1941 Wesley

Most Hamilton models were only made for a handful of years, some as few as one but two or three year runs was not unusual.  What was unusual was a production run of over 10 years.  Some models, like the Boulton, topped even that but the list of 10 year+ watches is pretty short.

One of them would be the 1941 Wesley.  It continued to be produced through 1952, with a short hiatus for WWII production.

The Wesley was unchanged through it's production run.  The case is solid 14K yellow gold and inside you will find the 19 jewel 982M, as in Medallion, movement.

The final price of the Wesley was a mere $180, that's about $2,500 when adjusted for inflation.  It think you'd be hard pressed to find a new solid gold watch of equal quality for that amount today.

My project watch is in very nice condition but it's fully wound and not running.  That could be as simple as needing to be cleaned or it could have something broken inside.  Only one way to find out.  The metal bracelet is a Gemex brand and very nice, as far as bracelets go.  However, in my opinion, a watch of this quality deserves a fine strap.  The crystal on the watch is plastic and a new glass crystal will go a long way in improving the appearance.

The movement and dial are secured in the case back. It's a pretty tight fit and I think someone pressed down on the dial to get the movement into the case and ended up bending the dial a little.  I'll see if I can straighten it but I don't want to risk ruining the dial so I may end up leaving it alone.

The inside of the case back makes identifying the model easy.  Hamilton started putting model names in cases in the late 1940s and continued for only a few years.

The serial number of the movement dates this watch to 1951.  It also has a presentation on the back for 25 years of service in 1952.

The mainspring in the barrel is an old blue steel spring and will need to be replaced.

All the parts are cleaned and inspected.  I found the escape wheel was missing a pivot - that was the reason the watch was not running.  Hopefully now that it's replaced and everything is cleaned, the watch will run now.

Sure enough, the reassembled movement is ticking away with a nice motion.  Now we can see what the timer thinks of it.

Nothing wrong with this movement now.  It's running great.

The finished watch looks great with a new glass crystal and it runs as well as it looks.  Every collection deserves to have a solid gold model and the Wesley would be an excellent choice.

1929 Barrel - World Series Presentation

Most Hamilton collectors are aware of the 1928 World Series Piping Rocks that were given out to the winning New York Yankees.  The watch is so popular that Hamilton reintroduced it in the 1990s as a registered edition in both quartz and mechanical versions.

Hamilton did the same in 1929 with the winning World Series team, the Philadelphia Athletics. 

Instead of the Piping Rock, a different model was used.  In this case it was the Barrel, but cased in sterling silver.  Based on production records, I'd estimate no more than 213 sterling silver Barrels were produced by the end of 1935, so they are extremely rare.

My project watch is a great find.  You'd be forgiven if you thought it was a white gold filled, or possibly solid white gold version.

The back is where it gets really interesting.  It was presented to you William (Bill) Breckinridge who was a pitcher for the Philadelphia Athletics.  It was his rookie year, and only year, in the major league.

Bill Breckinridge played in only three games and not at all in the World Series.  Since he was rostered on the Athletics when they defeated the Chicago Cubs, he received his full share of the players' bonus pool.  He was given a minor league assignment the following spring so he chose to retire at 22, and attend college - eventually becoming a lawyer.  Not quite a Lou Gehrig but an interesting story nonetheless.

The inside of the case back is marked Wadsworth, after the case maker with an H for Hamilton and 6/0 for the size of the movement.  The STERLING is the most interesting part of the inside.  I doubt I'll ever see another sterling Barrel again.

The center section of the three piece case is stamped with the last four digits of the case back serial number - so you know this was an original pairing.  Inside is a 17 jewel 987 movement.  Based on the color of the chatons (jewel settings), it's been a while since the watch was last cleaned but it does appear to tick... thank goodness.  Watches from this era are notoriously finicky and can be very temperamental.  I will be too, when I'm 97 years old.

The owner complained the watch would run out of steam after a few hours.  Looking at the old blue steel mainspring inside the barrel, I can pretty much assume that is the reason.  It has surely set into a tight coil and lost most of it's potential energy.

Yup - I've see this a time or two.

A nice white alloy Dynavar spring will power the movement nicely.

Everything is carefully disassembled and cleaned.  Now it's time to put it back together with fresh oil inside all the wear surfaces.

It doesn't look like it in the photo, but the watch is ticking away with a decent motion.  Let's see what the timer has to say about it.

Ooof!  The shotgun pattern says something inside is making a lot of noise.  I'll reclean the hairspring and the pallet fork to make sure everything is perfect.

There... that's much better.  It took a couple of attempts but I got there.  The amplitude is very vigorous but as long as the balance doesn't swing all the way around to the pallet fork again, the watch should eventually settle down.

A baseball is a good background for this ultra-unique watch.  This is a very interesting watch and I'm glad I had the opportunity to see it first hand and give it some extra life.

Bill Breckinridge died in 1958, at 51 years old.  I wonder where this watch has been since then?

1938 Dodson

One of the interesting design aesthetics of the late 1930s and early 1940s was the use of rose gold.  With the rare exception of the Ventura in the 1950s, rose gold was used predominantly in a handful of models just before WWII.  There were solid rose gold Venturas made for the South American market but beyond that, the use was limited to pre WWII.

Another interesting design element is the use of tubular lugs.  There are quite a few models from the same period that featured them and I can't think of any other time period that you'll see them.  Perhaps its because the feature helps the design to curve with the wrist - that was big in the 1930s.  A good example is the 1938 Dodson.

Other models with tubular lugs include the Sutton, Bowman, and the Medwick.  But there are even more.

As for the Dodson, the model was produced through 1948 so it's a common model to find in the wild.  It's even one of the first models I covered when I started this blog in 2012!

The Dodson was available with either an applied gold numeral dial or black enamel numeral dial.  The latter was slightly less expensive but is arguably harder to find.  Behind the dial you will find a 17 jewel 987A movement.  The 6/0 size is a good size for a wrist watch movement and the Dodson is large by 1940s standards.

My project watch comes courtesy of the original owner's son and that makes it "priceless", even in the condition it's in.  The crystal is missing and the bezel shows extensive wear through on the tops of all four lugs.  The dial is very dirty and has a splotchy appearance.  The second hand is an obvious replacement.  Lastly, the Spiedel bracelet isn't doing this watch and fashion favors.  One thing is clear though, this watch was well loved by it's owner.

The back of the case features the current owner's father's name.  The back is severely worn through on the edges and shows clear signs of prior repairs, probably to fill a hole or two.

One of the lugs has been worn down to the hole for the spring bar.  This would need to be repaired or there's a good chance the watch would come off while wearing it.

The crown is an old replacement of some sort.  It has a logo but it's not a Hamilton logo.

The crown is lacking a dust ring.  Crowns from this era often had a dust ring that fit into the opening of the case, keeping dirt out and preventing the round movement from rotating out of position.  Without the dust ring, the stem can move up or down a few degrees and make the dial appear crooked.  It can also let excess moisture in.

There are quite a few prior watchmaker service marks inside the case back.  That's always nice to see.  This watch was well taken care of back in the day.

The movement is running but the regulator is set close to full slow.  I'll wind it a little and check it out on the timer to see what I'm dealing with.  The serial number dates this watch to 1947.

The timing is not too bad.  I'll take this performance any day, as long as it runs like this in the other positions.

The set lever screw is very rusted.  I'll have to loosen this screw in order to remove the stem (to change the crown) and my experience tells me the screw will break when I try to loosen it.  It's best to just replace it.

There's a missing dial foot screw.  The dial is held on with three dial feet and it's not unusual to see one of the them missing a screw.  Two feet will hold it in place but three is better.

I was hoping with all the prior watchmaker's marks inside the case back that one of my predecessors would have installed a Dynavar mainspring so I wouldn't have to.  These white alloy mainsprings are "lifetime" rated and shouldn't have to be changed.

The dial is an old refinish.  I can tell by the layer of glue on the back that holds the gold figures in place.  Refinished dials don't respond well to cleaning.  If you're not careful, or even if you are, all of the printing can come off.

I have two original dials that I could potentially use.  I know they are original because they have a the dial number 0139 on the bottom of them.  Personally, I'll take a crappy looking original dial over a crappy looking refinished dial any day of the week.  The dial that's in the baggie isn't too bad compared to the other two.  I'll plan to use it.

I'll look in my stash of empty cases for a better Dodson bezel I can use.  I didn't realize when I took the photo that I was staring right at one... can you spot it?

Turns out, I actually have four bezels I could choose from.  I'll closely inspect them to see which one has the best lug shape and wear patterns.

A new crystal is a necessity on this project - as there wasn't one to start with.  I'll have to wet-sand the edges to get a perfect fit.

Everything is cleaned and ready to be reassembled.  However, first I need to address the rusty set lever screw.

One of my favorite tools is my Knipex pliers.  Knipex makes GREAT tools.  These pliers are large but the tips are so precise that you can actually grab something as small as the rusty nub of a set lever screw.  If you want to assess if a tool is precise, visually inspect how the tips meet.  You'll be surprised how often there's a gap.

First I need to find a set lever screw I can steal from a parts movement.  This one will do.

I flipped it over and, low and behold, it's another Dodson dial with nicer hands and the movement even has the crown!  I can also steal a dial foot screw to complete my project watch movement.

The movement can now be reassembled with the new set lever screw.  Once back together, the movement is ticking away with a nice motion.  It's off to the timer to listen to the ticking.

Not too shabby.  The amplitude is lower than when I started but I haven't wound the mainspring fully yet.  I'll let it run for a while to settle in and then make any final tweaks.

Wow, this finished watch is a magnificent transformation.  This sort of restoration is very challenging as I want to avoid a "ship of Theseus" situation where I change so many parts that it's no longer the same watch I started with.  However, it is now what it was when the original owner first treasured it.  The worn bezel is replaced with a wear-free example but the case back is the same.  The dial is blemish-free and protected by a glass crystal.  All of the hands, as well as the crown, are proper Dodson parts.

This is a really nice example of the Dodson and with it's engraving, it should be a treasured family heirloom for generations to come.