Watch Description
What makes the Lancaster 148 unique: Today, we're thrilled to feature this breathtaking piece originally manufactured by the Hamilton Watch Company in 1923 — the Lancaster 148. This timepiece boasts a unique, luxurious-looking dial with black numerals atop a gold-colored background, and the dial also features teal diamond kite hour and minute hands. We encased the sumptuous pocket watch within our robust and stylish Gunmetal Titanium case and paired it with a gold-plated crown, complementing the dial's background. On the back, you can view the pocket watch's intricate inner workings, including a 916-grade open-face movement with a nickel finish and pendant setting. The piece also boasts gold-plated gears powered by 17 jewels throughout its ¾ plate. We matched the timepiece with our comfortable and hand-crafted Natural leather watch strap, making the final product even more stunning. The Hamilton Watch Company initially produced the Lancaster 148's pocket watch in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, in 1923 — the same year British watchmaker John Harwood invented the self-winding wristwatch. Harwood patented his watch in 1924, and he opened the Harwood Self-Winding Watch Company in 1928. Unfortunately, his company went under only three years later during the Great Depression. In 1957, Harwood was awarded a gold medal from the British Horological Institute for his groundbreaking invention.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
- Warranty: Full 1-Year Warranty
- Case Dimensions:
- Diameter: 47mm
- Thickness: 12mm
- Lug to Lug: 55mm
- Lug Width: 22mm
- Case Material: Gunmetal Titanium
- Crown/Hardware: Gold Plated
- Water Resistance: 1 ATM
- Crystals: Sapphire
- Case Back: Stainless Steel
- Strap: Leather
Movement
- Manufacturer: Hamilton Watch Company
- Serial Number: 3102356
- Manufacture Year: 1923
- 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.
