1960 Automatic K-460

One could acquire an impressive collection of Hamilton watches by just focusing on "one year wonders", or models made for just a single model year.  There are quite a few of them.

The reasons for one year wonders are a mystery but the logical guesses would be either they were unpopular and didn't sell well, the movement inside became obsolete, they were disrupted by something more significant, or they were an experiment with a new material or design.  I suspect there are plenty of examples of all of the above but not being popular probably isn't a bad guess.

A better way of saying "unpopular" might be to simply say unremarkable.  Being unpopular doesn't mean being unliked, it could just mean unknown or otherwise indistinguishable from everything else.

Take for example the 1960 Automatic K-460.  It was made only in 1960.  I wouldn't say that it's an unattractive watch or even unlikable in any way.  However, it does look like a lot of other models so if it wasn't included in the lineup you probably wouldn't miss it.  It came on a strap or on a bracelet and the bracelet was also used by several other models.

Yes, I think having a K-460 in the collection would be great.  Especially if you wanted to focus on rare watches that most collectors wouldn't have in there collections.

My K-460 project watch came to me courtesy of a friend and fellow Hamilton collector.  It arrived in well preserved state.  There are a couple of minor dings here and there from wrist wear but it looks in great condition for pushing 60 years old.

The back of the watch is stainless steel and clearly marked Hamilton.  The curved spring bars are the original design.

Tucked inside the case is a 17 jewel Hamilton 667 movement.  This caliber replaced the 661 that was used in the earlier Automatic K-series models.

Everything is completely disassembled and ultrasonically cleaned before being reassembled with a variety of fresh lubricants.

The partially reassembled movement is now ticking away with good motion.  Now it's time to see what the watch timer thinks of the ticking.

Not too shabby at all.  I might slow it down a smidgen but it will also settle down a little on it's own after a while.

This watch came with it's original Kreisler bracelet and the original spring bars complete the assembly with a level of precision that surely must have been intentional.  Everything fits together perfectly.  This watch still shows just a tiny amount of wear but it's close to museum quality, in my opinion.

1938 Endicott

One of the first Hamilton wrist watches I bought was an Endicott.  It's also one of the first models that I put on the bog when I started this in 2012 (over six years ago!).  The Endicott is one of my top favorite models and I always notice them when they're for sale and take a run at them when they are priced right.

The Endicott was made for several years, starting in 1938 and going through 1948.  It has five different dial options and I thought I'd do a post on what I consider to be the rarest dial pattern for the model... the first generation applied gold numeral dial.

In 1938 and 1939 the Endicott had black enamel numeral dial or an AGN dial. The AGN version has black rectangles at the 5 minute marks.  It was introduced in October of 1938.

In 1939 the same AGN pattern was offered along with the black numeral dial and a luminous pattern was also introduced.

In 1940 the black zone (and gilt) dial was introduced and if you look closely the AGN dial changed slightly to having black triangles at the 5 minute marks.  So by this time there were four dial options to choose from.

I believe the original AGN pattern with the black rectangles is the least common.  In fact, I've only ever seen 3 or 4 since I started collecting.  Hamilton records indicate there were 5 Coral Endicotts plus 1 solid gold Coral Endicott produced - so really there are six dial patterns out there but good luck finding a Coral one!

Over the years I've sold four of the Endicotts to a fellow collector who appreciates the model as much as me.  The only one he didn't have is the original AGN dial.  I happened to see one on eBay recently and he purchased it, then he sent it to me to restore for him.

As received it's not too bad.  It's a little dirty but nothing too concerning.

One of the ways to tell a good Endicott from a great Endicott is to look at the case back.  A good one will show some wear to the lip of the back where a case knife can open the watch.  A great Endicott will not show wear and this is a great Endicott.  It will clean up very nicely.

This dial appear to be original and it's a two-tone white/butler finished pattern.  The numbers on this dial are closer to the center than on the later AGN dial so you cannot finish this dial pattern on the later dial - the number will run into the minute track.  The hands on the dealer version are also a little shorter than on the later version.

The only thing not original on this watch is the crown, it's white in color and would be great for a white gold filled model but the Endicott should have a yellow crown.

This is an early 987A, just as it should be for an early Endicott.  At this point in time Hamilton still included recesses for case screws to secure the movement in a three-piece case.  Some of the early 1930's models with three-piece cases were still being made by the late 1930s.

The back of the dial has no marks whatsoever, another sign that it's original.

The mainspring inside the barrel is a typical blue steel spring.  I'd wager that it's "set" and has lost most of it's energy by now.

Yup - the spring expands to about the size of a quarter.  This watch would probably run about 12-16 hours on a full wind, if that.

I'll put in a nice white alloy Dynavar spring - that will power this watch for upwards of 40 hours.

The now clean and reassembled movement is ticking away with good motion.

Well... it's not too bad.  The timing is good, the amplitude is great, and the beat error is under 4ms but it's pretty close to 4.0.  The closer to zero the better so now I have to decide if I feel lucky enough to risk goofing up an otherwise good balance by removing it from the balance cock and trying to reduce the beat error.   Hmmm.....

I decided to go for it since I have a spare balance if something bad happens.  The beat error is caused by the balance not being centered on the pallet fork.  To correct it you have to remove the balance and rotate the hair spring how ever far is needed to center the balance.  Normally it's just a few degrees one side or the other.  It's not always easy to see which way it needs to go so you have a 50% chance of being right.

As you can see below, on my first attempt I chose poorly - and the beat error increased. Now I have to do it all again and rotate the spring the other direction and then a little more.

There... nailed it.  A couple of tweaks to the regulator bring all the numbers into more than acceptable  levels.

I realized I had another Endicott project watch lurking on my bench (I told you I found them hard to resist).  In the shot below you can see the two different AGN patterns, the placement of the numbers and the differing lengths of the hands.  Only the cases are the same.

My project watch turned out pretty good I think.  The dial is almost 80 years old so you should expect a little aging, no?   I think it looks excellent and no my friend will have a complete set of Hamilton Endicotts.  We've been looking for this one for at least a couple of years, I think.  It is not an easy watch to find.

1930 Secometer (pocket watch)

Before there was a Secometer, there was the Secometer, but there was never a Sectometer.

Say what?

If you've been around vintage Hamilton watches for long, you probably know there were several Secometer models, starting in 1946 but there is also a B and a C model too.

However, in 1930 Hamilton introduced a new dial option for 12-size pocket watches called the Secometer.  It featured a small window in the dial through which you could see a small wheel with the seconds printed rotating.

The Secometer dial was an option for all of the 12 size pocket watches starting in 1930 and there are several dial patterns in the Secometer line, including with applied gold numerals.

I have found that pocket watches with Secometer dials are very popular and I have never been able to score an example because someone always outbids me.  However, I recently landed an uncased example from somewhere in Eastern Europe, of all places.

This example came on a 12 size 912 movement.  The 912 is an entry level pocket watch and extremely common.  It shares a lot of parts with the more expensive 12 size watches though so they make good donor movements.  Although this watch was sold "as running" it didn't arrive as such.  The balance staff isn't broken though so I'm not sure what's up with it.

The back of the dial is pretty easy to identify, don't you think?  The dial is recessed for the hour wheel and for the larger seconds wheel

With the dial out of the way, you can see the seconds wheel that is pushed onto the 4th wheel pivot.  I'm not sure how to get the wheel off so I'll just pull the 4th wheel out from the other side as I take apart the movement.  That way I can use the main plate to put even pressure on the wheel and not bend the pivot.

You can see in the photo below that the 4th wheel for the Secometer dial requires a slightly modified 4th wheel and the pivot or seconds bit is shorter than a conventional movement.

One of the banking pins it severely bent.  Hopefully I can straighten it without breaking it off.

Well, I can see why the watch isn't running, the impulse jewel, aka roller jewel, is missing from the balance.  So there is nothing to engage the pallet fork.  There's just a small nub of jewel and I suspect that whatever bent the banking pin must have also broken the jewel off.  Oh well, I have another balance to use.

Everything is cleaned and ready for reassembly.

The reassembled movement is running a little fast but I can slow it down without too much difficulty.

There... everything is looking great now.

My donor movement came in a slightly earlier 1920's Decagon case in green gold filled.

Well, I can see why Secometer models are so popular.  This is a really cool looking pocket watch.  Considering the small wheel under the dial is so unimpressive, it's completely different when a portion of it is displayed through the decorative window.

And in the video below you can see it in action.