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Friday, August 17, 2012

1960 Sea Ranger

One thing Hamilton did very well in the 1950's and 60's is create unique and futuristic designs.  Perhaps inspired by the space program or sci-fi movies, these innovative watches were often in the family of "asymmetrics".  Asymmetric watches are not a uniform shape or might have different lug designs on top and bottom, etc.

Many of the coolest asymmetric designs are electric watches but there are quite a few mechanical and automatic models as well.

One example of a mechanical asymmetric is the 1960 Sea Ranger.  Although the crystal and dial is oval shaped, the top of the watch is a differently shaped than the bottom of the watch.


Produced from 1960 through 1962, the Sea Ranger came with Hamilton's 12/0 sized, 22 jewel 770 movement under the hood.  It's actually a fairly large watch.  The "weather proof" aspects of the watch come from the case design and gasketed crown.  The two piece case opens from the front and the stem is a two-piece design.

I've only had one example and I tried to change the crystal in it three times.  The crystal appears to be press fit into the bezel and after cracking three crystals I finally gave up and put the old one back in.

It's a sharp looking watch and collecting all of the mechanical asymmetric models would be a fun but expensive challenge.



5 comments:

  1. Were you trying to insert a new standard oval crystal or one made by Hamilton? Any ideas why all 3 of your crystals cracked?

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    1. I was trying to install the GS crystal that was made for the Sea Ranger. It's a compression fit but the crystal isn't round - so my standard "claw" crystal lifter tool wouldn't work. There's a similar crystal lifter that accommodates non-round tools but I don't have it. I suspect that would have enabled me to install the crystals without cracking them.

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  2. This was actually the watch that began my Hamilton collection.I still have mine.

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  3. Your blog is most excellent. Any pro tips for attaching a replacement leather strap to this Sea Ranger? I can't seem to get far enough between the lugs at 6 o'clock.

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