1959 Prudence - Ladies model

I've never counted but I'd wager there are well over 1,000 ladies models - maybe even closer to 2,000 when you consider all the diamond versions. 

The problem with ladies models is they are so small that they all tend to look alike.  That's being a little too critical but, for the most part, it's not too far from the truth.  If you haven't already, I invite you to check out the catalogs posted to this blog and peruse the ladies models.  Once you get to the 1950s it becomes a little out of hand, in my opinion.

There are some notable exceptions, like the ladies models that were designed to compliment the men's model such as the Robert and the Roberta.  I have to admit that those are pretty cool.

One of the criticisms that I have with the ladies cocktail watches is they are so small that it's a challenge to actually tell the time.  I know I'm not alone in that viewpoint as ladies watches do not have a lot of collectors appeal compared to the men's line up unless they are really unique or unusual.

So if you're a lady with a keen eye for value and quality, you can usually have the pick of the litter when it comes to collecting Hamilton ladies models.

What I find interesting is out of the thousand plus ladies models, only a handful actually have a second hand.  The earliest ladies models did but by the 1930s the second hand was gone.  In fact, a second hand didn't show up again until 1948 with the introduction of the Todd, which was also in the men's line up.

Eventually in the late 1950s when Hamilton adopted Swiss-made movements, a few more ladies models with second hands appeared.  One of them is the 1959 Prudence.  It would be produced through 1965.

In 1960 the dial was changed to an all-numeral design.  I don't know if both dials were options, the catalog doesn't say.

In 1963 the bracelet changed and the numeral / marker dial returned.  The price decreased as well.   This was still a $700 watch by today's currency.

And of course, by 1965 the all numeral dial returned and the bracelet price increased .

As you can see in the advertisements, the Prudence was available in 10K gold filled with a stainless steel back.  If you see it in a stainless steel case it's likely the Constance II - they are very similar.

I bought my project watch on a whim simply because it has a second hand and those are so uncommon.  I thought it would be interesting to show.  As received it was missing a crown but I had something I could use and I attached it while the watch waited it's turn in the queue.

The stainless case back unscrews but I'm not sure my tool will go this small.  This case back is about the size of a dime.

To give you the idea of what I'm dealing with, this watch could fit inside the perimeter of a 14/0 size 982 movement.

Opening up the back, you can see the Hamilton 603 movement tucked safely inside.  The HYL on the balance cock is Hamilton's import code for Swiss-made calibers.  Seeing as how small the watch case is and how much room the spacer ring takes up, you can see this is a tiny movement.

Like the larger men's movements, the dial is held on by dial feet secured with screws on the side of the movement.

I can tell this is an ETA movement - the set bridge yoke broke... great.

Piece by piece, I strip all of the parts from the front of the movement.  Everything is the same as with the men's movements, just way smaller.  The balance jewels look huge by comparison.

Now it starts to get interesting.  The order of operations is important here.  First I'll remove the balance jewels and the balance assembly.

The train bridge comes off next.  It secures the 3rd, 4th, and escape wheels.  The 3rd and 4th wheels just lift up and away but the escape wheel must slide out the side.

Another bridge holds the center wheel in place.  I have to remove the barrel bridge too in order to get to the center wheel.  I'll have to remember this sequence when I put it all back together.

Almost there... a few more screws to go.

The last part off is the pallet fork.  Now I can put it all in the cleaner for a while.  My cleaning cycle takes about 25 minutes to complete.

As luck would have it, I actually have a set bridge for a 603 movement in a stash of ladies parts.  That was a fortunate find!   Looking at the logo on the package this would appear to be an FHF or Fabrique d'Horlogerie Fontainemelon movement and not an ETA as I suspected.

Finally, all the parts are cleaned and accounted for - some of these things are tiny and easy to lose.

Well, if you've mastered assembling a Hamilton 748 movement you may want to try your skills (and luck) with getting this movement back together.  Since you can't even see the escape wheel, getting the train bridge back in place is a lesson in patience and tenacity.  Finally, it fell into place and the train wheels spin freely without the pallet in place.  That goes on next.

Well, this watch is now ticking away with a nice motion, let's see what the timer has to say.  The two remaining screws are for the set bridge.  I'll put that on once I confirm the watch is running well.

Not too shabby.  It's running a little fast but I can tweak that.

I'm going to call this good enough.  This movement has a fixed hairspring stud so adjusting the beat error would be a roll of the dice and I think I've used up all of my good luck so far.  As Shrek would say, "That'll do donkey, that'll do".

I removed the old lume and redid the hands and dial so it will glow again.  The second hand has a red arrow tip too - that's very cool.  I put a new baby blue strap on it and it's ready for wrist time - at least for someone with a daintier wrist than mine.