1955 Viscount

One of the frustrating aspects of vintage watches is when you find evidence of a valuable watch getting scrapped.  The most obvious evidence is a loose movement and dial for sale.  

I don't feel any obligation to save watches from destruction - they're not living beings, after all.  However, I feel sad that someone didn't value a valuable watch and poten heirloom. 

Almost everyone who contacts me has the same story... "I inherited my father's (grandfather's, great grandfather's, grandmother's, etc) watch and I'd like to learn more about it."  I love getting those messages because it shows that watches can convey the connection between generations after an ancestor passes.  A vintage watch can be a personal treasure that is priceless to the owner regardless of it's retail value.

When I see a scrapped watch it makes me wonder what sad story is behind it.  It's easy to imagine an original owner who had no children, no nephews, perhaps no one at all who cared that they lived or died.  Someone received the watch and thought, "I don't care about this thing, I wonder how much I can get for the gold".  

It's also possible the recipient is the one with the sad story.  Perhaps they fell on hard times and the only thing between them and their next meal was selling grandpa's watch.

Or, worst of all, perhaps the watch was stolen from it's owner and the gold case scrapped for pennies on the dollar.  That thought really pisses me off.

So like I said, knowing the value of vintage watches has it's perils.

I was recently asked to take on a very interesting project.  It's the opposite of the scenarios above.  In this example, the case and dial exists and the rest is missing!  This watch belongs to the original owner's son and he wants to restore it so that his own son can inherit it.  These are the best of stories and a very worthy cause.

The watch is a Viscount.  It was introduced in 1955 and made for four years.  It's a popular model and can sell for over $1,500 when it's in great shape!

In 1958 the dial was modified slightly to include a diamond-shaped gold marker added below the Hamilton name.  This figure was added to all of the models in the "Masterpiece" line.  So if you see this marker you know it's a 1958 example

One of the obvious things that make the Viscount so interesting is the case.  The bezel has an open triangular lug that requires the strap to have a V notch to accommodate the spring bar that passed through.  It's a very unusual design and that's what makes it so valuable.

My project watch has what appears to be a solid gold bracelet.  That's a valuable addition as long as the length works on your wrist.  If you look at the dial you will quickly tell that it's rotated 90 degrees.  That's simply because there is no movement inside.

What came with the watch is a tiny quartz movement.  I wonder what the story is with this watch... why would someone try to outfit it with a quartz movement, especially one without a second hand?  Perhaps it just came along for the ride.

The Viscount case is solid 14K gold and other than a slight dent in the back, this example is in pretty good shape. 

There are a ton of prior service marks inside the case back.  The shape of the opening is a clue that a 12/0 sized movement should be the powerhouse for this model - specifically a 770 movement.  The dial has been refinished at some point and the pattern is missing the lines that should crisscross the center.  The seconds register should also be a simple cross hair design.

What's more concerning is the dial feet that secure the dial to the movement are gone.  So there's nothing to hold this dial down once it's installed.  I have a solution for that.

A donor 770 will be the new movement to power this Viscount.  This is a 1960's movement based on the glucydur balance but a 770 is a 770.  There are no serial numbers to date movements from this era.

Everything is cleaned and ready to be reassembled.

The 770 is arguably the best that Lancaster made when it comes to wrist watch movements.  It's a solid design and easy to reassemble.

This movement is running great.  I'll leave it just as it is as it should settle down after a little while.

I'll use "dial dots" to hold the dial on.  These are tiny two-sided stickers that you apply to the movement and then press the dial on to hold it.  They will keep the dial in place and allow a future watchmaker to remove the dial when it needs to be serviced again.

I'll use four dots. All that remains is to pull the beige covers off to reveal the sticky side the dial will attach to.

A new set of hands completes the restoration and with a proper stem and crown this watch is ready for wrist time again.  The dial isn't perfect but only a purist would notice or care.

The Hamilton Field Guide is available!

I have exciting news!

I think every vintage Hamilton watch collector has thought about how to organize a collector guide.  It's incredibly helpful to know what you're looking at when you find a vintage Hamilton in the wild or if you're handed one as a family heirloom.

Identifying models is one of the primary reasons why I started my blog.  It's also the most common question that I am asked, and I'm asked it pretty much daily by people around the world.

One of the original "silver backs" of the Hamilton Watch community, Rene Rondeau, created a book that is now decades old and long out of print.  For many years it was the best reference book out there and copies on eBay sold for 10x the original sales price.   For all it's goodness it had many omissions and even Rene would agree it was due for an update.

There are really two challenging aspects to creating a reference guide.  First is to gather the requisite information... what is it, when was it made, etc, etc.  The second is how to describe it - and that's more challenging than you'd immediately think.  It quickly feels like you're looking for a needle in a stack of needles.  You have to be very specific.  For example, what is the case made of, what is the shape of the dial, are the hour indices numbers or markers, is there a second hand, what movement is inside?  You could go on and on in order to narrow down the possible options.  After all, there are 974 models to choose from!  (Even more once you consider awards division, European models, et al)

Lastly, you'd have to find a way to make it available.

At long last, that day has arrived!

A very talented and committed collector, Andrew Krug, has accomplished the un-accomplishable and created a soon-to-be released book, "The Hamilton Field Guide".  The book will be available on or about July 7th on Amazon.

In addition to the book, Andrew has created a fantastic website... HamiltonFieldGuide.com.  This website will help you identify an unknown model and learn more about it.

The focus of the book is the myriad non-Electric models.  That's mainly because the Electrics are already well documented by another resource that Rene Rondeau authored, "The Watch of the Future" and there's little to be added.  It's available here... https://www.hamiltonwristwatch.com/book.html

When it comes to identifying a model, let's pretend we want to identify the K-407 in the photo above.  How would you describe it?

Well, it's round (circle), it's got a sweep second hand, if you had it in your hand you'd know it's 10K gold filled.  The dial markers are gold and there are numbers at 12 and 6 only.  We know it's an automatic (says so on the dial).  We also know there isn't a date complication.  That's probably enough to get into the ball park but you could go further like if it had diamonds or you knew the movement caliber inside.

Once you click "search" the results show up below.  You could have multiple pages to scroll through but with just what I've entered above you can see we have a match with the second option below.

If you click on the watch you're interested in you will get even more detailed information.  In addition, if you look below, Andrew has graciously provided a link to my blog.   So if I've documented the watch you'll get as much detail about the model as there is available.

This is a tremendous resource and it demonstrates what a fantastic community the Hamilton watch collectors have created.  Andrew has done a yeoman's job pulling together these resources and I congratulate him on an incredible accomplishment.  We all walk in the footsteps of those who have gone before us.  Some have gone on to their eternal reward but their efforts still benefit us all.  

I hope you'll reward Andrew's effort by purchasing his book! 

I'll update this post once the link is available.

1956 Automatic K-202

The mid-1950s was really the golden age for Hamilton innovation.  Automatic models were introduced, Electric models were introduced, calendar models were introduced, shock jeweled balances were introduced, etc. etc. and over only a handful of years.

That's not to say that the prior decades of Hamilton production lacked innovation.  It's simply that between 1955 and 1959 - there was a tremendous amount of new features added to the Hamilton lineup.

One of the early automatics was the 1956 Automatic K-202.  It was cased in solid 14K gold.  It was produced for only two years but you can find them in both silver butler finished dials as well as black.  What makes the K-202 interesting is it had luminous hands but the radium paint was added to the back of the hands so it glowed onto the dial and silhouetted the hands.  I'm sure it was a very cool look but the radium eventually took it's toll on the finish of the dial.  The lume eventually burned out and no longer glowed but the damage would continue since the radium never goes away.

The 1957 catalog shows the black dialed version so if you happen upon a black dialed K-202 it's probably a 1957 model.

My K-202 project watch is definitely in need of some TLC.  It runs but it looks like it's had a hard life.  Check out the crown... it's still holding in there but wow, is it worn!  

This watch was an award for 35 years of service to Union Oil Company - that was quite an accomplishment and even more so today.  I know lots of people who work for the company I work for with a track record like that - but they won't be getting a solid gold watch, that's for sure.

It took some elbow grease but I got the back off to reveal the 17 jewel in 661 movement inside.  The case back reveals what the model name is but it also has an abundance of prior watchmakers' marks inside.  So this watch was clearly well taken care of by it's owner.

This is really interesting... the framework for the rotor has two jeweled settings.  These are usually metal bushings on this caliber.  There are a couple of other higher jeweled calibers, the 664 and 665 that have jewels in the framework but they also have two additional jewels where this one does not.  So I gather that someone replaced the original bushings at some point over the last 70 years.

This dial has obviously been refinished at some point.  I know that because the printing is not correct.  Also, the "pearled track" has been redone but some of the pearls aren't really aligned well.  There's also a tiny notch on the edge by the 3 position.  No doubt the original dial was compromised by the radium under the hands (which has already been removed).

As if the other clues weren't obvious enough, the back of the dial shows the obvious evidence of being refinished with numbers scratched onto the back.

Everything is nice and shiny now that's it been through the ultrasonic.  I also installed a new crystal - that will be a nice improvement.

The reassembled movement is ticking away with a nice motion.

The timing is pretty good.  The beat error is at the high end of my specs but it's good enough.  It's very tricky to adjust on this caliber and I know better than to push my luck.

With the movement installed back in the case I can now turn my attention to the crown.  The stem is very rusted - probably why the dial was so grungy around the perimeter.

The new stem will need to be trimmed to the to proper length to fit the case tube.

The funk around the dial has compromised the finish on the dial so I was able to clean it but the damage has been done.  A new crown and crystal should keep the moisture out and hopefully this watch will be good to go for another 70 years.

1953 Rodney

This weekend is Father's Day and it's the first Father's Day I'll celebrate without my old man.  My Dad passed away last October and although I believe in the communion of saints, it's just not the same without him.

My dad used to tell me the story of his Hamilton watch that he received for graduation and how he lost it horsing around in a snowball fight in the early 1960s.  He didn't recall exactly what it looked like, other than it was round, but he knows it was a Hamilton.  I showed him all the catalogs from the applicable period like a witness perusing mugshots - but to no avail.

A number of years ago I gave my father one of my favorite models - a 1953 Rodney.  It was produced through 1964 so it could very easily have been a match for his long-lost watch.  We pretended it was, anyway.

I like the Rodney because it's a larger watch and it has a lot going on.  First off, there are several different dials. You could even get it as a left-handed model.  That may sound really custom but the reality is the dial is just installed 180 degrees from typical.  The dial feet locations are symmetrical and all the models with a 748, 735, or 736 movement could be left-handed.  Interestingly, not all of them were cataloged that way though.

The Rodney was produced for a LONG time, in watch model years.  It actually spanned all of the 8/0 sized US-made calibers - the 748, the 735 which introduced shock jewels at the balance, and the 736 which introduced a Glucydur balance.  So the Rodney can have any of those calibers and still be "legit" - although a purest might balk if a dial from the wrong period was used.

For example, in 1964 the all-numeral dial had a pearled track.

In addition to a variety of dials, the Rodney also had three different bracelets.  The bracelet in the first catalog snip was paired with the Rodney through 1962.  The bracelet above is from 1964.  A third one, below, was paired only in 1963.  So if you were a special kind of crazy and really liked the Rodney, you could find an example with every dial and bracelet combination, included left-handed examples!

My project watch is my dad's watch and it took a lot of abuse over the decade or so that he wore it.  I'm sure it went golfing more than a few times and it's got it's fair share of "old man gunk" like most of the project watches I come across.  It's definitely long overdue for a trip to the spa.  The Speidel bracelet is not original.  It's just something that I put on it since I knew it would be easy for him to slip on and off.

This case design is sometimes called a "bubble back" since it's nicely rounded to accommodate the deep 8/0 sized 748 movement.  This is not a "thin" watch but the case design helps it wear like it's thinner than it really is.

The crystal and front bezel just pop off to reveal the dial.  From here the movement will lift up and out.  Notice the green verdigris around the perimeter - a clear sign that this is a gold filled case.  If you wanted a solid gold model - that would be the Hartman - it even shares the same dial but the case is more fancy and came in solid 14K or 18K.

This watch has an 18 jewel 748 movement.  So this watch is probably a 1953-1955 model - as the 735 came out in late 1955.  The dust-proof crown has deteriorated so I'll have to replace it.

I have given all of my kids and my sister's kids a watch when they graduated college.  The last of them just graduated in May so I'm going to give this watch to my youngest nephew as a good reminder of his Grandpa.  So, since this watch may get some use and abuse, I'm going to replace this movement with a shock jeweled caliber.  That could be either the 735 or the 736 - I have a nice 736 spare movement so I'll use that. It's appropriate for the Rodney and this isn't a museum piece, it's an heirloom.  Notice the balance wheel has no timing weights - this is a Glucydur balance.

One little bit of trivia with the 8/0 sweep second movements is they had a single piece barrel bridge when the 748 was initially introduced.  Hamilton learned quickly realized that if the mainspring broke, the train bridge had to be removed in order to get to the mainspring barrel.  I don't know if it was customer feedback or factory feedback, but after a year or two the barrel bridge was redesigned to use two pieces.  That way you could remove the barrel but leave the rest of the movement intact.

Eventually white alloy Dynavar mainsprings with a lifetime warranty were introduced and the 8/0 movement went back to a one piece barrel bridge as shown below.  Once the large ratchet wheel is removed, you have to take the train bridge off in order to go any further.

Everything is thoroughly cleaned and dried before being reassembled with fresh lubricants.  Reassembling this movement is not for the faint of heart.  I've had more than a few people contact me in desperation after disassembling their movement and not being able to get it back together again.  Nine times out of ten reassembly results in a broken pivot on the escape wheel.  This is not the caliber you want to learn on - that's for sure.  It doesn't bother me anymore but for several years I would think twice about taking one of these calibers apart.

The train wheels have long arbors so it takes a while to get all four train wheels aligned in order for the train bridge to properly seat.  No force is needed - when it's right, it's right and if it does't drop into place then it's not right.  It takes patience and a gentle touch.

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

It's running a little fast but that makes sense based on the position of the regulator.  The beat error of 5.4ms is way out of range.  So I'll have to remove the balance and guess the direction and amount to adjust the hairspring collet.  Wish me luck!

I'm probably more lucky than good but I guessed well and reduced the beat error to 0.7ms.  That's more than respectable in my book.

A quick tweak or two to the regular brings the beat rate down to +5 seconds per day.  Even the beat error came down.  There's nothing to complain about here.

My finished watch looks WAY better than what I started with.  A trip to the watch spa is always a good idea after a 3-5 years and this watch was long overdue.  I'm sure my nephew will be very happy to receive this keepsake.

1972 Sea Breeze III

It's been a while since I've covered a new model for the blog.  I've done over 800 different models and there are only 1100 or so to be covered - surely I've done all the more common, easier to find models by now.  Apparently that's not entirely the case though - not yet anyway.

Today's watch is a 1970s model called the Sea Breeze III.  It was introduced in 1972 and produced through 1977 - so that's a pretty good run.  In 1972 it was advertised at $45 on a strap or $49.95 on a bracelet.  It's a stem wound model - not an automatic.

By 1977 the price increased considerably.

Interestingly, in 1972 a very similar model called the Sea Beach IV was also produced.  It looks identical to the Sea Breeze III, at least in black & white.

In 1975 it appears to have been renamed the Sea Breeze III as well - just cased in stainless steel instead of gold electroplate.  More about that in a bit.

The Sea Breeze III goes by the model number 688015-4.  The -4 represents gold electroplate.  I would wager that the stainless steel version and the Sea Beach IV go by the model number 688-015-3, -1 representing stainless steel.

My project watch is in very good shape, for the most part.  Being a 688XXX model, I'm going to guess this has a 688 movement inside.

The crystal has a crack inside it that you can see from an angle but not directly straight on.  So I'll have to replace the crystal.

The Sea Breeze is a large watch by vintage standards.  It's probably 36mm side to side.

It took some doing but I finally got the case back off.  The gasket has degraded and part of it has come off with the back.

This is interesting... this watch has a 685 movement inside.  This is a pretty rare caliber and used in some military watch models.  It looks a lot like a 688 and one of the major differences is the 685 hacks, or stops, when you set the time.  I will definitely have to replace the gasket in the case.

The dial is held in place with dial foot screws on the perimeter of the mainplate.

From the front, you can easily tell the 685 is an ETA caliber - it looks like every other ETA caliber in Hamilton's line up.

The 685 hack mechanism is a little more complicated than in later movements like the 649.  When the stem is pulled out the mechanism moves and bumps into the balance wheel - stopping the watch.  When the stem is pushed back in, the lever moves away from the balance and the watch starts again.

Everything is disassembled and thoroughly cleaned.  While the parts where in the cleaner I replaced the crystal in the bezel.

The reassembled movement is bright and shiny and ticking away with a nice motion.

The timing is right on the money.  The amplitude is a smidgen low but I haven't fully wound the movement yet.

The dial and hands go back on and then the assembly goes back into the case.  I'll need to order a replacement gasket, this case is much larger than my stash will provide.

The finished watch looks great with a new crystal and it's now running as well as it looks.  I'm not a huge fan of the 1970s styling but this is a large enough watch that it actually has some appeal.