Hamilton Boxes

[SFC]

The Barton is a late 1940's watch so I think you are on the right track. The ivory box w/ blue liner would be the box for the watch.. However, I would take a look at some examples of these boxes as there are some variations (depending on when the box was made and if it originally contained a men's or ladies watch).

If you go to page 5 of this "Hamilton Boxes" thread (look at post #48)... There are photos of a Hamilton "Keith" model in original inner and outer boxes. Both the "Barton" and "Keith" are included in the 1952 catalog so I think it safe to say that this box would be appropriate.

[tictic]

Hello everyone. Just joined this forum and it’s awesome to see the passion for watches and particularly Hamilton’s history.

I was fortunate to receive a Hamilton Barton passed down to me by my great grandfather (passed away at 102). I’ve been looking around for an original box that the watch might have been presented with around the period that the Barton was in Hamilton’s lineup. I’ve seen a lot of the ivory style boxes with blue velvet lining and was curious if anyone in this forum could confirm whether that style would be accurate for my Barton.

Thanks!

Firstly - Welcome to the GREATEST Hamilton watch forum!!

Sorry for your loss, but wow, living 102 yrs. was way beyond what was expected 2 generation ago!

If you PM me your address details I would be happy to send you the correct ivory box for your watch -- new member bonus!

[tictic]

If you PM me your address details I would be happy to send you the correct ivory box for your watch -- new member bonus!

I guess not interested...

[retroworx]

If you PM me your address details I would be happy to send you the correct ivory box for your watch -- new member bonus!

I guess not interested...

Was a really nice offer, too. . . .

[afire]

Did you PM him? If not, maybe the problem is that he doesn't have enough of a post count to initiate a conversation? I have no opinion on the policy, but every now and then a new user seems confused by it.

[tictic]

PM just sent.
Not sure if a new member needs to have a certain activity level to pm.

[Mugea]

Back to the topic: Hamilton watch boxes.

Our member “Barney Green” (an avid Gruen collector) was so kind to share a wonderful source of information with me, i.e. the magazines “Modern Packaging” and “Modern Plastics”, available on archive.org. Said magazines do not only contain interesting information on Gruen watch boxes, but also on Hamilton Watch boxes. So here are the documents found in the a. m. magazines dealing with Hamilton Watch boxes. First an article (two pages) of 1928:

01_sim_modern-packaging_1928-03_1_7_0068_Hamilton-Boxes_01.jpg (515.59 KiB) Viewed 1736 times

02_sim_modern-packaging_1928-03_1_7_0071_Hamilton-Boxes_02.jpg (802.82 KiB) Viewed 1736 times

Next, eight documents from 1935 - 1938 dealing with the well-known ivory colored “candy bar” (as I call this type of box):

03_sim_modern-packaging_1935-10_9_2_0070_Detail_02.jpg (581.38 KiB) Viewed 1736 times

04_sim_modern-plastics_1935-12_13_4_0031_Hamilton-Candybar.jpg (269.4 KiB) Viewed 1736 times

05_sim_modern-plastics_1935-11_13_3_0021_Hamilton-Candybar.jpg (1.46 MiB) Viewed 1736 times

06_sim_modern-plastics_1936-01_13_5_0007_Hamilton-Candybar.jpg (263.63 KiB) Viewed 1736 times

07_sim_modern-packaging_1937-07_10_11_0107_HAmilton-DCandy-bar.jpg (227.34 KiB) Viewed 1736 times

08_sim_modern-packaging_1938-05_11_9_0082_Hamilton-Candy-bar.jpg (116.37 KiB) Viewed 1736 times

09_sim_modern-packaging_1938-10_12_2_0049_HAmilton-Candybar.jpg (284.91 KiB) Viewed 1736 times

10_sim_modern-packaging_1938-11_12_3_0113_Hamilton-Candy-Bar_Plaskon.jpg (1.31 MiB) Viewed 1736 times

A lot of information!

The “candy bar” came out in 1935 (watches for Ladies only) and was redesigned in 1938, when all models were sold in this box (including now watches for men).
Designer: one source: De Vaulchier & Blow, Inc., NY. Another source: Georges Wilmet. Both sources are right, because Georges Wilmet became a partner of De Vaulchier & Blow, Inc. in 1936 - the company was renamed to De Vaulchier, Blow & Wilmet Incorporated in this year. George Wilmet was an industrial designer who developed i. a. bottle caps - he owned some Design Patents which were assigned to Armstrong Cork. So, there was a relationship between Wilmet and Armstrong before he developed the Hamilton watch box.

Material: one company (Plaskon Co., Inc.) claims the box was made of Plaskon, while another Company (American Cynamid Company) states the box was made of “Beetle”. Hum. I don’t know.

Maker: No doubt: Armstrong Cork Company. Good to know, as there are some fellows still believing the Rathbun Company would have been the maker. Well, there must have been a relationship between Armstrong and Rathbun, as the patents mentioned in the boxes belonged to Rathbun. Maybe Rathbun licensed their patents to Armstrong, but maybe, Rathbun molded the boxes for Armstrong. The latter may sound strange, but in fact, Rathbun did so (e.g., Rathbun molded watch boxes for the Electric City Box. Co.). In any case: the maker is Armstrong Cork.

Finally, an article from 1953 dealing with canned Hamilton watches for the Army Ordnance Corps:

11_sim_modern-packaging_1953-11_27_3_0135_Canned-Watches_01.jpg (975.03 KiB) Viewed 1736 times

Regards,

Martin

[retroworx]

Material: one company (Plaskon Co., Inc.) claims the box was made of Plaskon, while another Company (American Cynamid Company) states the box was made of “Beetle”. Hum. I don’t know.

This is great info for me, Martin, especially as I recall a debate — possibly here? — when I made the case for these boxes being Plaskon, not celluloid as usually described. Coming from a radio collecting background, I had learned about some of the plastics of the period.

Here is an article which discusses the plastics of this era, albeit from a radio perspective:

http://classicradiogallery.com/plastic.html

[Mugea]

Hi Susan,

Thanks for your info regarding Plaskon! I have an undated book "Trade names of rubbers, Resins, and Plastics" where some detailed info on Plaskon is contained:

Plaskon_854.jpg (63.53 KiB) Viewed 1724 times

Well, I’m no chemist, so I don’t know the meaning. But it might be interesting anyway.

What is confusing: in one article, the Plaskon company claims the boxes were made of Plaskon, while in another article, the American Cyanamid claims they were made of “Beetle”. Here’s an enlarged portion of this claim:

1937_Beetle-Detail.jpg (198.48 KiB) Viewed 1724 times

So, the question is: Plaskon or Beetle? Beetle (and Beetle 1005) is listed in the a. m. book too:

Beetle_Beetle1005_hl_854.jpg (104.34 KiB) Viewed 1724 times

Now for something else: the “double feature” boxes for Thin-o-matics - “double feature” because they contained the matching bracelet as a goodie. Surely from 1960 or 1961, as only in these two years some Thin-o-matics were offered with strap (and bracelet. Note the powder-blue trim for the stainless-steel models (in this case a T-500) and the yellow trim for the gold-filled models (in this case a T-404; the bracelet of the T-404 is just a placeholder until a matching JB Champion bracelet will show up).

Hamilton_T-404_wd_inBox_vs_T-500-box_02_1366.jpg (97.54 KiB) Viewed 1724 times

Regards,

Martin

[retroworx]

What is confusing: in one article, the Plaskon company claims the boxes were made of Plaskon, while in another article, the American Cyanamid claims they were made of “Beetle”.

According to the radio plastics article, it appears that they are both the same material — urea molded plastic — just with different brand names used by the two different manufacturers.

[Mugea]

Susan,
Thanks for your thoughts. You probably will be right: “Beetle” and Plaskon will be the same material.

Here are another two Hamilton boxes you don’t see often:

Candy-bar_long_green_Automatic_vs_short-green_01_1366.jpg (66 KiB) Viewed 1703 times

Candy-bar_long_green_Automatic_vs_short-green_02_1366.jpg (86.8 KiB) Viewed 1703 times

The shorter one already was shown in another thread dealing with Susan’s green box:

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=11421

Both boxes are for early Automatics. The long box arrived some days ago:

Candy-bar_long_green_Automatic_01_1366.jpg (59.03 KiB) Viewed 1703 times

Candy-bar_long_green_Automatic_02_1366.jpg (74.56 KiB) Viewed 1703 times

Interesting: 1/ the yellow corduroy inlay has a recess (probably to accommodate the domed back of the automatic watch) and 2/ the presence of the Hamilton crest on the dark green leatherette liner. Interesting, because the crest disappeared in 1947 from the standard boxes.

Candy-bar_long_green_Automatic_03_1366.jpg (153.93 KiB) Viewed 1703 times

As it is always a good idea to lift up the inlay to see if there is something under it I did so:

Candy-bar_long_green_Automatic_05_1366.jpg (97.07 KiB) Viewed 1703 times

Holy smoke! Finding a guarantee certificate isn’t that unusual - but the other two findings are unusual:

Candy-bar_long_green_Automatic_07_1366.jpg (164.19 KiB) Viewed 1703 times

This is the label of the outer box for a K-375 and the matching price tag. Interesting, because the K-375 appeared in 1955. Well, I thought, the green “candy bar” box was made only in 1954, because in 1955 the new “atomic” boxes were introduced. But it seems, the old-fashioned “candy bar” box was used at least for (some) Automatics in 1955. Dan discussed a K-501 grade 661 (1955) coming in a green box in one of his threads:

http://www.hamiltonchronicles.com/search?q=K-501

Obviously, his K-501 was sold in 1955 with this green box.

Additionally, I found a picture of the 1955 Hamilton Christmas window display in an issue of the “Jewelry Review”:

sim_watch-jewelry-review_1955-10_22_10_0056_Hamilton-watch-display_Christmas1955_Detail.jpg (229.14 KiB) Viewed 1703 times

There, the new “atomic” boxes are present - but still the old box.

My conclusion: the green “candy bar” was issued in 1954 and 1955.

Regards,

Martin

[retroworx]

Nice hidden bonus in that box!

[Nookster]

If anyone needs boxes, I am guessing I bought some 100-150 on this last trip, all kinds

email me if you are looking for any.

mark@vintagehamilton.com