Hamilton Watch Company
The current logo for Hamilton as of August 2016.
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| Subsidiary | |
| Industry | Watchmaking |
| Founded | 1892, Lancaster, Pennsylvania, US |
| Headquarters | Bienne, Switzerland |
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Number of locations
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~1,600 |
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Area served
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Worldwide |
| Parent | The Swatch Group |
| Website | hamiltonwatch.com |
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 1892 and produced its first watch in 1893.
After its formation, the Hamilton Watch Company went on to manufacture and market pocket watches and wristwatches, ending American manufacture in 1969. 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 world's largest watch manufacturer and marketer.
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 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 1892 and a new name selected. The company was named after Andrew Hamilton, a Scottish born attorney who laid and out and founded Lancaster, and was the original owner of the Lancaster site on which the factory was situated.
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