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The Hamilton Watch Company was an American company that was incorporated in 1892 and produced its first watch, the 936, in 1893. The company went on to manufacture and market pocket watches and wristwatches and subsequently become a diversified conglomerate. In 1971 it became the third company of what was to later become the Swatch Group and is today one of twenty brands belonging to the Swatch Group, the world's largest watch manufacturer and marketer. == History: 1892–1969 == 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 1886 with the purchase of Lancaster Watch Company's 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 1891 when the company was sold to Hamilton Watch Company. The Hamilton Watch Company was established in 1892 after Keystone Standard Watch Company was purchased from bankruptcy. During the same year, Aurora Watch Company of Illinois also merged into Keystone. The new company was named 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. During the expansion of the railroads in the U.S., Hamilton maintained over 56% of the market. Railroads purchased all of Hamilton's 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 complex in Lancaster. Hamilton eventually took possession of Aurora Watch Company's machinery shortly after incorporation. The first watch made under the Hamilton name was an 18-size 17-jewel pocket watch in 1893. During Hamilton's first fifteen years, only two size movements were produced — the 18-size and the smaller 16-size.〔(A Little Hamilton History )〕 The company's 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 1917, designed to appeal to men entering World War I and containing the 0-sized 17-jewel 983 movement originally designed for women's pendent watches. In 1928 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. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Hamilton Watch Company」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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