Hamilton Sub 330 Automatic

The History

Since its founding in Lancaster, Pennsylvania in 1892, Hamilton has been a major force in the world of watches. Back then and through the first half of the 20th century there was a major watch production industry in the United States and Hamilton was one of the driving forces of that industry. Early in their history, Hamilton focused on producing pocket watches and wrist watches for the railroad industry and then during the world wars produced watches for the US military and its allies. Their field watches and marine chronometers produced during this era are cherished by collectors to this day. After the war they switched focus back to civilian products and introduced one of the first electronic watches, the Ventura series, that was made famous by Elvis Presley. By this time in the 1960’s, Switzerland was becoming the epicenter for the watch industry and Hamilton moved their production to Switzerland in 1969. Shortly after that the company came under the control of SSIH (later to be known as the Swatch group) and continues to make watches under the Hamilton brand to this day.

The Reference

In the mid 80s a gentleman by the name of Luigi ‘Gino’ Macaluso, a Italian rally navigator and manager who won the European Rally Championship in 1972 and the Italian Rally Championship in 1974,  was visited by a colleague who had just returned from a trip to the US. This gentleman was wearing a mail-order Hamilton called the Khaki. The watch featured straight military styling with no concessions to anything other than sheer functionality and Macaluso was sold. Soon after he flew to Lancaster, Pennsylvania to meet with Hamilton management. They reached an agreement to expand on the Khaki line and allow Macaluso to handle distribution in Italy. For almost a decade Macaluso would have a major impact on Hamilton with a number of great designs being created specifically for him and the Italian market, including this Sub 330. Macaluso would then go on to be CEO of Girard-Perregaux and Jean Richard.

The Case

This watch is in excellent condition showing virtually no signs of wear outside of a scratch on the lower right lug. The dimensions are 39mm wide x 9.5mm thick and the result is a very slim and balanced design. While cased in mostly stainless steel the bezel does feature a slim inner gold ring around the crystal. All of the components are correct and thought to be original.

The Dial and Hands

Much like the case the dial and hands are in excellent condition. The subtle hints of gold continue from the bezel to the dial with the hands and indices. The lume has begun to age to a pleasant light carmel color.

The Movement

The watch is powered by an ETA cal. 2892-A2 automatic movement. The watch is running well and the service history is unknown.

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