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The first watch made under the Hamilton name was an 18-size 17-jewel pocket watch in 1893. With quality being Hamilton’s primary goal, the company set out to manufacture “America’s Finest Watch,” and indeed they did. Hamilton Watch Company was housed on a thirteen acre campus and Aurora’s machinery was shipped to the Lancaster plant shortly after incorporation. The new company would be known as The 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 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. It is not meant to be comprehensive, but to offer the reader a historical background on Hamilton and the production of their wristwatches. This brief history covers Hamilton from its inception in 1892 until 1936, the years highlighted in this site.

However arguable this statement may be, there is no denying that Hamilton watches demand a premium amongst collectors and are without question, the most collectable of all American made watches.

Amongst collectors of American horology, Hamilton stands out as the finest American watch made.

E howard watch co pocket watch case serial numbers