Watch Description
What makes the Lancaster 111 unique:
The Lancaster 111 is a confident blend of geometry and elegance. Its parchment-toned dial has softened beautifully with age, revealing a warm patina that gives each detail added depth. A ring of crisp black Art Deco numerals wraps the outer edge, balanced by a scrolling floral and script motif tucked just inside the center. At 6 o’clock, a recessed sub-seconds dial anchors the design, framed by slim railroad-style markers that reinforce the watch’s symmetry and sense of order. Hovering above it all are a set of heat-blued solid diamond kite hands—angular, sculptural, and rich with contrast.
At the heart of this watch is Hamilton’s 922 movement—a 12-size, 23-jewel masterpiece that represented the pinnacle of the company’s pocket watch engineering in the late 1920s. Built for accuracy, longevity, and refined decoration, the 922 was part of Hamilton’s elite lineup and reserved for their finest open-face watches. Ours is beautifully preserved and fully visible through the open caseback, where deep Geneva stripes ripple across the bridgework, gold-plated gears glint beneath polished steel screws, and concentric ring engravings accent the twin mainspring barrels. The level of finishing speaks to the pride and precision of American watchmaking at its peak.
The movement is housed in a 45mm stonewashed titanium case with a smooth tumbled steel bezel. A vertically grooved crown adds both grip and character, while the black Horween leather strap with natural stitching ties the whole piece together. It's a watch built to balance strength and subtlety.
In 1928, just as this movement was taking shape, inventor Charles Francis Jenkins launched the first regularly scheduled television broadcasts in the United States. While still experimental, the transmissions marked the beginning of a new era in American communication—one built on vision, precision, and the power of mechanical innovation.
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.
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Watch Specifications
- Manufacturer: Vortic Watch Company
- Model Year: 2025
- Warranty: Full 1-Year Warranty
- Case Dimensions:
- Diameter: 45mm
- Thickness: 12mm
- Lug to Lug: 50mm
- Lug Width: 22mm
- Case Material: Tumbled Titanium
- Crown/Hardware: Titanium
- Water Resistance: 1 ATM
- Crystals: Sapphire
- Case Back: Stainless Steel
- Strap: Leather
Movement
- Manufacturer: Hamilton Watch Company
- Serial Number: 3010903
- Manufacture Year: 1928
- Function: Manual Wind
- Jewels: 23 Jewels
- Hands: Original
- Size: 12s
- Power Reserve: ~36 Hours
What makes the Lancaster 111 unique:
The Lancaster 111 is a confident blend of geometry and elegance. Its parchment-toned dial has softened beautifully with age, revealing a warm patina that gives each detail added depth. A ring of crisp black Art Deco numerals wraps the outer edge, balanced by a scrolling floral and script motif tucked just inside the center. At 6 o’clock, a recessed sub-seconds dial anchors the design, framed by slim railroad-style markers that reinforce the watch’s symmetry and sense of order. Hovering above it all are a set of heat-blued solid diamond kite hands—angular, sculptural, and rich with contrast.
At the heart of this watch is Hamilton’s 922 movement—a 12-size, 23-jewel masterpiece that represented the pinnacle of the company’s pocket watch engineering in the late 1920s. Built for accuracy, longevity, and refined decoration, the 922 was part of Hamilton’s elite lineup and reserved for their finest open-face watches. Ours is beautifully preserved and fully visible through the open caseback, where deep Geneva stripes ripple across the bridgework, gold-plated gears glint beneath polished steel screws, and concentric ring engravings accent the twin mainspring barrels. The level of finishing speaks to the pride and precision of American watchmaking at its peak.
The movement is housed in a 45mm stonewashed titanium case with a smooth tumbled steel bezel. A vertically grooved crown adds both grip and character, while the black Horween leather strap with natural stitching ties the whole piece together. It's a watch built to balance strength and subtlety.
In 1928, just as this movement was taking shape, inventor Charles Francis Jenkins launched the first regularly scheduled television broadcasts in the United States. While still experimental, the transmissions marked the beginning of a new era in American communication—one built on vision, precision, and the power of mechanical innovation.
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.
