The Hamilton Estoril
Hamilton’s First Dive Watch
This Hamilton watch was named after the town “Estoril” in the Municipality of Cascais, Portugal, on the Portuguese Riviera, known for its beaches and diving. The watch is featured in a few ads from the 1960’s where the famous castle on Tamariz Beach was in the background. Long established as the cosmopolitan holiday destination of the rich and famous on the Portuguese Riviera, Estoril has an elegance more commonly attributed to resorts on the Côte d’Azur. Exiled royalty and deposed despots made this their haven during World War II, alongside spies from both sides. During a stay at the famous Palácio Hotel, Orson Wells apparently expressed amazement at the number of monarchs also in residence.
The Estoril line was released by Hamilton in 1964 and was produced in limited quantities as you were not expected to find them just everywhere and were only sold through a select numbers of jewelers and Hamilton agents. The first cataloged model was named the A-578. This was the first watch sold with a tested depth of 325 feet. On the back of the watch, the cases are marked with the Hamilton Logo H and the numbers 300, meaning it was good to use under water down to 300 feet. The watch came in solid gold, hard gold plate or stainless steel, stem wound, automatic and was also available with or without a date window.
This stainless steel Estoril measures approximately 34mm wide x 40mm in overall length. Beneath the dial is a genuine Swiss Hamilton grade 64A automatic movement with 21 jewels that runs strong and kept good time over a 24 hour period. The dial hand hands show some patina and the screw on back case has some scratches. As with all vintage watches, it is not recommended to test the waterproofing capabilities due to their age.
Hamilton’s First Dive Watch
This Hamilton watch was named after the town “Estoril” in the Municipality of Cascais, Portugal, on the Portuguese Riviera, known for its beaches and diving. The watch is featured in a few ads from the 1960’s where the famous castle on Tamariz Beach was in the background. Long established as the cosmopolitan holiday destination of the rich and famous on the Portuguese Riviera, Estoril has an elegance more commonly attributed to resorts on the Côte d’Azur. Exiled royalty and deposed despots made this their haven during World War II, alongside spies from both sides. During a stay at the famous Palácio Hotel, Orson Wells apparently expressed amazement at the number of monarchs also in residence.
The Estoril line was released by Hamilton in 1964 and was produced in limited quantities as you were not expected to find them just everywhere and were only sold through a select numbers of jewelers and Hamilton agents. The first cataloged model was named the A-578. This was the first watch sold with a tested depth of 325 feet. On the back of the watch, the cases are marked with the Hamilton Logo H and the numbers 300, meaning it was good to use under water down to 300 feet. The watch came in solid gold, hard gold plate or stainless steel, stem wound, automatic and was also available with or without a date window.
This stainless steel Estoril measures approximately 34mm wide x 40mm in overall length. Beneath the dial is a genuine Swiss Hamilton grade 64A automatic movement with 21 jewels that runs strong and kept good time over a 24 hour period. The dial hand hands show some patina and the screw on back case has some scratches. As with all vintage watches, it is not recommended to test the waterproofing capabilities due to their age.