Watch Description
What makes the Lancaster 170 unique: We’re excited to spotlight today’s gorgeous antique watch initially produced by the Hamilton Watch Company in 1926 — the Lancaster 170. This watch features a stunningly-aged, light-tan dial with a breathtaking center design pattern that’s reminiscent of a multi-pointed star. You can also see the dial’s stylized black numerals and its blued steel arrow watch hands. We complemented the pocket watch’s style and colors by encasing it within our robust Bronzed Titanium case and topped it off with a copper crown. On the back of the watch, you can see the piece’s historic 916-grade open-face movement that boasts a nickel finish and pendant setting. The watch’s movement also showcases powerful gold-plated gears and 17 sumptuous jewels throughout its ¾ plate. Finally, we matched this stylish, American-made watch with our comfortable Stout leather watch strap to further emphasize the piece’s rustic color palette.The Hamilton Watch Company first produced the Lancaster 170’s pocket watch in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, in 1926 — the same year that the American cereal brand Wheaties debuted the first-ever radio jingle advertisement. The jingle aired on Christmas Eve of 1926 on the WCCO radio station in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Wheaties jingle was titled “Have You Tried Wheaties?” and was sung to the tune of “She’s a Jazz Baby,” a popular song at the time. A local Minneapolis barbershop quartet performed the song and made history by laying the groundwork for future ad jingles.
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: Sandblasted Titanium
- Crown/Hardware: Copper
- Water Resistance: 1 ATM
- Crystals: Sapphire
- Case Back: Stainless Steel
- Strap: Leather
Movement
- Manufacturer: Hamilton Watch Company
- Serial Number: 3118061
- Manufacture Year: 1926
- Function: Manual Wind
- Jewels: 17 Jewels
- Hands: Original
- Size: 12s
- Power Reserve: ~36 Hours
The Hamilton Watch Company first produced the Lancaster 170’s pocket watch in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, in 1926 — the same year that the American cereal brand Wheaties debuted the first-ever radio jingle advertisement. The jingle aired on Christmas Eve of 1926 on the WCCO radio station in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Wheaties jingle was titled “Have You Tried Wheaties?” and was sung to the tune of “She’s a Jazz Baby,” a popular song at the time. A local Minneapolis barbershop quartet performed the song and made history by laying the groundwork for future ad jingles.
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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.
