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In an era when the safety of America’s bustling railroads absolutely depended on accurate timepieces for its conductors, watchmaker Hamilton pioneered cutting-edge, impossibly precise watches in a complex that spanned one square city block of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, during the late 19th century.

As railroad tracks were laid across the United States and steam locomotives began traversing vast distances, the American railroad system ran into a problem. Back then, time was not standardized across the country. Therefore, in 1883, the railroad companies established the four time zones as we know them today. But, despite setting these zones, train conductors were not always synchronized, leading to deadly accidents on the railroads.

Enter watchmaker Hamilton, founded in 1892. Railway workers would be required to wear a pocket watch, as the timepieces were responsible for keeping conductors on schedule, and the watchmaking industry — and early American pocket-watch manufacturers such as Hamilton, Elgin National Watch Company and the Waltham Watch Company — benefitted.

Hamilton’s pocket watches were extremely alluring to train conductors, who began buying them en masse. The East Coast company’s timepieces eventually earned the moniker “The Watch of Railroad Accuracy.”

Hamilton transitioned from pocket watches to wristwatches in 1914, as it supplied timepieces to American troops fighting in World War I. Wristwatches, naturally, were more convenient to wear and use in battle. The new style of watch was also appealing to aviators, and Hamilton aeronautical watches became all the rage among pilots, specifically those flying for the new U.S. Airmail service.

The general public’s interest in Hamilton watches grew rapidly in the 1920s. Legendary polar explorer Admiral Richard E. Byrd timed his historic flights over glaciers and chunks of sea ice with a Hamilton pocket watch in the late 1920s, and a Hamilton timepiece used by Byrd during these expeditions went on display in 2018 at the National Watch & Clock Museum.

Hamilton’s Piping Rock watch, an Art Deco–inspired design that featured elegant Roman numerals set in black for the hour markers, made its debut in 1928 and was gifted to the New York Yankees to celebrate their World Series win that year. The model was also featured in the film Shanghai Express alongside the brand’s Flintridge watch, further expanding Hamilton’s popularity. (Hamilton watches can also be seen in the films The Frogmen, Blue Hawaii, 2001: A Space Odyssey and Men in Black.)

In the second half of the 20th century, Hamilton became well known for several innovations: It developed the first-ever battery-operated electric watch, the Ventura, in 1957, as well as the first-ever digital wristwatch, the Hamilton Pulsar Time Computer, in 1970. Three years later, superspy and watch enthusiast James Bond donned a Pulsar in Live and Let Die.

Today, the company is part of the Swatch Group, and its headquarters and production facilities relocated from Pennsylvania to Switzerland in 2003.

Find vintage Hamilton watches for sale on 1stDibs.

Antique, new and vintage tobacco accessories are not typically works of art, but, even if you’ve kicked the habit, an ornate mid-century modern ashtray, bronze cigar cutter or Art Deco cigarette case — collector’s items, all — will prove to be a unique accent piece for your bar cart, coffee table or mantel.

Cigar connoisseurs know the value of a good cigar box or humidor. Humidors safely store cigars at the right temperature so they don’t retain moisture and deteriorate in quality. Depending on the size and type of cigar, a cigar cutter is also an important accessory for the consummate cigar smoker. There are guillotine cutters, cigar scissors, V-cutters and punch cutters. These tools are useful, but, as part of a 19th-century upgrade for your contemporary desk, antique tobacco accessories are also a fun way to integrate personal expression into your workday. A sleek vintage cigarette case or lighter can introduce some pizzazz to the shelves of your home library or any other surface where you display your collectibles.

While ashtrays might not immediately strike you as interesting and provocative objects that deserve to be part of your decor, these accessories have taken on all manner of forms and styles over the years. Old glass ashtrays, which are quite popular and easily found in free-form, organic shapes, can be a purely decorative final touch when styling a coffee table. Visionary designers such as Isamu Noguchi — one of the most prolific and protean creative forces of the 20th century — popularized the idea of tobacco accessories as art with projects such as his decorative ashtrays.

Discover an extensive collection of antique, new and vintage tobacco accessories for your home today on 1stDibs.