Watch Description
What makes the Lancaster 140 unique: Today, we’re thrilled to present this historic watch originally manufactured by the Hamilton Watch Company in 1928 — the Lancaster 140. This watch boasts a unique, antique dial with a white center and an aged brown background underneath its dark-gold-colored numerals. The watch also features violet, Gothic hands that look stunning underneath its “Hamilton” label. We encased this breathtaking piece within our Machined Titanium case and equipped it with a nickel-plated crown. The open back of the watch reveals its remarkable 912-grade open-face movement with a reed regulator, nickel finish, pendant setting, and black inlay color. You can also view the watch’s robust and luxurious gold-plated gears powered by 17 screw-set jewels throughout its ¾ plate. To top it all off, we equipped this marvelous timepiece with our comfortable, artisan-designed Natural leather watch strap. The Hamilton watch company initially produced the Lancaster 140’s pocket watch in 1928 — the same year that American accountant Walter E. Diemer invented bubble gum. Diemer worked as an accountant for the Fleer Chew Gum Company when he created a new recipe of gum that was stretchier and less sticky than regular gum, enabling chewers to blow bubbles. The bubble gum — which Fleer president labeled “Dubble Bubble” — was an instant success and dominated the bubble gum market until Bazooka created its iconic bubble gum in 1947.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 Titanium
- Crown/Hardware: Nickel Plated
- Water Resistance: 1 ATM
- Crystals: Sapphire
- Case Back: Stainless Steel
- Strap: Leather
Movement
- Manufacturer: Hamilton Watch Company
- Serial Number: 3296959
- Manufacture Year: 1928
- Function: Manual Wind
- Jewels: 17 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.
