Now for something completely different...

One of the most common questions I get asked is, "Do you work on watches other than Hamilton?".  

I do, but I don't.  How's that for an answer.  In my personal collection I have lots of different manufacturers and truth be told, I'm a sucker for a nice Omega in need of TLC.  However, having original and correct parts is very important for Omegas and buying said parts is crazy expensive.  For example, many vintage Omegas have the Omega symbol in the center of the crystal.  It's a really cool detail but you're looking at $80+ for a correct crystal.  Crowns are the same story.

I've worked on all of the major vintage brands... Waltham, Illinois, Hampden, Benrus, Elgin, Gruen, et al.  In fact, the very first watch I serviced was my Great Grandfather's New York Standard pocket watch.

So why don't I work on all things watch-related?  Parts is mainly the issue.  Not wheels and such, as that could be an issue, but things like screws, springs, and other tiny parts that have a knack for "disappearing" if you're not super careful.  I hate having to buy a donor movement simply to get the correct screw or spring I lost.  

Then, it's a matter of knowing what is what.  If the mainspring is broken, what is the correct replacement?  What about the correct stem, hand sizes, etc. etc.? 

I chose to specialize in Hamiltons because they were the best that American watchmaking had to offer.  They were also the last to close their production doors in the USA.  Lastly, there are over a thousand different models - so there is plenty to keep me busy.

I was recently asked to take on a vintage Gruen and I begrudgingly agreed - mainly thinking it would be a 1950's era model, which isn't too different than a Hamilton from the same time period.

Turns out it is much older.  So I thought I'd show you what it's like... what's different, what's similar, and you can see for yourself.

The Gruen Watch Makers Guild was started in 1894 - just after Hamilton was formed.  It was headquartered in Cincinnati, OH.  It was one of the first US watch companies to utilize Swiss-made ebauches as the basis for their models.  Hamilton eventually did the same, about 30 years later, but most Gruen movements I've come across have "made in Switzerland" on them.

I really don't know that much about the history of the Gruen Watch Company.  Most of the models I've seen are from the 1940s and 1950s like the Veri-thin line.  Eventually they closed their shutters in 1958 but I think the brand name may still be around.

My project watch was a surprise to me... I'd say its from the 1930s or perhaps a little earlier.  It's a tank-style watch - very 1930's to my eye.

The case is a two-piece design with an engraved front bezel and deep case back to secure the movement.  The engraving echos details of a 1920s model.

The first interesting thing I see is the lugs - check them out - they are hollow!  The spring bars for the straps go through both sides.  Even the case back has a hollow area corresponding to the lugs.  If this was a Hamilton case, those lugs would be solid.

The inside of the case back is clearly marked Gruen and 14K.  This is an interesting design - almost a case inside a case.  There are quite a few previous watch makers marks inside, I'd say at least a dozen.  This was a well cared for watch.

The movement is a Greun 157.  I'm not sure what size it is but it appears to be a 12/0 sized movement as it's slightly larger than a Hamilton 14/0 980 / 982.  Notice it's marked 15 jewels.  Hamilton didn't make any wrist watches with fewer than 17 jewels.  A watch is considered "fully jeweled" at 15 but where the 15 are can vary.  Typically it's not jeweled at the center - meaning the center wheel is riding in bushings and not a jewel.  You can see that is the case below.  I guess because the center wheel moves so slowly (one rotation per hour), there's not as much wear as in the other faster moving wheels.

This movement is fully wound but not running.  I don't see anything obviously wrong so hopefully it just needs a good cleaning.

There are two dial foot screws, one on each end.  I can loosen them and lift the dial straight off.

There are several marks scratched into the back of the dial indicating it's been refinished at least one time over the last 90 years.  The dial is also stamped 157 - I assume that's to indicate what movement it's intended to be used with.

The dial side of the main plate is a little cruder than what you'd see with a Hamilton movement but all the parts are essentially the same.

My tweezers are pointing at the pallet fork.  This is a very unusual design.  Normally the pallet fork looks like an anchor.  However, in this movement it's shaped more like a backwards "F".  The pallet fork has it's own bridge, as does the escape wheel, as does the 4th wheel (that the second hand attaches to).  The center wheel and third wheel share a train bridge.  I have to pay close attention to how the wheels stack, as I'll have to put them back in the same manner.

I let the mainspring down and can start stripping parts from the watch.

Here's another view of the pallet fork.  What a funny design!

Everything is cleaned and dried - just like a Hamilton.  All the parts sparkle a lot more but the nickel plating isn't quite as lustrous as your typical Hamilton movement.

Getting all the train wheels installed was a little harder than I thought it was going to be.  All the wheels spin freely now so that a good sign.

The reassembled movement is ticking away with a nice motion.  It's off to the timer to listen to the ticking.

Not too shabby - it's a little fast but otherwise looks fine.  The regulator is already set towards the slow side but I can tweak it a little further.

I'll leave it running 23 seconds fast per day - that's totally fine for a watch from this era.

The finished watch looks pretty much the same as when it arrived but now it's running nicely.  It's a nice watch but I'll stick with my Hamiltons - thanks just the same.

1969 61008-3

My last post was on the Color Classic line and today's post is on a very similar model but I'm not sure it's part of the same line.

The Color Classic M3 came in a gold electroplate case with stainless steel back along with a brown dial.

A very similar model is shown in the 1969 catalog but it has the addition of a sweep second hand.  It's shown as reference number 61008-3.  Other than the addition of the second hand, the two models are very similar. 

Although the catalog depiction of the M3 appears to show a variegated brown dial, the photo of my friend's M3 looks to be pretty consistently brown, as compared to the red M4 next to it.

With the addition of the sweep second hand, the 61008-3 must surely utilize a different caliber inside and very likely has a different dial to accommodate the dial feet locations.

My project was it the 61008-3 and you can see that it's definitely different than a M3.  To my eye the Roman numerals are very similar to the M3 but I don't think they share the exact same dial finish.  I think I'd have to have the two side by side to compare for sure.

Check this out... the model number on the back says 61008-4.  That makes more sense to me as -3 is typically reserved for stainless steel cases and -4 is used for plated cases.  -2 is solid 14K gold and if I recall correctly, -1 is solid 18K.  Since this case gold electroplate the -4 is appropriate but perhaps the -3 in the catalog was driven by the stainless steel back?

Just like the M2 I restored the other day, this example has a three piece case.  The bezel pops off to reveal the dial and once the case clamps on the reverse are removed the dial and movement will come out the front.  I'll offer a quick prayer to St Peter the Apostle, the patron saint of watch and clock makers, to ask for his intercession that I don't goof up this really cool looking dial.  I don't think it could ever be refinished properly.

This watch still has it's Hamilton crown and this case design is a little different than the M2 I just did.  This watch has a stem tube through the case center while the M2 had a slot for the stem with a corresponding slot in the bezel.

The stainless steel back just pops off as well to reveal the Caliber 61 tucked within the case.  If this movement looks familiar it because it's the same ETA design used in other Hamilton models at the time like the 688.  Two screws are loosened in order to remove the case clamps holding the movement in place.  I'll have to remove the stem too to lift the movement out the front.

With the dial and hands out of the way you can see this is very familiar territory.  Almost every ETA movement, stem wound or automatic, looks like this design.

Everything is cleaned and dried before being reassembled.

It doesn't look like it, but this movement is ticking away with a fine motion.

Everything looks fine but the beat error is so easy to adjust that I will quickly improve it even further.

A couple of minor tweaks to the position of the hairspring stud brings the beat error to near zero.  I'll leave it running a smidgeon fast.

The finished watch looks as good as it runs and although the brown strap isn't original, it's a very good pairing.  This is probably not the best choice for an everyday watch but would be perfect for that special occasion like visiting Willy Wonka's chocolate factory.

1968 Color Classic M2

You will sometimes find vintage Hamilton watches with unusual colors.  There's a good possibility that the dial was incorrectly refinished.  In fact, there are a couple of ebay sellers I used to see that market Hamilton models with custom finished dials - which is fine as long as you don't say it's "original".

For the first 20 years Hamilton produced watches with either white or silver dials.  Two tone white/silver dials were also very common.  In the late 1930's a black dial was introduced, shaking things up a bit.  Eventually in the 1960s a couple of gold-colored dials snuck in.  That was pretty much it when it came to colors - but other attributes like textures and diamonds could still spice things up a bit.

In 1968 / 69, a model line called the Color Classics was briefly produced.  There were four Color Classic models - the M1, M2, M3 and, you guessed it, the M4.  Each model had a uniquely colored dial that looked almost like marble.  Each model came with it's own colored strap.  The case was not always the same though - the M1 and M2 had stainless steel cases and the M3 and M4 had hard yellow gold plated bezels with stainless steel backs.

The M1 featured a blue marbled dial with white baton hands and simple white hour markers.  It was paired with a blue strap.

The M2 featured a green marbled dial and green strap.  In addition, the dial featured white baton hands and small Roman numerals printed in white.

The M3 had a yellow gold plated bezel and a brown marbled dial.  It also had white baton hands with slightly larger white Roman numerals on the dial.

Last in line was the M4 and it was cased in yellow gold plate but the dial was red marble, with white baton hands and simple hour markers like the M1.

My project watch is the 2 variety and it came with it's original strap!  The dial pretty much spans the bezel opening so I wonder if this is a front loader?

The crown is clearly marked with the Hamilton H logo.

The buckle on the strap also features the H logo but the strap doesn't have any other markings.

The case back is stamped with 300003-3 matching (almost) the catalog snip of 300003-0373.  I wonder what the 37 denotes?  Do you think the M1 would be 300003-2.  I guess I'll have to find one someday and find out.  The model number is off center so I suspect this case back pops off.  It has a few scrapes, presumably from previous attempts to open it.

It turns out this is actually a three-piece case.  The bezel pops off, as does the case back.  The movement is secured to the case center with two case screws.  Once those are removed the movement and dial will come out the front.  

The movement is a caliber 30.  I can't say I've seen that before but it looks a lot like the Thinline movements made at the same time like the 637 and 639.  Perhaps that's what the 37 in the catalog number refers to?  Could be just a coincidence.

With the dial and hands removed I can start to strip the front of the mainplate.  I have to make a confession - I was pretty sure this was a front loader and likely had a two piece stem.  I pulled the crown out to "separate it" and ended up breaking the tip of the set lever!  I need to replace it or nothing will keep the stem in place.  Fortunately the set lever from a 639 donor was a perfect match.

You know the drill by now - all the parts are cleaned and ready to be reassembled.  There are that many parts to a basic manual winding movement and the Thinline movements almost reassemble themselves.

Voila... the movement is back together and ticking away with a nice motion.  It's off to the timer to see how it's running.

At first glance the distance between the two lines made me think the beat error was probably 2-3ms.  However, the timer says it's 8.5 so the two lines are so far apart that they are starting to approach each other from the opposite sides. 

It took a bit of steady tweaking but I brought the two lines together and reduced the beat error to 0.2ms.  I'll leave it running a smidgen fast, it will probably settle down after a while.

My finished watch looks great.  What an interesting looking dial!  It kind of reminds me of the laminate counter tops from the first house I bought in the 1990s.  This is definitely a model best suited to special occasions like St. Patrick's Day!

Here's a photo from a friend of mine who has the M3 and M4 so you can see what they look like.  Notice the Roman numerals are more refined than on the M2.  I suspect the M1 dial would look like the red dial but in blue with a stainless steel bezel like the M2.