It's been quite a while since I actually got to one of my own watches for a change. I'm a victim of my own success and most of the watches I restore are for other people. As the saying goes, the shoemaker's children go barefoot.
I've been looking at this watch for over a year, believe it or not. It's been sitting on my workbench, staring back at me and saying "I'm first in line when you have a free afternoon". Today was the day.
I'm not sure what the model is. I don't believe it's a catalogued US model. During the 1960's Hamilton made quite a few models specifically for the international markets. They're known mainly by their model number.
This watch has the model number 64018-4 and it even looks like it might be a European model based on the color tone of the yellow gold plated case. The lighting in my shop doesn't do the crystal justice - it's a faceted "diamond edge" crystal that a lot of 1960's models feature. The crown is reminiscent of the Pan Europ models like the 64017-4 and 63009-3.
This watch is definitely in need of a cleaning but it shows very little wear. The case back is marked 64018-4. Often the model number tells you a little bit about what to expect inside. For example, this watch should have a caliber 64 movement. The -4 means the case is yellow filled or plated. I imagine the 018 represents the sequence of models, so this is the 18th in the series.
The crown isn't overly worn but it's lost it's plating on the side. It's clearly a Hamilton crown but the gold layer fell off like a little disc, exposing the base material inside.
The bracelet appears to be original and it took me a while to get the curved spring bars freed. I'll replace these with new curved spring bars once the bracelet is cleaned. The bracelet isn't the usual filthy that bracelets often exhibit. This one is just dirty from setting around for 60 years. It should clean up nicely.
I had to resort to my Bergeon case holder to grab the case while I used my case wrench to twist the back off. Fortunately it didn't give me much of a fight, especially since I think I may be the first person to have opened this watch since it was sealed at the factory. Inside is a Hamilton 694A movement which is based on the Caliber 64. Typically the caliber 64 has 21 jewels but the 694A has 17. The added jewels in the Cal 64 would be in the automatic framework. Otherwise the basic movement is the same.
With the movement out of the case I can see that the markers on the golden dial are engraved with a florentine pattern. I've seen the 64018-4 with a black dial too. I've also seen a 64018-3 in stainless steel with a black dial. So there are different versions out there.
The date wheel is also a golden color to match the dial. This movement isn't too different that the last Day-N'-Date model I just covered.
You know the drill... everything is disassembled and cleaned before being reassembled with fresh lubricants. Everything is nice and shiny now.
The basic movement is reassembled first so I can check the timing. Then I'll add the rest of the parts. The movement is ticking away with a good motion. Let's see what the timer thinks.
Not too shabby. These ETA calibers are very easy to adjust so I will fine tune the beat error and beat rate.
The beat rate is very finicky but I eventually dialed it in so that's it's running a little fast. My experience has shown watches settle down a little after they are first reassembled.
With the dial reinstalled, I can advance the time until the date wheel indexes. Then I know it's midnight and can put the hands in place.
With everything back in the case and the bracelet reinstalled with new spring bars, this 60 year old watch is ready for more wrist time. The bracelet is a good length too - perfect for my 7" wrist. I replaced the crown with a new generic version, otherwise this watch looks to be 100% original.
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