1969 Hamilton Chrono-Matic (Ref. 11002-3) Cal. 11

In the late ‘60s, many major watch brands were competing to create the first automatic chronograph movement. Out of this race, the Buren group (composed of Breitling, Hamilton, and Heuer) created the calibre 11 movement, which is argued to be one of the first, if not the very first automatic chronograph movements ever produced. 

Hamilton used this jointly-developed cal. 11 movement in a model known as the Chrono-Matic, a beautiful tool-centric sport watch with dual chronograph registers and a date window at the 6 o’clock position. This ref. 11002-3 is especially striking with its reverse panda style, and features its winding crown on the left-hand side of its case, while its pair of chronograph pushers remain in their normal position on the right-hand side. This unusual design detail is characteristic of many watches from the various brands that used the cal. 11 movement, and it was intended to showcase the fact that these new automatic chronograph watches did not require manual winding each day.