The London Lounge

Hello all,

My father recently gave me a Hamilton watch which had been passed to him from his uncle. I have very limited knowledge about watch makers, and I know Hamilton is no fine piece of swiss craftsmanship, but, the watch dates to the 1920s--and that is why it interests me.

Being a bit old, does it carry any decent monetary value?

thanks,
chris

Age does not confer value, Chris. Nor, in this case, might fine quality: the best Hamiltons are the equal of all but the very best Swiss watches in excellence of manufacture, yet their prices lag far behind (a good thing, I think).

I hope you'll cherish the watch as an exemplar of formerly dominant American workmanship and, far more, for its long connection with your family.

I certainly shall, and thank you for your response.

Hi Chris,

I presume this is a pocket watch...the new Hamiltons have nothing to do with the older ones...the new ones are totally Swiss, while the original Hamiltons were made in the US.

can you show us a picture? Some of the Hamilton Railroads are quite valuable, and very nicely finished.

I'll try to snap a photo soon....it's a wristwatch by the way.

kirsch wrote:I'll try to snap a photo soon....it's a wristwatch by the way.

Hi K

Please note the use of 'WERE'; nowadays they are a low end division of the Swatch Group.

They had wonderful craftsmanship & finishing but the esoteric styled electric watches in the late 1950s to the 60s essentially killed the company.

Enjoy it with pride.

Dear kirsch,
would you let us know the serial number of your Hamilton? I might tell you more about your fine watch in terms of manufacturing dates (roughly) and model/size even though it does not say anything about the case and dial.
A great company, indeed, that started in 1892 (deriving from the Lancaster Watch Co.) manufacturing exclusively high-grade watches (i.e. at least 17 jewels, there are just a very few 7 J Hamiltons of the early years).