Watch Description
What makes the Lancaster 165 unique: Today, we have an incredibly special watch originally manufactured by the Hamilton Watch Company in 1937 — the Lancaster 165. This breathtaking piece boasts an elegant dial with distinct golden numerals that glimmer handsomely against its cream-colored background. The front of the watch also features blued steel solid diamond kite hands and a convenient subdial. We complemented the pocket watch’s golden numerals by equipping it with our Gilded Titanium case and gold-plated crown. On the back of the watch, you can view its 912-grade open-face movement with a reed regulator, nickel finish, and bold, black inlay colors. Like the dial, the back of the watch features a distinct style with its black and golden details. Its gold-plated gears turn on 17 stunning screw-set jewels that reside within the movement’s ¾ plate. Finally, we topped the piece off with our artisan-designed Rye leather watch strap, making this American-made watch even more eye-catching.The Hamilton Watch Company initially produced this remarkable pocket watch in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, in 1937 — the same year that John Steinbeck published his acclaimed novella Of Mice and Men. Steinbeck drew inspiration for the novella’s subject matter from working on a farm with migrant workers as a teenager. Originally, Steinbeck intended on titling the work Something That Happened, but he changed the title to reference Robert Burns’ poem To a Mouse, which features the iconic line “The best-laid schemes o’ Mice an’ Men / Gang aft agley,” which people now usually quote as, “The best-laid schemes of mice and men often go awry.”
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: Gold Plated
- Water Resistance: 1 ATM
- Crystals: Sapphire
- Case Back: Stainless Steel
- Strap: Leather
Movement
- Manufacturer: Hamilton Watch Company
- Serial Number: 3444233
- Manufacture Year: 1937
- Function: Manual Wind
- Jewels: 17 Jewels
- Hands: Original
- Size: 12s
- Power Reserve: ~36 Hours
The Hamilton Watch Company initially produced this remarkable pocket watch in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, in 1937 — the same year that John Steinbeck published his acclaimed novella Of Mice and Men. Steinbeck drew inspiration for the novella’s subject matter from working on a farm with migrant workers as a teenager. Originally, Steinbeck intended on titling the work Something That Happened, but he changed the title to reference Robert Burns’ poem To a Mouse, which features the iconic line “The best-laid schemes o’ Mice an’ Men / Gang aft agley,” which people now usually quote as, “The best-laid schemes of mice and men often go awry.”
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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.
