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Thanks for visiting my vintage Hamilton watch blog. I like to restore US-made Hamilton wrist watches back to their original glory and share my experiences with other enthusiasts. Use the "Search" space below if you know what model you're looking for. Feel free to leave polite comments or questions in the spaces provided. Also check out my "watches for sale" on my Etsy site - the link is on the right, just below.

Sunday, May 9, 2021

1953 Lawton

Styling in the 1950s was pretty wonky on some models.  I guess the same was eventually true with cars too.  I'm not sure what to call the styling but I think it takes an acquired taste to appreciate it.

Take for example the 1953 Lawton.  It was made for only two years.



To my eye, this sort of design is reminiscent of a horseshoe crab.  It is both smooth and sharp at the same time.


The Lawton came in a 10K yellow gold filled case and featured a sterling silver dial with solid 18K gold numerals.  Behind the dial you'll find a 17 jewel 747 movement.

My project watch came courtesy of a fellow collector.  He was having difficulty with it running after having it serviced.   As received it looked almost unworn other than a few scratches on the crystal.


This watch features a crystal known as a "cylinder".  It is curved glass supported by walls on the side, rather than a curved class of consistent thickness.  A cylinder crystal is a perfect complement to this style case and fits the design perfectly.


The inside of the case back makes identifying the model very easy, it has the name stamped inside.


The 17 jewel 747 movement looks to be in great shape but it's not running, at least not well.


You can see in the shot below that a new crystal is in order.  Glass is much harder to scratch than plastic but the scratches cannot be polished out.


A new crystal will make a nice improvement after a little shaping with 600 grit wet/dry sandpaper.


The movement is completely stripped and cleaned in my ultrasonic cleaner.  Then it gets rinsed twice, dried and reassembled with fresh lubricants.


The reassembled movement is now ticking away with a good motion.  Now it's off to the timer to listen to the ticking.


It's running a little slowly but the amplitude looks good and the beat error is well within my specs of less than 3.0ms.  Adjusting the beat error on this movement requires removing the balance from the balance cock and rotating the hairspring on the balance staff to just the right position.  I could try to reduce it but that also risks goofing up the hairspring.


A slight tweak to the regulator speeds the watch up.  I'll leave it running a smidgen fast.


Not only is the case gold filled, the crown is too and once the knurling on the crown gets worn, the side is prone to coming off, exposing the brass within.  Apparently this watch will need a new crown, as well as new crystal. 


I don't have my light tent back up and functional yet so here's a photo of the finished watch in sunlight.  It's not a bad looking watch, even if it is reminiscent of a horseshoe crab.   Now it's running as nice as it looks.



6 comments:

  1. Real good to see you settling back in. Following you for about four years now I have had, traded, sold and destroyed a good number of old Hammys. Now I am going through the bones of poor left overs from many purchases. I have what’s left of a few 748 mvts. And a couple of 736s and a 735. I have a few Nordons. Three running one with 736. My new Hammy Khaki says not to play golf with it. I am going to wear the 736 Norton and see how it does. Been playing with a ‘53 Bulova for years and had no problems. Kind of makes me mad you can’t wear the new ones golfing or playing tennis. Too nice for work. So I can wear them a couple hours before I go to bed at home. I will let you know if it holds up. And if I have any parts to spare let me know what you want. Thanks, Jeff

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    1. Hey Jeff, yeah I don’t recommend you wear a non-shock protected watch golfing, not to mention the potential for sweat to find it’s way in. I had a buddy take his watch off and put it in his bag and a magnetic ball marker magnetized it. It was an easy fix but played havoc for a little while.

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    2. You wouldn't by any chance have a nice back for a 1953 Lawton, would you? I am in need of one. Please advise. Thanks.

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  2. Real good to see you settling back in. Following you for about four years now I have had, traded, sold and destroyed a good number of old Hammys. Now I am going through the bones of poor left overs from many purchases. I have what’s left of a few 748 mvts. And a couple of 736s and a 735. I have a few Nordons. Three running one with 736. My new Hammy Khaki says not to play golf with it. I am going to wear the 736 Norton and see how it does. Been playing with a ‘53 Bulova for years and had no problems. Kind of makes me mad you can’t wear the new ones golfing or playing tennis. Too nice for work. So I can wear them a couple hours before I go to bed at home. I will let you know if it holds up. And if I have any parts to spare let me know what you want. Thanks, Jeff

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  3. Just found a super nice Steeldon. All good. Case, dial hands everything. Dial likely a redo. On a nice black lizard strap. Going to try a beige pigskin or grey pig skin. What do you think?

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    Replies
    1. The Steeldon is a great model. I'm sure it will look great.

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