Global Luxury Fashion

The Hamilton brand embraces two product lines – American Classic and Khaki. Both families build on the brand’s American heritage to create modern masterpieces of design and Swiss technology.

AMERICAN CLASSIC

 The American Classic line expresses the true American spirit of the Hamilton collection. These watches are about adding a signature of 21st century style and functionality to the unique shapes and characters of classic Hamilton models. Some of the original inspirations date back as far as the 1920s and are well established as design icons. The range includes pioneer designs such as Ventura, Everest and Lloyd, with their eye-catching lines, as well as timeless, essential classics such as Trent, Dodson, Boulton and Ardmore. The

Jazzmaster range also takes us back to the future with its timeless elegance.

KHAKI

The Khaki line comprises the Hamilton military watches with their long and strong tradition. “Khaki” originates from the Hindu word for earth or dust and has long been the color used for military uniforms. Today the color is associated with adventure and the current Khaki watches in the Hamilton collection are direct descendents of their heroic forerunners that served the forces in both world wars. Within the Hamilton Khaki line there are four families: Aviation, Action, Field and Navy, all with individual identities characterized by different functions, cases, colors, strap materials and hand or dial designs.

HAMILTON IN THE SKIES

Hamilton has a long aviation heritage dating back to 1919 when its aeronautical watch looked after the first American airmail postal service between Washington and New York. Watches from Hamilton continued to play a leading role in the pioneer age of aviation with pilots using them to check their position in the air, calculate air and wind speed, and to time radio communication on route. By the 1930s Hamilton was the official watch of the commercial airlines, TWA, Eastern, United and Northwest. In 2005 Hamilton became involved in the spectacular Red Bull Air Race series with its own pilot and plane. Again in 2006, Nicolas Ivanoff, competes with the world’s leading acrobatic pilots in his proudly branded Hamilton plane.

HAMILTON IN HOLLYWOOD

Hamilton has had a close relationship with Hollywood since the 1950s. The first movie to portray Hamilton product was the Oscar-nominated “Frogmen” in 1951 when the diving expertise of the characters and watches was put to the test. In the 1960s Elvis Presley followed suit and wore the Ventura in “Blue Hawaii”. To date Hamilton watches have appeared in over 300 movies. The distinctive shapes and styles of the timepieces remain hugely popular with leading stylists and costume designers. Hamilton honors and celebrates the work of these individuals through special annual awards.

1890s – ACCURACY The Hamilton Watch Company was founded in Lancaster, Pennsylvania in 1892. Its first series of pocket watches, Broadway Limited, became known as the “Watch of Railroad Accuracy”. The unrivalled precision and reliability of the Hamilton railroad watches put a stop to an epidemic of serious accidents and marked the beginning of a long and continuing journey of successful timekeeping. 1910s – DURABILITY During the second decade of the 20th century Hamilton gained the prestigious rank of supplier to the US Armed Forces. The first of the wrist-watches provided was used by General “Black Jack” Pershing and his troops who were fighting in the European trenches. 1920s – STYLE In the 1920s the winning formula of accuracy and durability gained an extra dimension. The introduction of the Piping Rock and Yankee watch in 1928 confirmed the Hamilton leadership in American style. 1940s – PATRIOTISM During World War II, Hamilton stopped production of watches for consumers to concentrate on the huge task of providing the forces with a total of one million timepieces. The Hamilton marine chrono-meter was the first to be produced by modern manufacturing methods and around 10,000 Hamilton marine chronometers experienced World War II action first hand 1950s & 1960s – INNOVATION The secret assignment, “Project X”, lasted three years and in 1957 resulted in the introduction of the Ventura, the world’s first electric (battery-powered) watch. In 1961 Elvis Presley wore his Ventura in the film “Blue Hawaii”. 1970s – TECHNOLOGY At 12.01 New York Time, on May 6, 1970, the world’s first digital watch started measuring time – made by Hamilton 1980s – NOSTALGIA A revival in the 80s saw the reintroduction of classic Hamilton designs from the 1920s through to the 1960s. Old favourites like the Boulton, Ardmore and Ventura fuelled and led an industry-wide trend of classic watches. 1990s – INTERPRETATION The special Hamilton/Hollywood relationship continued with roles in such films as Men in Black, Lethal Weapon 4, Fight Club, Independence Day, The Talented Mr. Ripley and You’ve Got Mail. Costume designers and stylists remained drawn to the eye-catching shapes and styles of the Hamilton timepieces for bringing a huge spectrum of characters to life. 1920s – STYLE TODAY – SOPHISTICATION Hamilton is established as one of the leading watchmakers in the world with a proven reputation for creating elegant and reliable timepieces. The watches combine a strong American spirit with the unrivalled precision of the latest Swiss movements and technology.