1948 Dwight

 A lot of Hamilton collectors have a favorite decade and their reasons can vary.  For example, watches from the 1930s have a lot of unique styles, dials and case designs.  Watches from the 1950s represent the pinnacle of Hamilton achievements with Electrics and Automatics being added to the line up, unique bracelets added to the design, and every model featured shock jeweling at the balance.  Watches from the 1960s are sleek and elegant, as represented in the Mad Men series on TV, and there was a unique design for every man.  

I think my favorite decade is the 1940s.  I tend to imagine the men of WWII going off to war with a Hamilton watch they received for graduation, carrying a Hamilton watch into the air as a pilot or navigator, or receiving a fine watch after the war to celebrate getting married.  Watches from the 1940s tend to be the smallest of all the decades but the saying, "real men wear small watches" aptly applies.  The generation that stormed the beaches of Anzio, Iwo Jima, and Normandy wore small watches.

One of the interesting 1940s models is the Dwight.  It was produced for only a single year, so there aren't that many of them out there.  It looks very similar to the Milton from the same year but it's considerably wider.  The similarity is mostly in the swooping lugs - there's definitely a strong family resemblance.

The Dwight differed from the Milton in several ways beyond just the size.  First, the case is 10K yellow gold filled, versus 14K gold filled for the Milton.  10K gold filled models received the 17 jewel 980 movement, instead of the 19 jewel 982.  The Dwight features a two tone dial with all numerals, similar to other period watches like the Eric.  

It's interesting to note that the Dwight is a one-year-wonder.  I wonder why production was so limited.  Perhaps it's similarity to other models wasn't enough to differentiate it. 

One other interesting trivia bit for the Dwight is it's one of the relatively few rectangular models with a round seconds register.  That's not unheard of but generally the seconds register is the same shape as the bezel opening - especially with watches from this era.

You don't see the Dwight very often and finding one in good shape is even less frequent.  My project watch arrived with one obvious issue - the crown was no longer attached.  The stem broke off at the movement.

The case is actually in decent shape and not overly worn.  It's dirty and could stand a light polish but it's not worn through anywhere to my eye.

The movement inside is a 980, just as you'd expect.  It appears to be in nice shape other than the finger print on the back.  This photo gives you a good idea of the relative size of the Dwight.  It's much wider than most of the models that feature a 14/0 movement.

It's a little hard to tell in the photo but the balance staff is broken and missing a pivot.  So that will need to be replaced.

No surprise that the mainspring has set in a tight coil.  I find that 90% of the time watches from this era are due for a fresh mainspring.

A new glass crystal will be a huge improvement for the aesthetics of this watch.

Everything is clean and dried.  The dial has numbers scratched into the back so I suspect its a very old refinish.  I'll see if some Rodico putty will freshen it up.

The hairspring stud screw came out in the ultrasonic.  These screws are so tiny that I marvel at how precisely made they are.  The best way to reinstall it is with a pin vise.   This specialized tool holds the screw so you can get it started in the hole.  Then a small screw driver can tighten it the rest of the way.

The reassembled movement with a working balance is now ticking away with a good motion.  Time to see how I did with the timing. 

Not too shabby... a slight tweak to the regulator will speed it up nicely.

The crown that came with the watch is the incorrect style.  It would work for a case with a stem tube but the Dwight case has a large opening that is looking for a crown with a dust shroud.  This is probably why it eventually broke the stem.  The only portion of the stem that is supported is in the movement and the crown is so far away from the movement that any uneven pressure from winding will flex and strain the stem.  Eventually it just snaps.  The crown on the right in the photo below will work nicely.  I just need to trim the stem to be the correct length.

Based on the setup, it looks like I need to trim about 1/8" off the end of the stem.  That will bring the crown in closer to the side of the case.  It's a very precise fit and I've found it best to work my way in over several passes rather than trying to cut it in one pass.  If you cut it too short you have to start all over again.

The finished watch looks great with a new glass crystal and proper crown.  The dial cleaned up well thanks to some light work with Rodico putty.  It's not perfect but you'll have some spots too when you're almost 80 years old.