1941 Martin

When it comes to vintage Hamiltons, there's a lot of focus on rarity.  Some watches almost achieve unicorn status - everyone has heard of them but few have seen one.  At the other end of the spectrum is ubiquity.  I've never really thought much about what model is the most common.

It could be the Boulton, because it was made for a really long time.  It could be the Dodson, it was made for quite a while too but no where near Boulton status.  Another likely nomination would the 1941 Martin.  

The Martin was introduced in 1941 and made through 1948, albeit with a slight interruption to fight WWII.  The model is one of a handful to have also been made in rose gold, or Coral gold, in Hamilton parlance.

The coral models were short lived and didn't come back after the war.  However, the yellow gold filled version did and they made a ton of them.  Production records might reveal exactly how many were made but I can say, at least anecdotally, that it's an extremely common model because I have probably two dozen empty Martin cases from prior project watches where donor movements were needed.

The Martin is easy to spot thanks to the prominent round lugs that look like semi-spheres in each corner.  The bezel is shaped like an old TV, probably better described as a cushion.  It was cased in 10K yellow (or rose) gold filled and featured solid 18K numerals on a sterling silver dial.  The coral version has a salmon-colored dial the numerals and hands are rhodium plated to appear silver in color.

I recently had the opportunity to work on a Martin and it had some interesting features that I thought I'd share.  As received, it was not running and it has a prominent plastic crystal that seems to magnify the dial a bit.

Crystals come in a variety of styles and this one is totally incorrect.  Technically its a "cylinder" meaning it has curved walls from one edge to the other.  Usually the curve is from top to bottom but this one goes side to side.  There's probably another watch model out there (not a Hamilton) that would use this crystal.  This crystal meets the dimensions for the bezel opening though so I guess it works.

One of the reasons I have so many donor Martin cases is the round lugs and the case back are very prone to wear through.  This case doesn't look too bad and the bulbous crystal protected the lugs from shirt sleeve wear.

Inside the case is a 987F movement.  Based on the serial number, this movement was made in 1930... well before the Martin was introduced.  So someone swapped out the original 987A with an earlier 987F.  The 987A came out in 1937 so even a 987E would have been a closer choice.  However, you do what you gotta do sometimes, I guess.  

There's no notch on the side of the dial by the 3 to indicate that this dial is refinished but I can tell by the looks of it that it is.  Also, the seconds register is missing the bold marks at the 10 second intervals - another classic tell that this is a refinished dial.  It looks pretty good though, overall.

The back of the dial has a layer of glue to hold the rivets on the gold numerals and keep the numbers from falling off.  That's another sign that the dial was redone.

It's dirty, but this watch already has a white alloy mainspring inside.  I don't know if it's the correct mainspring, but it won't be set in the tight coil like a blue steel spring would be.  So I'll reuse it.

While the parts are being cleaned I'll prep the bezel for a new glass crystal.  This bezel is damaged in all of the corners.  Maybe that plastic crystal didn't fit after all.  The crystal is supposed to fit along the ledge inside the bezel opening and without a ledge, there's nothing for the new crystal to be glued to and water will easily get inside.  The solution is to swap bezels with another donor Martin.

Everything is cleaned and ready to be reassembled.  This is sort of a fork in the road moment.  I can reuse this 987F for a Martin or I could dig out a 987A movement to use instead.  That would save the 987F for a 1930's model in need of a movement.  If it were my watch, that's what I'd do but it's not my watch, so I will "dance with the one who brung me" and use the 987F... it's part of this watch's provenance anyway.

The reassembled movement is ticking away with a good motion.  Things are looking promising.  Lets see what the timer has to say.

Whoa... this isn't good.  Let's run it through the demagnetizer and try again.

Well, that's a little better, I guess.  At least it's in the ballpark, anyway.  I'll have to remove the balance and adjust the hairspring to reduce the beat error.  My goal is to get it under 3.0ms and 6.9 is way too high.

There... that's much better.  A slight tweak to the regulator will slow it down a smidgeon.  The amplitude is a little low but I haven't wound it fully yet since the stem isn't installed.

With a new glass crystal and a fresh leather strap, you'd never know this 80 year old watch is running with a 95 year old movement.  The replacement bezel looks just as good, or better, that what I started with and it supports the crystal as it should.

The Martin is a nice looking model.  I can see why Hamilton made a ton of them.