Watch Description
What makes the Lancaster 118 unique: For Today’s release, we could not be happier to present this incredible watch from the Hamilton Watch Company, our Lancaster 118. We are blown away by the fine details of this dial, with its soft egg-shell tone and bright gold-colored numerals. These dark, blued-steel hands stand out nicely, drawing you in to capture all of the different intricately designed elements of this dial. We placed this watch inside of our bronze case with a signature patina finish that gives the watch a uniform, aged look. We couldn’t imagine a better combination to go with the exterior of this watch than this absolutely stunning 23 jewel 922 movement from Hamilton. The bridge plates have been carefully machined to display this incredible spiral pattern all throughout, in combination with the design of the separate bridges to give a visual sense of turning. Rose-gold gears and plates are on display beneath the build plates to show off the high value of this watch, making it truly stand out among others like it. This watch was originally manufactured in 1930 in Lancaster, Pennsylvania in a very short run of only 2,000 other watches like it. On January 15th of this same year, the moon traveled to its closest distance from Earth in recent history, coming within 221,455 miles from our surface. This event occurred at the same time as it was in its fullest phase of the Lunar Cycle. The next time that the moon will be this close to Earth will occur on January 1, 2257.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
- Warranty: Full 1-Year Warranty
- Case Dimensions:
- Diameter: 47mm
- Thickness: 12mm
- Lug to Lug: 55mm
- Lug Width: 22mm
- Case Material: Machined Bronze
- Crown/Hardware: Nickel Plated
- Water Resistance: 1 ATM
- Crystals: Sapphire
- Case Back: Stainless Steel
- Strap: Leather
Movement
- Manufacturer: Hamilton Watch Company
- Serial Number: 3013917
- Manufacture Year: 1930
- Function: Manual Wind
- Jewels: 23 Jewels
- Hands: Original
- Size: 12s
- Power Reserve: ~36 Hours
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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.
