1935 Ramsey Pocket Watch with 918 - Ask the Man Who Owns One...

Hamilton made all sorts of awards watches for organizations or companies.  You could even personalize your own watch by putting your name on the dial in place of numerals for hour markers!

One of the most prolific companies to use Hamilton watches for awards was the Packard Motor Car Company.  Packard was well known for creating luxury cars, especially before WWII.  During the war, Packard made lots of military-related products, including the Liberty V-12 engine used by the US Navy in PT boats.

After the war, Packard struggled to compete with the Big 3 automakers... GM, Ford, and Chrysler.  Eventually Packard merged with Studebaker to form Studebaker-Packard Corporation.  After several years of declining sales, the Packard brand ended in 1959.

You will find a variety of Packard awards watches out in the wild and they're easy to spot because they all have the Pakard slogan "Ask the man who owns one" on the dial.  This slogan came from the advertising jingle that promoted the brand...

"Ride ride ride ride ride along
in your Packard, in your Packard.
In a Packard you've got the world on a string.
In a Packard car you feel like a king.
Ride ride ride ride ride along
in your Packard, what fun!
And ask the man, just ask the man
the lucky man who owns one!"

As an awards watch, they're usually cased in solid gold so I've come across plenty of movements with dials after their case was scrapped but I haven't had a complete watch until now.

It's a pocket watch model called the Ramsey from 1935.

The Ramsey was cased in solid 14K gold, either in white or natural gold (yellow).  You could choose the dial you wanted as well as one of three movements, the 922 with 23 jewels, the 904 with 21 jewels or the 918 with 19 jewels.  These movements would all be replaced in a year or two with the soon to be released 917, 921 and 923 movements.

All the physical dimensions of the 918, 904 and 922 are the same, the construction of the movements improved along with the jewel count.  The 918 movement was a fine movement with nickel plating, 19 extra-fine ruby and sapphire jewels, solid gold chatons (jewel settings), micrometric regulator and it was adjusted to temperature as well as three positions (dial up, dial down, pendant up).  The 904 and the 922 included white gold plating on the movement, solid gold train wheels, and were adjusted to five positions.  The 922 is an especially attractive movement.

My project watch arrived courtesy of it's current owner.  It's a family heirloom and way overdue for restoration,  It's not mine, but I'm grateful it's being saved for future generations, as the solid gold case is quite valuable.  The Ramsey was priced at $100 in 1935... that's $2400 in today's dollars but with gold over $4,000 an ounce, this watch is probably worth that or more in gold alone! 

The case back snaps on and you just need a fingernail to get it to open.

Under the rear cover is a dust cover that bears the presentation to the recipient from 1935 for 10 years of service.  Boy, those days are gone for sure.  Name a company that treats their loyal employees to a gold watch after 10 years!

The inside of the dust cover shows the 14K solid gold mark hallmark.  The inside of the rear cover shows all the Hamilton Watch Co information.

The movement appears to be in decent condition at first blush, but close inspection shows rust in a few areas, including the hairspring, which is not good.  The movement is not running but nothing appears to be broken.

The tip of the second hand appears to be black - I'm not sure if that's rust or if it was purposely painted black.  This dial is the No. 50 pattern with solid 18K numerals and features the Packard logo.

There are three dial foot screws on the side of the movement.  I'll loosen all three and will lift the dial off the main plate.

Despite my best efforts, I couldn't get the dial off.  One of the dial feet is stuck solid.  So I had to remove the balance (for safety) and then the barrel bridge so I could have access to the dial foot from the opposite side.  I placed a dot of penetrating oil on the foot and was able to push it out from behind.

With the dial of the way, I can remove the hour wheel and cannon pinion.  The rest of the dial-side of the main plate looks pretty good, other than a little rust on the screw heads.

While the parts are in the cleaner I will turn to my go-to polish for the case.  The initial photo doesn't really show the extent of black grime that covers the case.  I don't think it's dirt, per se, but the result. of years and years of exposure to a humid environment - perhaps inside a safe somewhere.

Everything is cleaned and ready to be reassembled.

First one are the escape and 4th wheels and their bridge.  Once they spin freely I can install the third and center wheel, barrel, and install the barrel bridge.

A little bit of trivia for you... during this period of time, the balance cock screw had a smaller head that the rest of the train bridge screws.  You can see the screw to the right (below) is intended for the balance cock.  The other two support the barrel or train bridges.

Once all the train wheels are installed and spin effortlessly, I install the pallet fork.  After this point I can wind the watch and then install the balance.

The movement ticked with the balance installed but there is a big difference between ticking and actually keeping time.  This balance is making a lot of noise as it moves.

Rust is really bad for watches and especially on the hairspring or the mainspring.  Just a tiny amount of rust on the mainspring will cause it to break.  The hairspring will move with a little rust but it's ability is compromised.  This is why you want to always keep vintage watches away from water - even if you think they are waterproof.

The watch's balance is on the left below.  I happened to have a 918 donor balance and you can compare the two below.  Notice the difference in rust!

My donor balance is ticking away with a nice motion.  Time to see what the timer thinks of it.

Not too shabby but the beat error is way too high at 5.6ms.  I will have to remove the balance and try to reduce the beat error by improving how well the impulse jewel is centered.  The beat error is a measure of how far the balance swings from one side to the other.  When the impulse jewel is centered, the beat error is zero.

After a couple of attempts, I was able to get the beat error reduced to an acceptable 1.7ms, well within my personal specs of 3.0ms or less.

The dial and hands go back onto the movement and the assembly goes back into the freshly polished case.  This watch now looks like the family heirloom it is intended to be.