Hilton Skin Diver - Red Numeral Bezel - Crosshair Dial - 1950s

In the 1950s Americans went under the water. Cousteau's aqualung crossed the Atlantic after the war, the movie screens filled with frogmen, and by mid-decade the sporting goods stores sold masks, fins, and regulators to anyone with a Saturday and a lake. Watchmakers built for those swimmers: a slim steel case sealed against the water, a bezel to count the minutes, a dial bold enough to read through ten feet of green murk. The trade called it the skin diver, after the men who wore it.

The Hilton here is one of those early skin divers. Hilton was a New York importing house whose name went onto Swiss watches built for American counters, and this one gathers three countries into a single watch: a Swiss movement, a French case, an American name. The bezels steel face cut with red numerals and hash marks to count elapsed minutes. Behind it the dial is quartered by a black crosshair and ringed by a minute track with luminous dots. Hilton stands at the top between two red stars, and Incabloc Antimagnetic is printed at the foot.

The hands wear their sixty years openly. Their luminous compound has aged dark, the steel around it carries corrosion, plain in the photographs, and the red sweep hand has kept its color. The luminous dots on the dial have softened to green-grey. The dial itself is clean cream, and the printing is sharp.

The movement is Swiss, seventeen jewels, signed Hilton Importing Co across its bridge with Swiss and Unadjusted beside it. It carries Incabloc, the spring-mounted jewel setting that lets a balance survive a fall. The crown is gold toned, likely a period replacement, and it winds the watch smoothly.

The case is steel with long beveled lugs, and the back screws down over a gasket, stamped Stainless Steel Back, Antimagnetic, Water Resist. Inside it is stamped Case Made In France with the mark of the Graham Importing Co, the case maker. Scratches and wear cross the case and bezel throughout. The crystal is acrylic and domed. It comes on an olive leather strap, aged and worn, which is not original to the watch. The watch runs, and its service history is unknown. Its water resistance expired decades ago, and it should be kept dry now.

Terms: Please review all photos carefully as they are a part of the listing. This is a vintage timepiece. Accuracy, power reserve, and water resistance are not guaranteed. Vintage watches may require periodic service. Performance can vary with wear, temperature, and position.

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