1937 Sidney

The most prominent decorative art style in the 1920s and the 1930s was Art Deco.  It features delineated geometric shapes and bold colors.  You'll find Art Deco influences in all sorts of objects from household appliances to sky scraper buildings.  It's sometimes applied incorrectly to the bold linear designs from the 1950s and 60s that would be better described as Mid Century Modern.  However, you'll often find Art Deco influences in the watch designs from the 1930s.  A great example is the 1937 Sidney.  It was produced through 1940.

 

The Sidney was part of a new generation of models that introduced the "new" 6/0 sized 987A movement.  The 987A replaced the 987E and although it shares a lot of the same parts, it was a significantly improved design.  The 987A would eventually power hundreds of thousands of WWII military watches.

My Sidney project watch is an interesting example.  At first blush, the dial appears to be the black enamel numeral design - it's definitely the correct pattern.

However, the printing is actually gold in color, depending on how the light hits is.  So this is obviously a refinished dial, but it's very interesting.

This was a Christmas present from 1938 for "Ethel" from Bus Tate.  That's a rather odd name, don't you think?  Is it a first and last name or is it nickname?  I wonder what the story was between Ethel and Bus Tate.

This is an early 987A movement... the 38,077th one to be made to be exact.  However, notice the extra holes in the barrel bridge and the train bridge to accommodate case screws.  There were no three piece cases during this timeframe but this movement was designed for use in one - perhaps as a replacement should a 987, 987F or 987E fail.

The movement winds and winds and winds without ever getting tought - so that's a clear sign that the mainspring is broken or not attached to the arbor.  Opening up the barrel solves the mystery, this blue steel mainspring is clearly broken.

The crystal on the watch is clearly beat up so while all the movement parts are in the cleaner I will prep a new glass crystal for installation.

Everything is ready to be reassembled.

The movement is ticking away with a vigorous motion.  Let's see what the timer has to say.

It's running a tad fast and has a high amplitude.. maybe the mainspring I installed is too strong.  I'll try another.

Yikes... it's still running way too fast and beyond the adjustment of the regulator.

One of the things that can make a balance run really fast is if one of the balance weights comes off... that can happen in the ultrasonic as the weights are just screwed into the balance wheel.  They're installed in pairs opposite each other across the balance arm.  A missing weight will dramatically speed up the motion but in this case I don't see any gaps.

A balance is "poised" so that it's equally weighted all the way around and doesn't have a "heavy side".  In order to slow a balance you can add weights to wheel.  If you need to speed a balance up you can remove weight.  However, you need to make sure you change the weight the same on each side of the balance.

In this situation I will add a timing washer to two opposing screws on the balance.  I'll use the screws that are closest to the balance arm.  These timing washers are tiny - so tiny that you probably wouldn't even see them if I took a photo.  They are crazy small but just heavy enough to slow the balance 1, 2 or 3 minutes per day, depending on which one you choose.

Well, now it's running a smidgeon slow but I can adjust it from here with the regulator.

A touch here, and shove there, and finally I get the beat rate to be an acceptable 11 seconds per day fast.  The amplitude and beat error are excellent too.

My finished project watch is looking great with a new crystal and it's running as nice as it looks.  This was a challenging project, I'm glad I was able to fix it.  I think Ethel would be very pleased.

1930 Raleigh (Plain)

In 1930 several new models were introduced to the Hamilton men's lineup.  Hamilton had just completed the acquisition of the Illinois Watch Company and the future looked bright... that is to say, until the Great Depression came along.

However, the show must go on and one of the new models to be introduced was the Raleigh.  Like several of the earlier models, you could get it with an engraved bezel or with a plain bezel.  You also had several choices of gold fill - yellow, white, or green.  The Raleigh was made through 1932.

The shape is reminiscent of the Coronado but the Raleigh's lugs are not hinged.  It's also very similar to the Langley - which was cased in solid gold - so sometime's the Raleigh is referred to as "the poor man's Langley".  $57 doesn't sound like a lot of money but in today's dollars that would be almost $1,100 - so I don't think a poor man would have sprung for a Raleigh... gold filled or not.

My project watch arrived in typical 90+ year old condition.  The crown was unattached, the crystal is beat up, and the bezel shows the tell-tale wear through to the corners from decades of shirt sleeve wear.

The movement is in good shape and the balance appears to be intact - which is great, because watches for this era were often rode hard and put away wet.  They can be very troublesome and finicky.

The mainspring has the remnants of grease inside but it's an old blue steel design - I have no doubt that it has set into a tight coil and lost the majority of it's strength.

Yup - called it.  Notice the spring is not much larger than the barrel it came in.  This watch would probably run for a few hours before running out of steam and petering out.  I suppose you could keep winding it several times a day but a new mainspring will power the movement for 35+ hours.

While all the parts are in the ultrasonic I will prep a new crystal and white alloy mainspring for installation.

Everything is spic and span now and ready to be reassembled... wish me luck!

It doesn't look like it but the reassembled movement is ticking away with a good motion.  The regulator came pre-set to "slow" so I'm curious to see how it's running.

Well, it's running nicely from an amplitude and beat error standpoint but it's also running a little slow.  There's plenty of regulator room to work with and it won't take much to speed it up.

One quick adjustment to the regulator arm and the movement is now running just a smidgeon fast.  I'll leave it here though as I find that movements tend to settle down a little after they are overhauled.

A new crown and a new glass crystal make this 94 year old watch look fresh as a daisy.  There's not much to do about the case wear.  You could try to replate it but that wouldn't last too long so why bother.  When you get to be 94 you'll probably have some worn parts too.

1948 Kirk

Vintage watches tend to be on the small size.  Of all the decades Hamilton produced wrist watches, the 1940s are arguably the smallest.  Some would make excellent ladies watches by today's standards but I actually like most mens models from this period.  I think it's just the elegant simplicity that appeals to me.  Dials were sterling silver, markers were solid gold, every model was of the highest quality and made in the good ol' US of A.

Nothing beats a Hamilton cased in solid gold, unless you want to discuss platinum.  Most solid gold models were cased in 14K but there are a couple 18K or 10K models too.  One of the 14K models from the 1940s is the Kirk.  It was introduced in 1948 and produced through 1953 - so it was a popular model.

In 1948 the Kirk would set you back $132.  Adjusted for inflation, that's about $1,700 today.  So it was not an inexpensive purchase.  In 1953 the cost of the Kirk increased to $135 and you can see that a white gold Kirk was also available.  I've never seen one of those before - that would be an awesome find!

My project watch arrived in "as found in a jewelry box" condition - which is exactly how it came into the owner's possession - it was in his mom's jewelry box presumably placed there in 1974 when his father passed away.  Family watches are the best and make fantastic heirlooms.

Opening it up, the case back has some dents along the rim at about 4:00 in the photo below.  They're not original so I suspect someone tweaked the case, perhaps to keep the movement from rattling?  It appears to snap closed well so I won't open this pandora's box.  It's best to leave things as they are unless it's a problem.

I didn't see any obvious watchmaker marks in the case but this movement has definitely had some work done to it.  First, the serial number dates to 1949.  The balance is a glucyur design (there are no timing screws on it) so it likely came from a 731 or two 736 movement (which were introduced in the 1960s and based on the 747 movement).  Also, the regulator is missing the long arm and is set to "ultra fast" and I'm not sure what is up with that.  One thing I am sure of is the movement is not running.  So I'll give it a good cleaning and go from there.

Everything is disassembled, inspected and thoroughly cleaned.  It all looks good so I'll reassemble it with the proper lubricants in all the wear spots.

Once the balance is dropped into place, the movement comes alive with a good motion.  Lets see what the timer thinks.

Hmm, running slow but in "ultra-fast" position.  There's not much more room to adjust the regulator.  Upon close inspection, I can see the hairspring came out of the regulator fork so I'll correct that and reinstall the balance.

That's much better, with a little tweaking I've got the beat right where I want it.  A glucydur balance is factory-poised and weighted.  The only adjustment is the length of the hairspring so even though the regulator is out of the normal F-S range, it's doing it's thing just fine.  The only other option would be to replace the balance but in this situation the old adage truly applies - if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

A new crystal and genuine gator strap complete the restoration of this 1949 Kirk.  It's now ready for the next generation to enjoy it.