Hamilton made pocket watches for it's entire US-production existence. It started in 1892 when the company was formed and continued through 1969. In fact, inventory continued to be sold into the 1970s.
As you might expect, there were technological advancements along the way and movements evolved over the decades until finally coalescing around 10 Size dress pocket watches and 16 Size railroad watches. Eventually, Swiss-made calibers entered the line up too but for the most part, Lancaster-made calibers dominated the model line up.
I find the variety of models to be very interesting. I guess it's kind of like Jelly Belly jelly beans with over 50 flavors... to the uninitiated you wouldn't realized there was such a wide variety.
Like wrist watches, pocket watches were often used for awards and presentations. My latest project is a great example. Trying to determine what model it is proved to be a challenge.
Ultimately I landed on the Blaine. Note the characteristics I used. First, it's cased in solid 14K gold. There's a 21 jewel 921 movement inside. The shape of pendant is sort of rectangular but it's also get a slight stepped, or ridged, contour. The bezel also appears to have a couple of ledges to the profile. The dial features all numerals but also "pearlized" dots at the minute intervals.
The Blaine, an other models, also offered different dial options so you really have to look closely at the fine details.
As an example, compare the Blaine to the Hale - it also has a 14K gold case and a semi rectangular pendant. However, the pendant is smooth and doesn't appear to have the same ridged detail as the Blaine.
The 1951 catalog has lot more detail about the various models and you can see some of the finer nuances and dial options much more clearly.
What's also very interesting is Hamilton offered personalized dials for their 10 Size models so you could place a custom order for a pocket watch that would be unique to the person receiving it.
As you'll see shortly, my project watch has a presentation from 1954 and the Blaine was no longer a cataloged option for that year. Another model, the Tyler, could have been a contender but looking very closely at the details, I'm pretty sure the Blaine is the better match. Perhaps the Tyler replaced the Hale - they look much more similar. Watches with company presentations were typically based on discontinued models, so it would make sense that a 1954 award could use recently discontinued model.
Hamilton definitely had bragging rights when it came to pocket watches - after all, they were " the watch of railroad accuracy". During this time period you had three choices of 10 Size movements... the 17 jewel 917, the 21 jewel 921 and the 23 jewel 923. The latter two a really stunning designs, in my opinion.
The 1951 catalog is one of the few years where Hamilton really went into detail describing their movements. You can see the three calibers side by side. The 921 and 923 are superior movements to the 917 in that they were factory adjusted to temperature and five positions vs only three positions for the 917. The extra jewels on the 921 are at the barrel and the escape wheel. The two additional jewels for the 923 are at the pallet fork so the escapement is fully cap jeweled. I think the 921 and 923 are simply beautiful and it's a shame they get covered up by the case back... as you'll see below.
My project watch arrived in a clam shell case, typical for 10 Size pocket watches.
Notice the color of the interior felt - it's brown. This case is not original to the watch. It's actually from the early 1940s and would have originally contained a rose gold "coral" model.
For comparison, I happen to have another pocket watch in it's original boxes. Notice the blue felt interior.
The yellow baggie contains the set lever screw... that's what started this watch's odyssey to my workshop. The owner loosened the set lever screw too far and was unable to get it to reconnect with the set lever. The set lever is what holds the stem in place and without it, the stem will simply fall out if you try to set the time.
The case back has the classic Awards Division sans serif font and celebrates a January 1954 anniversary or 30 years of service. Adjusted for inflation, this was a $2700 award at the time. Not too many companies would treat their employees like that today.
The inside of the case back is nicely engraved with Hamilton Watch Company, Lancaster PA. I do not see any prior service marks inside... I wonder if I'm the first to service this watch in 70 years?
You can see the empty hole where the set lever screw should go. I wound the watch up and it ticks. I wonder how well it's working?
There's a world of difference between ticking and keeping time and this watch is definitely "just ticking".
The movement will drop out the front once the stem is gone (easy) and the two case screws are removed.
My tweezers are pointing at the set lever that came loose. Getting it reattached isn't too difficult but you need to support the set lever on one side of the main plate while you use the screwdriver on the other side - so it takes some practice.
I'll address the set lever when I reassemble the movement. At this point I can use the stem to let the mainspring down and then start to disassemble all of the parts for cleaning.
Everything goes through the ultrasonic three times... once for cleaning and twice for rinsing. It's all bright and shiny now. Time for reassembly with fresh lubricants in all the proper places.
Okay, it's the moment of truth. The movement is back together and I wound up the mainspring. Now I can replace the balance and it will (hopefully) come back to life.
Success! The balance is ticking away with a nice motion. Did I mention how attractive these movements are?
It's running a smidgeon fast but that is easily adjusted. The amplitude is great and the beat error is well within my specs of under 3.0ms.
I'll leave it running just a little fast as my experience has been watches tend to settle a little after they are serviced.
The finished project goes back into it's case and back into it's clam shell. I'm sure the owner will enjoy this watch a lot more now that it's running and the stem will stay put.
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