There seems to be a lot of interest in older Filofax binders these days, so I thought I would share some pictures of my personal size Hamilton. This binder dates, I believe, from the late 1990s. It is the predecessor to the Kendal, and is rather similar to that model but utilizes more leather. Interestingly this is the only non-English binder which I’ve seen to include a country of origin; it was made in China.
The Hamilton is made of oiled leather. It feels very natural. This binder is somewhat heavier than most personal size models I’ve held, due presumably to the large amount of leather in the construction.
There are two pen loops, a zip pocket, an ID window, five card slots, and a slip pocket inside. The rings are standard 23mm size.
This full height slip pocket is on the outside of the back cover.
I am using this binder to store various inserts. I bought it to hold onto in case I ever need a binder with more wallet-like design than my Winchester offers. This is a very robust, sturdy and well made binder. I love the feel of the leather, the double pen loops, and the practical pocket layout.
Hi Janet and josh,
I know this is an old post. If you don’t mind Janet can you forward my comment/question to Josh, TIA.
I wanted to know how can one go about changing the rings of a hamilton? Is the ring mechanism same as the snap on like the Vds/gillio?
Not sure how it is now but a few years ago in the EU the law stated that wherever the product was finished was the country of manufacture. As an example you could have Italian shoes made in China but because the laces or labels were produced in Italy, they could be labelled Made in Italy. I think many countries used this loophole to confuse (I am not going to say mislead) their customers.
Nice model binder. I saw one about a year ago just before Christmas 2012 that may have been named “Sketch” – not sure, I may be remembering wrongly. This particular binder had a vinyl tag inside it that said Made in China. First one I have seen. I thought it was a law (in Canada, at least) that the country of manufacture had to be marked somewhere in/on the item.
I am going to try to find a moment when I am at work to look up the Canadian and American laws or regulations regarding country of manufacture labeling. I think you’re right and it is supposed to be indicated on the product.
I have a Hamilton personal size I found at our local Goodwill store. $2 in great shape. I love it. I use it as a spiritual journal.
I believe that most companies shy away from saying things are made in china. In fact so many people won’t buy things, labels are starting to say ‘made in prc’ (peoples republic of china). I wish the companies would embrace what the public is saying about items made in china instead of just making labels more muddled.
Tracy
Especially annoying as I assume *most* modern filofax binders are made in China or somewhere in the Far East. Apparently the UK does not mandate country of origin labeling as many items marketed by UK based companies do not indicate country of origin, even high end items such as Smythson and Aspinal.