A History and Guide to Hamilton

Jacob Van Buren

Aug 29, 2025

American watchmaking was, at one point in time, the largest in the world. In an era before Swiss domination, watches from the United States were prized for their accuracy and sophistication. Names like Waltham, Elgin, and Gruen — once prolific — have all but disappeared through the rapidly changing social and economic structures of the twentieth century.

Then there is Hamilton.

Founded in late 1892 from the ashes of the Keystone Standard Watch Company, itself born of other watchmakers, the Hamilton Watch Company immediately went to work. Equipment soon arrived from the absorbed Aurora Watch Company of Illinois, and by 1893, they had produced their first watch. Their target was clear — the railroad.

The proliferation of railroads across the American landscape by the mid-nineteenth century was faced with a problem: time. Schedules were difficult to maintain on lines that were increasingly expanding, and a solution was needed. Imported watches, while accurate, were expensive. And when they needed repairs, those costs only mounted. Companies like Waltham and Elgin led early domestic production, but by the end of the 1890s, Hamilton had gained a reputation for producing accurate and reliable watches, just like the railroad needed. By the end of the nineteenth century, everyone from the engineers and conductors down to the brakemen and linemen were able to be equipped with an accurate “railroad-grade” watch.

Hamilton’s reputation as the railroad timekeeper was soon put to new tests. Demand for Hamilton watches increased as the general public caught on to the brand’s growing reputation. When growing tensions across the Atlantic erupted into the First World War, Hamilton watches were called into action in an entirely new form — wristwatches. Watchmakers and jewelers across the world scrambled to repurpose existing watch movements—and sometimes even cases—into designs that could be worn by soldiers in the field. These watches, often referred to as “campaign watches” in the period but now commonly known as “trench watches,” helped begin the shift away from pocket watches in the years following the war’s end.

Hamilton repurposed its smaller pocket watch calibers for this, offering their own purpose-built men’s wristwatch by 1919 targeted towards soldiers, sailors, aviators, drivers, foresters, and just about anyone leading an active occupation. The gamble paid off. By the 1930s, wristwatches began outstripping pocket watch sales and ultimately supplanted them.Hamilton was poised to translate its experience building its accurate, reliable movements into the American Century.In 1932, Hamilton had its motion picture debut when Marlene Dietrich and Clive Brook wore Hamilton watches in Shanghai Express. It would be the first of many appearances. The 1930s were also marked by the global economic collapse of the Great Depression; as with nearly all industries, Hamilton saw the impacts, seeing sales fall in 1932. Global turmoil once again changed Hamilton’s path.

FEATURED HAMILTON WATCHES

The outbreak of the Second World War saw Hamilton again return to conflict with an even larger role. The brand halted consumer production in 1942 to focus solely on the wartime effort, producing watches, clocks, chronometers, timers, and other precision instruments. The next year, Hamilton received the Army-Navy “E” Award for Excellence in War Production — one of just 4,283 companies out of the over 85,000 involved in the war effort to receive it. Hamilton marine chronometers proved so accurate they exceeded the Naval Observatory's standards for accuracy. They proved to be the only company with the ability to mass produce these vital maritime instruments during the war, ultimately providing the navy with over 10,000 units. By 1945, Hamilton had delivered over one million watches in just three years.

Hamilton’s wartime production saw a huge boom in their fortunes, along with a newly strengthened relationship with the armed forces. The Korean War saw Hamilton continue to provide the U.S. Navy’s Underwater Demolition Teams, the trailblazing forerunners of the modern SEAL Teams, with the BuSHIPS “canteen” watch that had been first introduced for use by UDT and Naval Combat Demolition Units during the Second World War. Hamilton’s version was immortalized in 1951’s The Frogmen, blending the brand’s military and cinematic heritage.

The 1950s also saw Hamilton break new ground. They launched the world’s first electric watch — the aptly named Electric 500 — in 1957; its Richard Arbib-designed Ventura variant became an icon when it appeared on the one-and-only Elvis Presley’s wrist in his 1961 film Blue Hawaii. Audiences, like Joan Blackman’s Maile Duval, couldn’t help falling in love with it. A film staple, it continues to appear in franchises like Men in Black.

Hamilton was called back to service in the 1960s as the United States plunged into war in Vietnam. While Benrus secured the primary contract for the MIL-W-3818 and 3818B field watch, Hamilton was brought in as one of the manufacturers of the higher-specification GG-W-113 meant for pilots and navigators. The brand produced these military pilot’s watches from 1967 through the late 1980s.

In 1966, the brand acquired the Buren Watch Company of Switzerland, including their factories and technologies likeBuren’s innovative micro-rotor. The two companies mixed components for the next three years before Hamilton finally ended its seventy-seven-year history of American manufacturing and routed all production to Switzerland. This shift — made in part due to the low comparative cost of labor and manufacturing — proved well-timed.

The 1969 introduction of the quartz wristwatch by Seiko radically transformed the watch industry. Hamilton was ready to counter, launching the world’s first digital watch — the LED Pulsar. Made of solid gold, it sold for the modern equivalent of approximately $14,000. Buren was returned to Swiss ownership the following year, with the Hamilton-Buren partnership coming to an end in 1972. Hamilton’s future did not appear bright. SSIH, the holding company formed by Omega and Tissot in 1930, purchased Hamilton in 1974. When SSIH merged with the ASUAG conglomerate in 1983, the modern Swatch Group was formed, of which Hamilton remains a part today.

Hamilton’s fortunes were primarily based on its lucrative military contracts. When the GG-W-113 was no longer needed, the brand found itself with the tooling, parts, and expertise to keep building them as it had for over twenty years. Rather than let it go to waste, Hamilton had the clever idea of marketing them to the general public and offering them to wholesalers with a unique range of co-branded dials. When it came to naming the revised version of this iconic timepiece, Hamilton leaned into its military origins and christened it the “Khaki”, a tribute to the soldiers who originally wore them.

Now based in Bienne, Switzerland, Hamilton has continued to innovate into the twentieth century. The brand's contemporary history has been defined by its commitment to the motion picture industry as well as its iconic Khaki line, providing a unique balance. Since 1932, Hamilton has appeared in over 500 film and television productions, even going so far as to create unique models just for those projects. The 2014 premiere of Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar did more than just wow audiences and critics, it introduced the world to a new Hamilton model — the Murph, named for one of the film’s main characters who was given the watch by her Hamilton-wearing father in an emotional depiction of a common 20th-century tradition, it created a storm. Five years later, the brand brought it to market, and enthusiasts have enjoyed wearing it since.

For over 130 years, Hamilton has held firm in its goal of producing quality wristwatches. Despite the changes in ownership, Hamilton still defines what many think of when it comes to American watch brands. Combining heritage style with Swiss manufacturing, it’s a natural home for new and experienced enthusiasts alike for thoughtful design at a price point that’s just right for many. To see more of our favorite Hamilton watches, check out the brand page on the Windup Watch Shop. As always, the Windup Watch Team is available via consultation to answer any questions you have. In addition, many of the products shown are eligible for free domestic shipping across the US.

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