As part of the Chicago-based brand’s revival, Hampden Watch has created a unique way for customers to personalize their timepieces—the newly patented Casecap, an interchangeable caseback engraved with handwriting, artwork, or anything else a client can imagine.
Hampden owner Joe Wein invented the Casecap during the pandemic, as his family looked to reinvigorate their fourth-generation watch company, and he says the Casecap sets Hampden apart from its Swiss-based competitors.
“Connecting to people’s personal stories is our mission. We’ve spent years preparing for this moment—not just relaunching Hampden as a brand but redefining what a personalized watch can be,” says Daniel Wein, Joe’s son and Hampden’s brand director.
Here’s how the Casecap works: Without tools, watch owners can add a custom-engraved cover to the back of their watch. It sits on top of the exhibition back and can be easily removed, to allow for mechanical-movement visibility.
Joe (right) and Daniel are the third and fourth generation of Weins to work in the family’s watch company.
“When we set out to design our flagship model, I created a new solution, one that could honor a memory on one side and celebrate horological beauty on the other,” Joe Wein says.
Customers work with Hampden’s design concierge—the complimentary virtual services of a professional designer—to determine how to personalize their Casecap.
“For many people, the emotional connection to a watch is through the engraving. So we designed a watch from scratch to accommodate that,” Joe says. “We’ve created a canvas that allows people to do what’s meaningful for them.”
The Weins have been making watches in Chicago since 1922, when Joe’s grandfather Hyman Wein founded the Clinton Watch Company. Hyman was one of five brothers who, along with a brother-in-law, started watch businesses around that time; two of the brands are still in business, including Marathon Watch, which is run by Joe’s cousin and operates in Canada.
In 1958, the Weins acquired Hampden, which had been founded in 1878. After a series of acquisitions and sales, the Weins settled on Hampden as their company’s main brand—it is now the oldest family-owned watchmaker in the United States, they say.
On July 12 at its headquarters in Chicago’s West Loop, the Weins celebrated Hampden Watch’s revival with more than 300 guests. In addition to the Casecap, the brand reintroduction includes new product lines—starting with the Centennial collection, led by the flagship Model 1: Sullivan, a Swiss-made automatic featuring the Casecap.
With the fully engravable new Casecap, Hampden watch owners can still enjoy the exhibition caseback.
Joe, who joined the family business in 1985 after working in computer engineering in Silicon Valley, says one of the things that made him happiest about the relaunch event last month was displaying watches his family has made since his grandfather founded his company more than a century ago.
He hopes customers will think of the Casecap and Hampden’s affordable timepieces when they’re looking for a gift or self-purchase that can be personalized—perhaps, he says, a groom or bride who wants to buy something personalized for members of their wedding party.
“People buy the watch, schedule an appointment with our designers, and they get to see their ideas come to life,” Joe says. “You get to hear their stories, and that’s really fun. You have a human conversation.
“The truth is, I can’t think of a better marketing path for us than simply recording their stories and sharing what they have created.”
Top: Chicago-based Hampden Watch’s new Casecap is a personalized addition to the caseback. (Photos courtesy of Hampden Watch)