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.  That's good enough for me.

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.

1937 Rutledge

Hamilton produced watches in over a dozen different materials.  Probably the least common was platinum.  Hamilton alloyed platinum with rhodium and later, iridium, which was slightly less expensive.  However, platinum doesn't really polish well so I think the alloy with rhodium or iridium was really intended to give the case a little luster and not so much a cost factor.

Platinum was used in a few models but the two most common, and cataloged, were the Rutledge and the Cambridge.  The former was introduced in 1935 when the "new" 14/0 sized movements were introduced.  The latter replaced the Rutledge when it was discontinued in 1951.  That means the Rutledge had quite the run for a Hamilton model - seventeen years, if you include a slight hiatus for WWII.

In 1935 the Rutledge was priced at $175.  That's about $4,100 in today's currency - a hardy sum considering it was in the middle of the Great Depression.

The price point remained the same in 1937 when my project watch was produced.  It's interesting to see the color of the strap in the catalog... is it gray, brown, or something in between?

The Rutledge was priced at $300 once it returned to the lineup after WWII.  Interestingly, $300 in 1947 is slightly less than $4,100 in today's value so you can see the impact of inflation during the war.

My project watch dates to 1937, based on the engraving on the case back.  Overall it's in very good condition.  Note the model uses female spring bars.  Also note the crown is sticking out from the case - that's a little unusual.  I should recess into the side so I suspect this may be a replacement crown and slightly too large for the recess.

The hands on my project watch are called "alpha" or "pointex" style.  The catalog shows the Rutledge was outfitted with "spear" style hands and my project watch still has a spear second hand.  So these hands are replacements.  That's okay though, by 1951 the Rutledge was outfitted with alpha hands.

The case back has the initials of it's original owner along with the year.  The back has quite a few scratches.  Platinum doesn't polish well so I'm going to leave it as is - it's good honest wear for an almost 90 year old watch.

Fortunately the watch came with female spring bars.  These are actually hard to find.  I'll clean these with the rest of the watch parts.

This dial appears to be original and unmolested.  It's a little dirty but I may be able to spruce it up a bit.

The movement inside is a 982 caliber with 19 jewels, just as it should be.  Later models would get the 982M but before 1940 the 982 was the top of the line.  Based on the serial number, this movement dates to 1937, just as it should.

Notice this movement has a split set bridge and set lever spring.  This is a unique feature of the earliest 14.0 movements. By the late 1930s it would be combined into a single part.

The mainspring still contains a blue steel mainspring.  I have not doubt that it's "set" and has lost the majority of it's strength.

Yup, no surprise here.  The spring is still in a tight coil after it's removed from the barrel.  I'l replace it with a fresh white alloy Dynavar spring.

Everything is cleaned and ready to be reassembled.  Notice how clean the female spring bars are!

Although frozen in time, the watch is ticking away with a nice motion and sitting on the timer.

The timing is not too bad but the amplitude is a little on the low side.  It may come up after it runs for a little while.

I paired the finished project with a nice brown leather strap.  I also shortened the stem a little to bring the crown closer to the case.  I think it looks much better.

1957 Drew

 It's not so bad...

That's what Hamilton executives must have said to each other in the mid-1950s when Hamilton some models started to be outfitted with Swiss-made movements.  

It may not seem like it today, but after WWII the watch industry in the US was under tremendous price pressure.  European was still recovering from the destruction of the second world war.  European watch companies made excellent time pieces at very low prices - and that drove a price war in the US market. One by one, American watch companies found they could not compete and either closed their factories or "sold out".  

Some US brands had already been using Swiss-made movements for decades - like Gruen.  Pretty much all the US brands introduced Swiss calibers in order to offer models at price points that could compete.  

Sound familiar, it should.  The cycle has been at play ever since - just the countries have changed.  Once Europe recovered, Japanese makers entered the market.  Today, a large portion of "fine watches" feature movements made in China. 

The preeminent brands still make their own movements in house - like Rolex.  However, the industry today is still very competitive and watches may vary in size, shape, and the name on the dial but in many cases (literally and figuratively) the movement inside comes from the same factory.

Back to Hamilton in the 1950s... times were getting tough.  People started to want a TV, perhaps a second car, one of those fancy refrigerators, and to send their kids to college.  Watch companies had to offer quality watches at competitive prices.  One way to do it was to contract with a Swiss-make and purchase "ebauches" (A-Boo-Shays), or mostly-make movements where the final 10% could be done in-house.  It's not unlike buying a Chevy 350 but changing the intake manifold and changing the cam shaft.

How would the Hamilton market react?  Executives hedged a little by reintroducing the Illinois Watch Company brand that was acquired at the start of the Great Depression.  It had been a couple of decades but people still remembered that Illinois watches were high quality.  So Hamilton introduced Illinois watches with Swiss-made movements at their lowest price points and included them in their catalog.

Somehow, the world kept spinning and people bought them.  Executives then tempted fate a little further and put Hamilton Illinois on the dial... fingers crossed.

People bought those too.  Turns out time is time and if your watch keeps time accurately - that's what people value most, especially if they have money left over to buy a 16" television.

Hamilton introduced Automatic watches the same way and every Hamilton automatic made since 1954 has featured a Swiss-made movement - even up to today.

In 1956 Hamilton switched over to Hamilton branded models.  In some situations only the name on the dial changed.  They found they had to use up the Illinois-branded movements they had before switching over to Hamilton-branded movements.  When the shape of the movement was different, it required a different case back.  As a result, in 1956 there are a bunch of "B" models.  By 1957 the movements changed and the B was dropped. 

My project watch is a great example.  It's a new model for the blog - a 1957 Drew.  The Drew was an entry level model and priced just under $50 on a strap.  That's a little under a $600 in today's currency - not a cheap watch by any stretch but it was the least expensive of the lineup. 

The Drew B was introduced in 1956.  The case and bracelet were the same but the dial was slightly different with markers and 12 instead of numbers.  The seconds register is a wide cross hair vs the small crosshair in the 1957 version.  Lastly, the hands are pointex or alpha style.  Tucked inside the Drew B is an Illinois-branded 12/0 sized caliber.

The Drew was made for 12 years and the 1958 catalog is a little crisper.  Notice the hands are baton style.  That is very unusual but correct for this model.  The Drew was made for only two years - 1957 and 1958.  There's nothing to identify further which year was which.

In addition to the Swiss caliber inside, The case has a rolled gold plated bezel and the back is stainless steel.  The dial is embossed (stamped).  So designers of the entry level models did everything they could to keep the price point low.

My project watch arrived in typical "as found in a drawer" condition.  It's a little beat up but not terrible.  The bracelet is an after-market one-size-fits-all Speidel which will eventually wear grooves into the lugs.  It's definitely due for a trip to the spa. 

The stainless steel case back is unremarkable.  Stainless steel can take a beating.  There's a little lip at the bottom of the photo - looks like a reflection - which I can use to pry the back off.

The dial is original, to my eye anyway, and it's got a speckled patina probably from moisture at some point.  I won't do anything to the dial as embossed dials rarely, if ever, can be refinished well.  This dial shows nothing but good honest wear and is perfect as it is.

Inside the movement is a Hamilton 673 movement.  This is an 11.5 ligne caliber based on an A. Schild AS1200.  I can see a couple of service marks inside - two services over the last 68 years... probably long overdue.

 

A lot of times with this movement the set bridge / yoke breaks - that's the part that holds the watch in the setting or winding positions.  This one is still intact.  I can see a little oil near the barrel - I wonder if someone's been poking around in here?>

All the parts are removed and if you look closely the main plate is stamped AS 1200.

Everything is clean, dried, and ready to be reassembled.  It's much more sparkly now.

The movement is ticking away with a nice motion.  I think the timer will agree.

There's nothing to complain about here.  I'll slow it down slightly but this is excellent.

The final assembly is looking as good as it runs.  The baton hands really make this model something unique.  A nice leather strap is a huge improvement over the after-market bracelet.

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.