Watch Description
The Lancaster 088 is the 88th one-of-a-kind piece in Vortic's "Lancaster" line of the American Artisan Series. This watch contains the original movement (timepiece), dial (face), and hands from a vintage (1880’s – 1950’s) pocket watch. The American Artisan Series is a line of fully American Made wristwatches powered by restored, U.S. made pocket watch movements.
What makes the Lancaster 088 Unique: We are absolutely taken aback by this astounding watch from the Hamilton Watch Company out of Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Stark black numerals jump out from the dial, while the minute indicators around the outside bring a soft touch to the finer details. The bold open kite hands contrast the face well, with a rounded nickel crown to top it off. Our machined titanium DLC case helps show off the stunning features of this watch and goes perfectly with our navy strap. This 912 grade Hamilton movement is built upon this signature ¾ build plate with these eye-catching Geneva lines. Gold-plated gears peek out from behind the bridge, while the Reed regulator and double roller escapement keep the brass balance on track. Originally manufactured by Hamilton in 1931, the same year that they patented their signature Elinvar Hairspring, something they would use in all of their models moving forward. This is the same year that the Empire State Building completed construction in New York. The building stands at 1,454 ft tall and remained as the world’s tallest building until the construction of the World Trade Center in 1970.
1931
3347681
Movement Manufacturer Information
The movement inside of this watch was made by Hamilton Watch Company. We call this model "The Lancaster" because the company was located in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
Hamilton is named after famous Pennsylvanian Alexander Hamilton and is the result of multiple re-organizations of attempted watch companies in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1892, Hamilton had a reputation for superior quality and maintained half of the railroad watch market share during some of the most prolific years of American railroad history. During World War II, Hamilton was integral to the production of accurate timepieces for the Military. Deemed "the watch that won the war," the company established an employee-run newsletter so that employees turned soldiers could keep up with life at the factory. While the original factory still stands as luxury apartments, the company stopped producing watches in the US in 1969. Hamilton now produces watches in Switzerland and is owned by the Swatch Group.
Legal Disclaimer: All product and company names, logos, brands, and other trademarks featured or referred to within Vortic's products and services are the property of their respective intellectual property rights holders, if any. Those intellectual property rights holders, other than Vortic, LLC, are not affiliated with Vortic, LLC, our products, or our website. They do not sponsor or endorse our materials.
Watch Specifications
- Manufacturer: Vortic Watch Company
- Model Year: 2021
- Warranty: Full 1-Year Warranty
- Case Dimensions:
- Diameter: 47mm
- Thickness: 12mm
- Lug to Lug: 55mm
- Lug Width: 22mm
- Case Material: DLC Titanium
- Crown/Hardware: Nickel Plated
- Water Resistance: 1 ATM
- Crystals: Sapphire
- Case Back: Stainless Steel
- Strap: Leather
Movement
- Manufacturer: Hamilton Watch Company
- Serial Number:
- Manufacture Year:
- Function: Manual Wind
- Jewels: 17 Jewels
- Hands: Original
- Size: 12s
- Power Reserve: ~36 Hours
The Lancaster 088 is the 88th one-of-a-kind piece in Vortic's "Lancaster" line of the American Artisan Series. This watch contains the original movement (timepiece), dial (face), and hands from a vintage (1880’s – 1950’s) pocket watch. The American Artisan Series is a line of fully American Made wristwatches powered by restored, U.S. made pocket watch movements.
What makes the Lancaster 088 Unique: We are absolutely taken aback by this astounding watch from the Hamilton Watch Company out of Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Stark black numerals jump out from the dial, while the minute indicators around the outside bring a soft touch to the finer details. The bold open kite hands contrast the face well, with a rounded nickel crown to top it off. Our machined titanium DLC case helps show off the stunning features of this watch and goes perfectly with our navy strap. This 912 grade Hamilton movement is built upon this signature ¾ build plate with these eye-catching Geneva lines. Gold-plated gears peek out from behind the bridge, while the Reed regulator and double roller escapement keep the brass balance on track. Originally manufactured by Hamilton in 1931, the same year that they patented their signature Elinvar Hairspring, something they would use in all of their models moving forward. This is the same year that the Empire State Building completed construction in New York. The building stands at 1,454 ft tall and remained as the world’s tallest building until the construction of the World Trade Center in 1970.
1931
3347681
Let customers speak for us
The Movement
The engine that powers this watch is an antique American pocket watch movement. All the gears and springs that make it tell time are roughly 100 years old on average. We call these watches the American Artisan Series because we're celebrating the history and legacy of the artisan watchmakers who built this engineering marvel a century ago in the United States.
The Story
Today most pocket watches are scrapped for the gold or silver of the case (the outside of the antique timepiece), leaving the inside (what we call the "movement") as trash.
We take pride in upcycling these pieces of American history by salvaging as many as we can, then preserving them inside our wristwatches.
Our expert team of watchmakers restores the antique movement and then we manufacture a custom wristwatch case here in Fort Collins, Colorado.
The Strap
We partnered with Worn & Wound to produce a custom set of straps for our American Artisan Series watches. We now have 15 different colors to choose from including our two Horween Shell Cordovan options. These straps are made in the USA and are based on the Windup Model 2 Premium strap that Worn and Wound offers.
