Hampden Pocket Watch Serial Number Lookup
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Above are Manheimer and Wein era watches. They cannot be dated by serial number and are best dated from catalogs. The origin of the movements could be Swiss, French or German. The two centre left watches were branded 'Woolbrook' and 'Douglas' by the Hampden Watch Co. The left upper pocket watch is a clone made in Moscow and known as a Type-1.
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The Hampden Watch Company was known for its high quality watches while it was in business. Today, many of the watches made by this company are collector items. If you collect Hampden watches, you'll appreciate knowing more about the company history. Read on...
Company Origins
The Hampden Pocket Watch Company began its existence as the Mozart Watch Company in 1864. Established by Donald J. Mozart, the company was originally located in Providence, Rhode Island. After several failures, Samuel Rice joined Mozart and the name was changed to the New York Watch Company. It moved to Springfield, Massachusetts in October, 1867, where they produced two grades of watches; the 18 size, ¾ plate Springfield and the 16 size, ¾ plate State Street. In 1877, the company changed its name to the Hampden Watch Company.
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Meanwhile, in Newport, Kentucky, John C. Dueber had established a company that made watch cases called the Dueber Watch Case Manufacturing Company. In 1886, he bought controlling interest in the Hampden Watch Company in order to protect his business from the Watch Case Trust. In 1888, Dueber moved the company from Massachusetts to Canton, Ohio. The watch company and the case company were housed in separate factories located right next door to each other. Advertisements for the company listed it as the Dueber-Hampden Watch Works, although the two companies were not formally merged together until around 1925.
The Watch Trust
The Watch Trust included many different watch making companies. They formed the trust to restrict trade so that watch movements could not be sold without cases. It was common practise at the time for the watch case to be made by a different company than the movements, as was the case with Dueber's watch case company and Hampden Watch Company. They also made it difficult for jewelers to purchase movements and cases from any company that was not part of the trust. Dueber suffered from this practice and sued the companies involved, claiming that they wanted to form a monopoly and keep his company from competing in the market. Dueber won the case after several months' deliberation, but in 1896, the Trust was close to forming again. The Sherman Anti-Trust Act played an important role in bringing down the Watch Trust and the government filed suit against many of the companies that were in violation of the anti-trust legislation.
Railway Watches
Railroad pocket watches were an important staple for most watch companies. Standards had to be met in order for a watch to be used by railroad personnel. It had to be open faced, keep accurate time and have clear Arabic numerals in black on a white face. In its previous incarnation as the New York Watch Company, Hampden had an 18 size, 15-jewel Railway pocket watch that was one its highest grades. It remained at the top of the Hampden line after the reorganization. Soon a new model was introduced that used the stem to wind the watch. It was first made only in a hunting case. A hunting case is one that opens to show the watch and closes to protect it. The same watch was offered open face, but instead of being listed as a Railway grade, it was listed as grade 60. After the factory was moved to Ohio, the company began making an open faced Railway grade Hampden pocket watch. Years later, this grade was discontinued when Dueber introduced his new line of 17-jewel watches. Railway watches in the new lines were known as Special Railway and New Railway grades.
Hampden Pocket Watch Serial Number Lookup Tool
Some facts about Jeweled Watches
You may hear of a 17 jewel or a 23 jewel watch, but what does it mean? The jewels are not for decoration; they are put into the mechanism to act as bearings on the gears. The jewels don't get worn away as do metal grinding on metal bearings, hence improving accuracy and enhancing the life of the movement. A watch with no jewels won't work for long. The jewels most often used in watch-making are rubies, diamonds and sapphires. Each wheel in the watch mechanism has a shaft that is threaded through a donut shaped jewel that reduces the friction. These industrial grade gemstones help define the quality of a watch. A lesser quality watch would only be made with a few jewels. The Hampden pocket watch started with 15 jeweled models in their early railroad watches, (15 jewels being the minimum standard for a railroad grade). Eventually they introduced 17 jewel watches, then 21 jewel and finally 23 jewel for their top of the line. It is also worth mentioning that some Hampden pocket watch makers added false jewels to give an otherwise fairly ordinary watch an undeserved 'high quality' tag.
Hampden Pocket Watch Special Models
The Hampden Pocket Watch Company made some special models, or grades. The William McKinley grade was a thin, 16 size watch introduced in 1902 or 1903. It came in either 17 or 21 jeweled versions. The watch was named after President William McKinley, who had been assassinated a few years earlier. He was laid to rest in Canton, Ohio, where the watch factory was located.
The Dueber Watch Company grade was made in both 16 and 18 size, in 15 jewel, 17 jewel and 21 jewel models. The company placed ads listing them as passing inspection on all roads, which leads one to think that perhaps the watch in question wasn't acceptable to some of the railroads.
The Molly Stark was a 3 size, 7 jewel gilded ladies' watch. It was introduced in 1896. Another grade named after her husband, General Stark, was a 16 size, 17 jewel nickel watch that came in both open face and hunting case versions. General John Stark was a hero at Bunker Hill during the Revolutionary War. Since the watch factory was located in Stark County, Ohio, the company decided to honor the General and his wife by associating watch grades with their names.
Hampden Pocket Watch Sizes
| Watch Size | Inches | mm |
|---|---|---|
| 11/0 | .833 | 21.17 |
| 8/0 | .933 | 23.71 |
| 5/0 | 1.033 | 26.11 |
| 3/0 | 1.10 | 27.91 |
| 6 | 1.367 | 34.71 |
| 12 | 1.567 | 39.79 |
| 16 | 1.70 | 43.18 |
| 17 | 1.733 | 44.03 |
| 18 | 1.767 | 44.87 |
The End of the Hampden Pocket Watch Company
In 1925, the company was sold to Walter Vrettman. He went bankrupt in 1927 and sold all of the watch making equipment to Amtorg, a Russian company. It took almost 30 boxcars to remove all the equipment when it left Canton in 1931 along with 21 former employees of Dueber Hampden. They were contracted for a year to teach the craft of watch making to the Amtorg employees.
While little is known about what happened after the equipment left the factory due to the closed borders of the former Soviet Union, there is a note that horology professor Henry Fried of New York University reported seeing Dueber-Hampden machinery used in 1986 in China.
The Hampden name did not get sold along with its equipment. The brand name was purchased by the Clinton Watch Company, which was owned by the Wien family of Chicago. Apparently they still own the name as they have a facility in the Virgin Islands known as the Hampden Watch Company.
Collecting Hampden Watches
Hampden pocket watches are highly collectible, but you may not find them worth as much as the bigger, more well known companies like Elgin and Waltham. Hampden was known for making a good quality watch, however. Because they were made by a smaller company, new collectors may find Hampdens to be a good place to start. The material used for the case may affect value (whether it was gold, gold-filled or base metal), but the movement itself is the most important. Many excellent Railroad movements were put into less expensive cases. New collectors should read and research to learn as much as possible about the Hampden company and the watches they made. Knowing the little stories and histories of each model can make a watch more valuable. If you can find out personal history of the particular watch you want to collect, that adds value, too. This personal history is known as the provenance. Having a written record of the watch's provenance helps a lot when you get it appraised and can add to its value.
Happy Collecting!
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Including Hamilton Watch Serial Numbers and Production Dates
Lancaster, Pennsylvania
1892 - 1969
Hamilton factory: Using a precision scale to fit
balance screws to a balance.
Hamilton Watch Company: Early Days
In 1874, General Ulysses S. Grant was President of the United States and Conestoga wagons creaked their way along the Lancaster Turnpike, as citizens heeded the call of Horace Greely to 'Go West.' Another form of pioneer was building a factory in the pastoral community of Lancaster, Pennsylvania. The Adams and Perry Watch Company was built right beside the turnpike. Its founders possessed a good combination of skills: Mr. Perry was a watch designer, and Mr. Adams was an organizer and promoter. They brought skilled watchmakers to Lancaster and began production in 1875.
Like so many infant industries, Adams and Perry did not have enough capital to market their product. Lancaster citizens came to their rescue in 1877, raising $225,000, and the reorganized company was renamed the Lancaster Watch Company. The Lancaster Watch Company continued to suffer growing pains and was reorganized again in 1884, this time as the Keystone Standard Watch Company. Nevertheless, the financial problems persisted until 1892.
In that year, the Hamilton Watch Company came into existence as a result of yet another reorganization. The name, Hamilton, was selected to honor Andrew Hamilton, original owner of the Lancaster site on which the factory was situated. Hamilton was granted the land by William Penn's heirs and is credited with founding the city of Lancaster with his son James.
Hamilton Watch was founded by merging Keystone with the Aurora (Illinois) Watch Company. Aurora machinery was moved to Lancaster in summer of 1892. Among the leading business and professional men of Lancaster who founded the Hamilton Watch Company were J. W. B.Bausman, John F. Brimmer, Harry B. Cochran, Frank P. Coho, C. A. Fondersmith, George M. Franklin, John Sener, John C. Hager, J. F. McCaskey, H. M. North, Martin Ringwalt, J. Frederick Sener, William Z. Sener, James Shand, Peter T. Watt and H. S. Williamson. Charles D. Rood and Henry J. Cain of Springfield, Massachusetts represented the Aurora interests.
Hamilton Railroad Watches
The Hamilton Watch Company was founded in 1892 and set out to serve the railroad market with accurate timepieces. The rugged, precision watch that Hamilton produced became a favorite among railroad watch inspectors and personnel. In fulfilling the railroads' requirements for accuracy, it also filled the needs of the general public for a timepiece of high quality. By the turn of the century it came to be known as 'Hamilton – The Railroad Timekeeper of America.'
In 1927 Hamilton purchased the Illinois Watch Company of Springfield, Illinois and Robert E. Miller, vice-president, left Lancaster to become its general manager. The Hamilton-Sangamo Corporation was formed in 1929 by the Hamilton Watch Company and the Sangamo Electric Company of Springfield, Illinois to market a new line of electric clocks. The Hamilton-Sangamo Corporation was sold in 1931 to General Time Instruments, Inc. Trademarks of the E. Howard Watch Company were acquired by Hamilton in 1931. Although never extremely active in the manufacture of 'Howard' watches, Hamilton has produced small quantities under this brand name.
Hamilton Military Watches
American soldiers during World War I preferred the smaller size and convenience of the wristwatch to the 'old-fashioned' pocket watches. This trend caused a major shift in American watch production, with a new emphasis on producing wristwatch models for both men and women. During World War II, Hamilton ramped-up production of several models of chronometer to meet the US Armed Forces (particularly the US Navy's) need for an extremely accurate timepiece which could be used for navigation at sea. Prior to WWII, such highly accurate instruments were only produced abroad. The first Hamilton chronometers were delivered to the Navy in February 1942, and at their peak Hamilton was making 500 chronometers per month!
Hamilton Model 23 Military Chronograph was widely used during WWII as a navigator's 'stop-watch'.
Based on the super-reliable 992B with Elinvar hairspring and mono-metallic balance, the Mod 23 adds a chronograph mechanism, making it one of the most complicated watches produced by Hamilton.
Hamilton has always been on the forefront of horological innovation. The Elinvar hairspring was patented in 1931 and used in all movements thereafter. The name Elinvar was derived from the term 'Elasticity Invariable' and was the first alloy to resist the changes in elasticity that occur with changes in temperature.
Hamilton Electric
In January 1957, Hamilton introduced the world's first electric wristwatch, a breakthrough for the industry and the first basic change in portable timekeeping since the early 16th century. Powered by a tiny 1.5 volt battery guaranteed to run the watch for more than a year, the new watch completely eliminated the need for a mainspring. The electric current necessary to operate one 100-watt bulb for one minute could run an electric watch for 20 years. The Hamilton Electrics featured not only a revolutionary movement design, but also were known for their avant garde styling, making them among the most collectible watches today.
Also during the mid-fifties Hamilton embarked on a program of expansion and diversification. As a result, the company produced watches under three brand names – Hamilton, Vantage and Buren – in six plants in this country and abroad, manufactured sterling and plated silverware, fabricated and processed rare and exotic metals, and produced mechanical and electronic measuring devices and components. Hamilton also produced rocket fuel alloys, special metals for the Apollo program, missile timers and safety and arming devices for military applications.
Hamilton continued to produce some of the finest American watches until 1969, earning them the distinction of being the only American watch company to survive global competition will into the 20th century. They truly represent the pinnacle of American watchmaking.
Modern Hamilton Watches
If you own a modern, battery-powered quartz Hamilton Watch, you should know that it has no connection to the original Hamilton Watch Company. Watches bearing the Hamilton name can still be found today, but the brand is now owned by the Swatch Group, one of the largest Swiss watch conglomerates. Any Swatch service center can perform repairs on your modern Hamilton watch.
SPONSORED ADVERTISEMENTS
Hamilton Watch Company
Total Production: Approx. 4.5 Million Watches
| Year | S/N |
|---|---|
| 1893 | 1 - 2000 |
| 1894 | 5000 |
| 1895 | 11,500 |
| 1896 | 16,000 |
| 1897 | 27,000 |
| 1898 | 50,000 |
| 1899 | 74,000 |
| 1900 | 104,000 |
| 1901 | 143,000 |
| 1902 | 196,000 |
| 1903 | 260,000 |
| 1904 | 340,000 |
| 1905 | 435,000 |
| 1906 | 500,000 |
| 1907 | 580,000 |
| 1908 | 680,000 |
| 1909 | 750,000 |
| Year | S/N |
|---|---|
| 1910 | 790,000 |
| 1911 | 860,000 |
| 1912 | 940,000 |
| 1913 | 1,000,000 |
| 1914 | 1,100,000 |
| 1915 | 1,200,000 |
| 1916 | 1,300,000 |
| 1917 | 1,400,000 |
| 1918 | 1,500,000 |
| 1919 | 1,600,000 |
| 1920 | 1,700,000 |
| 1921 | 1,800,000 |
| 1922 | 1,900,000 |
| 1923 | 2,000,000 |
| 1924 | 2,050,000 |
| 1925 | 2,100,000 |
| 1926 | 2,150,000 |
| Year | S/N |
|---|---|
| 1927 | 2,200,000 |
| 1928 | 2,250,000 |
| 1929 | 2,300,000 |
| 1930 | 2,350,000 |
| 1931 | 2,400,000 |
| 1932 | 2,440,000 |
| 1933 | 2,480,000 |
| 1934 | 2,520,000 |
| 1935 | 2,560,000 |
| 1936 | 2,600,000 |
| 1937 | 2,900,000 |
| 1938 | 3,200,000 |
| 1939 | 3,400,000 |
| 1940 | 4,000,000 |
| 1941 | 4,250,000 |
| 1942 | 4,500,000 |
Be sure to use the serial number on the movement (the works) of the watch. Do not use the serial number from the watch case.
Hampden Pocket Watch Serial Number Lookup New
Can’t find your serial number in the table? Click here for an explanation and example of how to use our serial number tables.
Need help finding the serial number on your watch? Click here for instructions on how to identify and open most common case types.
Hamilton also used serial numbers preceded by a letter on certain grades from about the late 30's until the late 60's. The following tables can help in identifying these watches. It is sometimes necessary to interpolate to estimate the particular year of a watch.
| Grade | S/N | Year |
|---|---|---|
| 992B | C001 | 1940 |
| 992B | C40,000 | 1941 |
| 992B | C60,000 | 1942 |
| 992B | C90,000 | 1943 |
| 992B | C120,000 | 1944 |
| 992B | C170,000 | 1946 |
| 992B | C215,000 | 1947 |
| 992B | C255,000 | 1948 |
| 992B | C350,000 | 1949 |
| 992B | C390,000 | 1950 |
| 992B | C420,000 | 1954 |
| 992B | C455,000 | 1956 |
| 992B | C500,000 | 1959 |
| 992B | C520,000 | 1964 |
| 992B | C529,200 | 1969 |
| - | - | - |
| 4992B | 4C0001 | 1941 |
| 4992B | 4C40,000 | 1942 |
| 4992B | 4C90,000 | 1944 |
| 4992B | 4C120,000 | 1950 |
| 4992B | 4C135,000 | 1960 |
| 4992B | 4C145,000 | 1968 |
| Grade | S/N | Year |
|---|---|---|
| 950B | 2B001 | 1941 |
| 950B | 2B400 | 1942 |
| 950B | 2B800 | 1943 |
| - | - | - |
| 950B | S001 | 1941 |
| 950B | S1500 | 1944 |
| 950B | S2800 | 1945 |
| 950B | S4000 | 1946 |
| 950B | S4500 | 1947 |
| 950B | S6500 | 1948 |
| 950B | S7500 | 1949 |
| 950B | S10,000 | 1951 |
| 950B | S25,000 | 1955 |
| 950B | S28,000 | 1962 |
| 950B | S30,000 | 1965 |
| Grade | S/N | Year |
|---|---|---|
| 401 | H50001 - H57500 | 1930 - 1933 |
| 747 | Y001 - Y453800 | 1947 - 1954 |
| 748 | CY001 - CY232000 | 1948 - 1954 |
| 750 | 001A - 914000A | 1949 - 1954 |
| 752 | 001E - 48000E | 1951 - 1954 |
| 753 | 001F - 103400F | 1951 - 1954 |
| 754 | 001H - 43900H | 1952 - 1954 |
| 979 | 2900001 - 2931900 | 1934 - 1951 |
| 980 | G101 - G669400 | 1934 - 1951 |
| 980B | A001 - A8900 | 1937 - 1946 |
| H980 | HW001 - HW1075 | 1942 - 1949 |
| 980I | W001 - W1050 | 1942 - 2948 |
| 982 | J1001 - J670600 | 1935 - 1951 |
| 982M | M001 - M201900 | 1941 - 1951 |
| 986 | 2100001 - 2191300 | 1922 - 1926 |
| 987 | 001 - 0486300 | 1937 - 1948 |
| 987E | 4025301 - 4523000 | 1928 - 1937 |
| 987S | SS001 - SS87400 | 1940 - 1948 |
Be sure to use the serial number on the movement (the works) of the watch. Do not use the serial number from the watch case.
Can’t find your serial number in the table? Click here for an explanation and example of how to use our serial number tables.
Need help finding the serial number on your watch? Click here for instructions on how to identify and open most common case types.
At Renaissance Watch Repair, we are experts in the repair and restoration of Hamilton watches, and they are one of our personal favorites to work on! We are also always looking for Hamilton watches to purchase. Please contact us if you have any questions about the repair of your vintage Hamilton watch.