This Hamilton Grade 946 Model 1 came into being during 1911, a year of some amazing firsts during an era of great change. In the San Fransisco Bay, Eugene Burton Ely landed his plane on the USS Pennsylvania, the first time in history an airplane had landed on a ship. Ray Harroun won the first-ever Indianapolis 500 behind the wheel of the famous Marmon ‘Wasp.’ The raw materials and parts for these history-making machines were made possible in part by the use of watches like this Hamilton Grade 946 that ensured trains moving the parts of history made it to their destinations safely and on time.

The Hamilton Grade 946 was produced in limited numbers (only 10,692 were produced) and was one of Hamilton’s finest railroad grade pocket watches ever made. The movement features a stunning damaskeen pattern with an hand finished sun-ray center and ornate perimeter. This type of damaskeening was one of Hamilton’s most intricate patterns ever used by the company and adds to the collectability of this truly fine railroad grade timepiece.

The double sunk dial features large bold numerals in a pattern known as the “blind man’s dial” and this was exactly the kind of readability that a true railroad grade timepiece was required to have to meet the strict railroad timepiece standards. The incredibly accurate Hamilton 946 movement is housed in a stunning yellow gold fill case with an intricately engraved case-back with a crosshatch pattern and floral design that makes this watch both a functioning piece of railroad hardware and an elegant work of art.

This Hamilton 946 is a must-have addition to your existing collection or an ideal place to start your journey into America’s horological heyday.