In 1852, an Edinburgh stabler, Robert Inches, died at the age of 45, leaving his family with no father and then, in 1856, their mother, Sarah (nee Hamilton), died of tuberculosis. By 1861 the four Inches children were living with their aunt and uncle, Elizabeth and James Hamilton, at 7 East Adam Street. James Hamilton worked as a goldsmith’s assistant (or salesman) for the long-standing jewellers of Mackay Cunningham & co, situated at 54 Princes Street. It was around this time that the oldest of the children, Robert Kirk Inches, moved to London, training as a clock and watchmaker, before returning to Edinburgh in about 1866. In May 1866, Robert Kirk Inches and his uncle, James, opened the business of Hamilton & Inches at 90a Princes Street. On 1 June 1866, the new company registered their hallmark with the Edinburgh Assay Office. It cannot have been easy in the early days of the business because, as Robert Kirk Inches’ obituary noted, ‘it is indicative of the more modest and personal methods in the conduct of Princes Street businesses half a century ago that he [Robert] acted for two years as his own night watchman, sleeping under a counter in the shop’.
In late 1878 the City of Glasgow bank collapsed and James Hamilton lost over £2,300 (about £260,000 today). The collapse was one of the biggest financial scandals of the Victorian age. James Hamilton was a witness at the trial of the bank’s directors and it was reported that he continued to deal with the bank ‘to the last, believing it was in a flourishing condition’. A few years later, in 1883, James retired from the business, aged about 71 and he died later that same year, possibly as a consequence of this financial disaster. These events did not appear to have had much impact on the business of Hamilton & Inches, however. In 1887, the business moved to larger premises at 87-88 Princes Street and in 1893 the business of Robert Bryson & Sons was transferred to Hamilton & Inches. That same year, Robert Kirk Inches was awarded the Royal Warrant, an ancient appointment from Queen Victoria, (dating back to reign of James VI/I) of ‘His Majesty’s Clockmaker, and Keeper and Dresser of His Majesty’s clocks, watches and pendulums in His Majesty’s ancient kingdom of Scotland’, a post he held for the rest of his lifetime. Hamilton & Inches continue to hold a Royal Warrant as clock specialists to the queen to this day.