Patents & Innovations
Pictured: Closeup of Hamilton Watch Company Melamine Dial Showing Cracks, c.1952. After the experimental batches of the new melamine dials proved to be a success, the Hamilton Watch Company met.
Pictured: Melamine Dials Throughout Production, Excerpt from “Research Provides New Materials For R.R. Type Dials,” Timely Topics, July 1953. Following extensive experimentation with nearly forty materials to find a suitable.
Pictured: Newspaper Excerpt Featuring Melamine Dinnerware, The Evening Eagle (Wichita, Kansas), November 11, 1953. Melamine was initially discovered by German chemist Justus von Liebig in 1834. Despite having unique properties,.
Pictured: Portrait of German Chemist Justus von Liebig The Hamilton Watch Company began exploring alternative materials for watch dials in the 1940s. In October 1946, the company officially adopted melamine.
Pictured: Edge of Celluloid Watch Dials from the Keystone Watch Company Showing Paper Substrate Despite the failure of Abraham Bitner’s patented paper dial at the Lancaster Watch Company during the.
Pictured: Abraham Bitner’s Patented Paper Watch Dial on a Lancaster Watch Company “Comet” Movement [Courtesy of Heritage Auctions] Before Abraham Bitner used celluloid in the late 1880s as an alternative.