HAMILTON HISTORY (PAGE 3)

Man had so far employed five basic means to tell time: sun, fire, water, weight (gravity) and the coiled spring, which by the 1940s had been in use nearly 500 years. Then a team of research scientists at the Hamilton Watch Company became intrigued by the challenging idea of an electric wristwatch, completely portable and self-contained. In January 1957, Hamilton introduced the world's first electric wrist watch, a breakthrough for the industry and the first basic change in portable timekeeping since the early 16th century. Powered by a tiny 1Y2-VOlt battery guaranteed to run the watch more than a year, the new watch completely eliminated the need for a mainspring. The electric current necessary to operate one 100-watt bulb for one minute could run an electric watch for 20 years.

Also during the mid-fifties Hamilton embarked on a program of expansion and diversification. As a result, the company currently produces watches under three brand names--Hamilton, Vantage and Buren--in six plants in this country and abroad, manufactures sterling and plated silverware, fabricates and processes rare and exotic metals, and produces mechanical and electronic measuring devices and components. Hamilton also turns out rocket fuel alloys, special metals for the Apollo program, missile timers and safety and arming devices for military applications.

The first major step in expansion occurred in 1959 when Wallace Silversmiths, one of the oldest and most respected silver firms in the country, joined the Hamilton family. Robert Wallace combined mechanical skill, industry and initiative in manufacturing the first German silver spoon in America in 1835, which served as the foundation for the company. From a converted grist mill on the banks of the Quinnipiac River in Wallingford, Connecticut, Wallace has grown to its present size occupying 45 acres. With its move into silver, Hamilton entered a completely new product area which, though different in manufacturing processes, was distributed through essentially the same outlets as watches. Hamilton expanded international operations in the same year with the purchase of the century-old firm of A. Huguenin Fils, S.A. of Bienne, Switzerland, and the later establishment of Hamilton Watch Company, S.A. A resurgent economy in Europe and Japan during the late fifties and early sixties opened watch markets virtually untapped by Hamilton.

VISIT MY HAMILTON POCKET WATCH PAGES:

HAMILTON POCKET WATCHES
HAMILTON'S FIRST BOARD OF DIRECTORS
HAMILTON HISTORY (PAGE 1)
HAMILTON HISTORY (PAGE 2)
HAMILTON HISTORY (PAGE 4)
HAMILTON HISTORY (PAGE 5)
HAMILTON RAILROAD WATCHES
MODEL 956
SIZE 16
1910
VISIT :

MY FAMILY
CONGESTIVE HEART FAILURE
TOM'S BOOKS
TOM'S MUSIC PAGE
START