Hamilton 940 Two-Tone 21 Jewel Railroad Pocket Watch in Salesman Display Case (1904)

About this Hamilton 940 Railroad Pocket Watch

This Hamilton 940 brings together everything a collector hopes to find in one watch. Its 21 jewel railroad movement, finished in Lancaster, Pennsylvania in 1904, with a scarce two-tone damaskeening of gold over nickel. It is housed in a nickel silver salesman display case with glass on both sides, so the movement is always in view. The face, a white enamel railroad dial with bold black Arabic numerals is read by heat-blued spade hands. As Hamilton's most popular 18-size movement, the 940 was proudly marketed in company catalogs as 'The Eighteen-Size Railroad Timekeeper of America". This two-tone 940 seen through this display case is the height of appreciation for the art of American horology, made to the highest standards.

The movement is serial 432544, a grade 940 Model 1 from a run of 1,000, one of about 210,000 the factory made between 1898 and about 1928. It is a full plate, lever set railroad grade movement with 21 ruby jewels in screw-set settings. It is adjusted to five positions, to temperature and to isochronism, so it keeps the same rate dial up or down, in three pendant positions, in heat and cold, and fully wound or nearly run down. A Breguet hairspring breathes evenly around its center, a Goldthwait micrometric regulator allows fine timing, and a safety pinion protects the train if a mainspring ever breaks. The nickel plates carry a thin layer of gilt, damaskeened so bands of gold and silver display across the movement, with the Hamilton Watch Co., Lancaster, Pa. signature filled in gold. Period catalogs called this finish gold over nickel, and it was usually saved for premium watches. Hamilton never published how many two-tone movements it made, and they are rarely seen today. The 940 was Hamilton's 21 jewel step up from its first grade, the 936, and by 1911 the Hamilton 940 was used on the main railroad lines of America more than any other watch.

The display case is nickel silver, a bright alloy of copper, nickel and zinc, with a crystal on the front and another on the back. In 1904 American movements were sold uncased, and the buyer chose the case at the jeweler's counter. A case like this one let a jeweler or salesman show a fine movement running without ever opening a back cover. Both bezels are pressure fitted and snap on and off, and a case opener knife is included. To set the time, lift off the front bezel, pull out the setting lever at the edge of the dial, turn the crown to set, then push the lever back and snap the bezel back on. Through the back crystal you can watch the balance swing and the hairspring pulse with every beat. It's a wonderful experience watching the hairspring pulsate and a joy to share the mechanics with others.

The dial is white vitreous enamel, double sunk, with the sunk seconds register at the 6:00 position, and signed Hamilton Watch Co in script. Bold black Arabic numerals mark the hours, with red five-minute figures around the outer circumference, the clear railroad layout made so the time is eaisly read. The heat-blued steel spade hands stand out crisply against the white enamel. The dial is in very good condition and shows beautifully, with two faint hairlines and a minor chip tucked under the bezel. It reads at a glance, and is a wonderful interface with the user.

1904 was a landmark year for America and its railroads. On March 14 the Supreme Court broke up the Northern Securities Company, the trust that joined the Great Northern and Northern Pacific railroads. On April 30 the Louisiana Purchase Exposition opened in St. Louis, the World's Fair that made the ice cream cone famous, and that summer St. Louis hosted the first Olympic Games held in the United States. On May 4 the United States took control of the Panama Canal Zone, and on October 27 New York opened its first subway line, from City Hall to 145th Street. On November 8 Theodore Roosevelt was elected president. That same year this 940 left the factory in Lancaster.

This Hamilton 940 has just been cleaned, oiled and adjusted for accuracy and warranted for one full year from the date of purchase.