Overview
Why This Watch Matters
The Thin-O-Matic – it's all right there in the name. Here we have a great vintage dress watch that is both thin and automatic.
The Full Story
Back in the 1960s, this watch was a huge deal. Here was Hamilton offering an innovative dress watch to the masses, at an attractive price. Oh, and it looked pretty amazing as well. The Thin-o-Matic line of watches was born out of a collaboration between Swiss movement innovator Buren and Hamilton to create a micro-rotor automatic caliber with the rotor designed into the main plate. Rather than a rotor executed through an added module, Buren and Hamilton designed the movement around the micro-rotor to create an extremely low profile caliber.
The movement in this watch is stamped "HLY" which was Hamilton's U.S. Import mark. It appears this watch was made for the US market, and it was common for companies to use 14k gold for U.S. market watches, like this example.
The resulting watches were, somewhat obviously, very thin for their time. Especially for an automatic watch. The one we have here checks in at 8.1mm and features a solid 14k yellow gold case. The dial is classically styled and exactly what we are looking for in a dress watch from the '60s. We paired with Hamilton with our Bedford watch strap in dark brown for a very traditional look.
The Fine Print
Maker: Hamilton
Model: Thin-o-matic
Reference: 75451
Year: 1960s
Case No: 956357
Material: 14k yellow gold
Dimensions: 33mm diameter; 8.1mm thickness
Crystal: Plexiglass
Caliber: Hamilton, self-winding, caliber 628
Lug Width: 18mm
Case is engraved and dated 1969. Has a leather band, comes with original clam shell box. Has some scuffs and scratches, great condition for its age.
