Who is Hampden Watch?

Hampden is an independent, family-owned watch company rooted in Chicago and built around personalization. We design timepieces that don't just tell the time, they carry a story.

Our approach to engraving treats each caseback as a design canvas. With the support of our in-house Design Concierge, customers create personal engravings, from sketches and handwritten notes to milestone messages, so every Hampden holds something of the person wearing it.

Four generations of family watchmaking

Four generations of the Wein family have made watches in Chicago since 1922, and Hampden is America's oldest family-owned watch company.

In 1922, Hyman Wein founded the Clinton Watch Company in Chicago, one of five brothers who each started watch businesses. Two of those companies are still going today: Hampden Watch in Chicago and Marathon Watch in Canada, that country's oldest watch company. Along the way the family also founded the Wolbrook and Douglas brands and later operated Benrus for nearly two decades, deepening its roots in American watchmaking.

In 1958, the family acquired the Hampden name. The Hampden name has been on American watches since 1877.

A story passed from generation to generation

Joe Wein, a trained engineer and U.S. Army veteran, joined the business with his father Irving in 1985. As CEO since 2002, he has guided Hampden by streamlining operations, securing patents, and laying the groundwork for a new era of design.

In 2023, Daniel Wein joined the business alongside Joe, continuing four generations of Wein family watchmaking in Chicago. The moment was marked by a Sullivan engraved with four generations of Wein names, handed from father to son. That quiet handoff became the vision for Hampden's relaunch.

From their Chicago headquarters to La Chaux-de-Fonds in Switzerland, Joe and Daniel work on blending that history with new design, on watches that carry a story and a milestone rather than time alone.

In 2025, we opened the doors of our longtime West Loop headquarters in Chicago to celebrate the relaunch with family, collectors, and longtime employees. You can read a recap in what happened at the 2025 relaunch. That gathering marked Hampden's next chapter, one focused on personalization, meaning, and memory.

For more about our story, visit our full About Us page, or read the longer account of the Wein family's journey and Hampden's revival on the blog: the Wein family and Hampden's revival.

Updated on: 21/08/2026