Today marks a significant anniversary. It was 50 years ago today -- January 3, 1957 -- that the Hamilton Watch Company announced the world's first electric watch.

This really was momentous news -- the first watch in 500 years that operated without a mainspring! It's hard for us today to really comprehend how revolutionary and exciting that really was. But try for a moment to clear your mind of all you know about modern technology, and what you know of horological history, and read Hamilton's press release with a completely open mind. Just imagine how exciting this must have sounded to consumers in the 1950s. WWII was barely 11 years past, cars had sprouted fins, appliances were available in pastel colors, the suburbs were burgeoning, television was starting to appear in almost every home, not just the wealthiest -- in short, the future was beckoning and consumers were reveling in these exciting times. Let's step back to 1957 and try to conceive of a watch that would run on a tiny "energizer"!

HAMILTON UNVEILS WORLD’S FIRST ELECTRIC WATCH, FIRST BASIC CHANGE IN PORTABLE TIMEKEEPING IN 477 YEARS.

A new era in timekeeping was ushered in today (Thurs., January 3, 1957) with the introduction of the world’s first electric wristwatch, perfected after ten years of research, development, and testing by the Hamilton Watch Company of Lancaster, Pa.

No larger than a conventional wristwatch, the electric watch offers the highest accuracy and dependability ever achieved, and incorporates the first basic change in watch construction in almost five centuries, according to Arthur B. Sinkler, Hamilton president.

Unveiled at a New York press showing, the watch will be available to consumers sometime this month in limited quantities. The first model, cased in 14 karat gold, retails for $175. A gold-filled model, at $89.50, will be available soon. (Both prices include federal tax.)

The radical structure of the electric watch completely eliminates the mainspring, an integral part of portable timekeeping devices since their invention in 1480 by Peter Henlein of Nuremberg, Germany. The new watch is the only one in existence which runs without winding or without periodic agitation, Sinkler added.

“The watch movement,” he pointed out, “is so exquisitely engineered that a tiny Energizer the size of a small shirt button will run it for a minimum of twelve months. In fact, Hamilton’s electric watch would run for more than 20 years on energy that would operate a 100-watt bulb for no longer than one minute.”

Sinkler called the electric watch a “milestone in Hamilton’s program of research and expansion,” and predicted it would in time completely replace present-day automatic watches.

“Instruments used in American industry are becoming more and more complex. This necessitates, on an ever increasing scale, the successful combining of miniaturized mechanical, electronic and electric mechanisms,” he continued. “Because of this a new technical civilization is being developed and Hamilton’s Electric Watch with its miniaturized electric power plant and timekeeping assembly is a major step in opening the frontiers of this new era.”

“The electric watch,” he added, “also has profound implications for our national defense, with miniature timing devices so vital to modern weapons of war.”

The electric watch operates on chemical energy stored in a tiny Energizer, according to Dr. John Van Horn, Hamilton’s director of research and development. This energy is converted into electrical power as it releases a stream of electrons through a coil of fine wire fixed on a balance wheel. The electrical energy through interaction with permanent magnetic fields causes the balance wheel to oscillate. This oscillation is the mechanical energy which runs the watch.

“Hamilton presently has more than 35 patents pending on this operation,” he added.

“The overall result is a precise miniature power plant built into the balance wheel, which in turn powers the gears and turns the hands of the watch. In the past, the balance wheel only controlled the power furnished by a mainspring. In the electric watch, it furnishes its own power as well as controls it,” Dr. Van Horn pointed out.

“The essential difference between our motor and the conventional electric motor is that the power plant, combined with a balance wheel, permits the flow of energy to be strictly controlled and the speed of the hands to be held to an accuracy of more than 99.995 percent,” Dr. Van Horn emphasized. “Combined with simplified construction and built-in shock resistance, the motor provides incredibly long life for the watch.”

The coil is made of wire five times finer than human hair. Enough of this wire for 1000 watches would weigh only two ounces but would stretch from Dover all the way across the English Channel and well into France.

The tiny magnets used in the electrical system are of platinum alloy and have the highest energy content of any magnet in the world today. They were processed by Hamilton expressly for use in the electric watch.

The Hamilton electric watch is more nearly free from disturbance by stray magnetic fields than any other watch, according to Dr. Van Horn. “The television service man, a physician with an electrocardiograph or any of the increasing number of people who work with or around magnets will be able to wear this watch with no interference,” he stated.

Dr. Van Horn reported that Hamilton researchers and engineers worked closely with the National Carbon Company to develop a power unit which would release its energy in the most frugal fashion possible to accommodate the “fraction of flea-power” needed by the delicate mechanism.

The resulting gold-plated Energizer is designed for long life and minimal power. It is 400 times more efficient, in terms of space, than the mechanical energy stored in a mainspring, and does an incredible amount of work for its size, he pointed out.

“For example,” said Dr. Van Horn, “in the course of one year it must open and close the circuit 75 million times. The second hand must be pushed forward 75 million times and the balance wheel must oscillate 150 million times.”

The electric watch is more accurate and dependable and has about one-third fewer parts than the automatic watch which has gained great popularity in recent years, he added. “Tests show that the day-to-day accuracy of these new electric watches is far greater than that of automatic or manually-wound watches,” he continued.

Before the electric watch, so-called automatic timepieces were dependent upon the wearer as a part of the power system, Dr. Van Horn explained. Power was furnished by agitating the whole watch instead of turning the stem. Hamilton’s electric watch is truly automatic — does not have to be worn regularly or agitated at any time to function properly.

Also, he said that the electric watch is less complex than the old automatic because there is no winding mechanism or mainspring. The result is a simpler and more efficient operation.


Now just try to imagine how people responded to the amazing design of the new "Ventura." This slide was shown at the press conference 50 years ago today:

WOW! Sputnik wasn't launched until later that year. However, through Hamilton the U.S. entered the Space Age.

Rene, This is a Grand Day!

I was eager to wear my 14K yellow gold Hamilton Ventura this Morning, and bored many people in the office telling them about this amazing historical achievement.

Your recently revised book about the Hamilton Electric Watch is extraordinary. Thank you so much for providing me with a tremendous amount of detailed information about the watch of the future.

May we all be alive and well for the 100 year anniversary!

Rene won't say it, but I must:

Please check out his book...

www.rondeau.net

Over nearly a two year period my test Hamilton Electric has averaged around 6 seconds/day fast.

dan

Whenever I see one of those I think of Rod Serling of The Twilight Zone. He wore one after becoming a "big-time" TV writer in the late fifties and I guess it was a badge of his making it and of the times for him.

Thanks for reminding me of the anniversary!

Here's a classic picture of Serling:

That is a great picture, Rene. I also notice Rod's airborne bracelet is prominent on his right wrist. His combat service with the 11th Airborne Division in WWII was obviously a source of great pride for him.