manufactured watches featuring a patented Dust Proof design that used a small acrylic window to cover the only opening in the plate of the movement. Keystone existed until 1. Hamilton Watch Company. The Hamilton Watch Company was established in 1. Keystone Standard Watch Company was purchased from bankruptcy. During the same year, Aurora Watch Company of Illinois also merged into Keystone. The name of the new company was originally to be Columbian, but when it was discovered the Waterbury Watch Company had trademarked that name, a meeting of stock holders was called in November 1. The company was named after Andrew Hamilton, a Scottish born attorney who laid out and founded Lancaster, and was the original owner of the Lancaster site on which the factory was situated. During the expansion of the railroads in the U. S., Hamilton maintained over 5. Railroads purchased all of Hamiltons production. As the market switched from pocket watches to wrist watches after World War I, the company manufactured wrist watches. During World War II, Hamilton retooled its business model to serve the military, dropping its consumer products. Hamilton Watch Company was housed on a 1. Fratello/OmegaSeamaster2.jpg' alt='Wittnauer Wrist Serial Numbers' title='Wittnauer Wrist Serial Numbers' />Lancaster. Hamilton eventually took possession of Aurora Watch Companys machinery shortly after incorporation. The first watch made under the Hamilton name was an 1. During Hamiltons first fifteen years, only two size movements were produced  the 1. The companys first series of pocket watches, the Broadway Limited, was marketed as the Watch of Railroad Accuracy, and Hamilton became popular by making accurate railroad watches. Hamilton introduced its first wristwatch in 1. World War I and containing the 0 sized 1. In 1. 92. 8 Hamilton purchased the Illinois Watch Company for in excess of 5 million from the heirs of John Whitfield Bunn and Jacob Bunn. Some of the most collectible early Hamilton wristwatches include The Oval, The Tonneau, The Rectangular, The Square Enamel, The Coronado, The Piping Rock, The Spur, The Glendale, The Pinehurst, The Langley, The Byrd, The Cambridge, the Barrel B, and The Flintridge. Many models came in both solid gold and gold filled cases and, though rare, some wristwatches such as the Grant were made of silver. Marine chronometerseditDuring World War II, production of consumer watches was stopped, with all watches manufactured being shipped to troops. More than one million watches were sent overseas. The company was extremely successful in producing marine chronometers and deck watches in large numbers to fill the needs of the United States Navy, and other Allied navies as well. The Model 2. 1 Hamilton was built first and had a chain drive fusee, followed by the Model 2. The Model 2. 2 had a traditional main spring, available in a traditional double box and also in a deck watch. The Model 2. 1 and 2. U. S. Navy Bureau of Ships. The model 2. 2 was also used by the U. S. Army and on the back of some it is marked U. S. Army, but all the model 2. U. S. Navy Bureau of Ships. The Model 2. 3 was a 1. The Model 4. 99. 2b was in a 1. It was used as the pocket watch for U. S. military, featuring a 2. AmericaeditIn 1. Hamilton rebuffed a hostile takeover bid by the Benrus watch company. Download Aiwa Nsx S202 Manual. The fallout from the failed takeover action culminated in Hamilton Watch Co. Benrus Watch Co. 2. F. 2d 7. 38, 7. 40 2d Cir. Federal proceeding that is considered to be landmark in the realm of Federal anti trust case law. In 1. Hamilton provided a celestial time zone clock, permitting flight type navigation for the Astra Gnome concept of what an automobile would look like in the year 2. In 1. 95. 7, Hamilton introduced the worlds first electric watch, the Hamilton Electric 5. It was available in a variety of non traditional asymmetrical case styles8 including the Ventura that was designed by Richard Arbib. The watch was worn by Elvis Presley, who also featured it the movie Blue Hawaii. In 1. 96. 2, Hamilton entered into a joint venture 6. Hamilton with the Japanese watchmaking firm Ricoh to produce electric watches meant primarily for the Japanese market. The electronic components were produced at Hamiltons Lancaster factory while production of the mechanical works and final assembly were undertaken in Japan. Although production levels of Hamilton Ricoh watches were high over 1. Hamilton Ricoh partnership was unable to compete with the substantial market presence of Seiko. The partnership was dissolved in 1. Hamilton Ricoh electronic movements marked Ricoh 5. E re cased as Vantage and sold in the U. S. 1. 1SwissU. S. Swiss HamiltonBuren Micro rotor movement. In 1. 96. 6, Hamilton acquired the Buren Watch Company of Bren an der Aare, Switzerland, including all factories and technologies that had been developed by Buren up to that point. From 1. 96. 6 to 1. Hamilton Lancaster and Buren Switzerland were operated as a joint concern, with Hamilton using a number of Swiss movements for their American watches and Buren utilizing a number of components manufactured by Hamilton Lancaster. It was during this time that Hamilton started to selectively incorporate the highly innovative Buren Micro rotor a. Micro RotorMicro rotor movement into small numbers of certain upper tier watches, in addition to their ordinary hand wind and traditional automatic watches. The Buren now HamiltonBuren Micro rotor was the first patented automatic wristwatch movement to eliminate the sizable external oscillating weight inherent to most automatic winding watches. Instead, it utilized a much smaller weight that was entirely integrated into the chassis of the movement. This design allowed for a substantially slimmer automatic watch that still retained a center sweep second hand. The Micro rotor concept was also conceived by Universal Genve for use in their Polerouter series of timepieces during this same time. The official title of first Micro rotor movement is still in dispute among some horology aficionados, even though Buren patented their design in 1. Universal Geneve applied for their patent in May 1. In 1. 96. 9, 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 1. 96. 9 to 1.