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Sunday, April 7, 2013

1953 Medford

The Hamilton Medford was introduced in 1953 and only made for two years.  It's a classic tank-style, rectangular watch with a contoured case.


The case is 10K yellow gold filled and two dial options were available.  Both dials are sterling silver with 18K gold numerals but you had your choice of a butler finish or a finish in black and gold.

Under the dial is a 19 jewel, 12/0 sized 753 movement.

Black dialed watches are typically less common than silver-colored (butler finished) dials and thus typically command a premium.  I was lucky to find a black Medford very early in my collecting days and I've tried to land a silver Medford a number of times but I haven't landed one yet.  I think it's a desirable model and usually draws a premium.



Update:

Here's a white-dialed version of the Medford that a friend of mine recently gave me.



7 comments:

  1. Beautiful watch. I have the "Silver" dail, 10k gold-filled case, front & back. I was not aware of the dail actually being silver and that the numbers on the dail are 18k gold. I wonder if that also includes the hour, minute and second-hands. Mine keeps excellent time as long
    as you wear it. However, it will start to lose time if you lay it down. I had it serviced a 1 1/2 years-ago

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    1. The hands are plated, not solid gold. Sounds like you probably have a worn balance pivot or dirt in the jewel.

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  2. I too have the silver dail and mine will also run slow if you lay it down. 3 things I didn't know about the watch. It was made only from 1953-55. The dail is actually silver and the numbers are 18k. Reading this was very informative.

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    1. You can also know that your balance probably has a worn balance staff and is running on the shoulder. Sounds like it will need some work but it's worth saving.

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  3. Thanks for sharing your information! I have a silver daily Hamilton "Medford" that I wear on special occasions.

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  4. I too have the silver Dail "Medford." Had it serviced about 2 years ago. It keeps excellent time. It loses about .30 seconds to a minute in a 24 hour period.

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  5. I just inherited a black dial and silver case that’s not working to well. Where should I take it for service? My local jeweler / watch guy tells me he wouldn’t work on it because of sourcing parts was too difficult.

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