1968 Lord Lancaster BB

If you see a LOT of diamonds on a men's Hamilton watch then your "franken radar" should be piqued as the watch may be a jeweler-cased "jobber".  A jobber is a watch where a jeweler recased a Hamilton movement in a private-label case with a bling-ed out dial.  If it looks a little over the top with diamonds, it's likely not an authentic model.  Jobber watches are worth only the sum of the parts... a movement, 14K gold case (if real) and the diamonds (again, if real).  You see jobber models all the time with ladies diamond watches.  The best way to spot a jobber is to look at the inside of the case back - if it doesn't say Hamilton Watch Co, Lancaster PA - then it's not an authentic model.

That said, there are a number of authentic Hamilton watches with diamonds on the dial.  They can be very attractive models and worth a LOT more than the sum of the parts, depending upon the model.  Many of the diamond watches are in the Lord Lancaster line from the 1960s - although there are diamond dialed models from the 1940's and 50's too.

One of the last Lord Lancaster models to be introduced is the Lord Lancaster BB.  It was introduced in 1968 and produced until the end of US production in 1969.

All of the Lord Lancaster models come in a minimum of a rolled gold case... sometimes they are gold filled or even solid gold - but never stainless steel.  They are often white in color but some models came in yellow too.  They also are often diamond-dialed versions of similar models without diamonds on the dial.

The Lord Lancaster BB came in a 10K white or yellow rolled gold plate case.  The radial-finished dial is outfitted with matching markers with diamonds on the even-numbered hours.

Tucked inside a BB is a Hamilton 639 movement, which was made by Buren (it's a Buren 280).  Hamilton acquired Buren in the 1960's and used a lot of Buren movements in their "thin" models... Thinlines, Thinomatics, etc.

My Lord Lancaster BB project watch arrived in good shape overall.  The crystal was pretty beat up but other than that it was problem-free.

Careful observation of the case back reveals that this watch has a one-piece case and will open through the crystal.

The Hamilton 639 looks like some of the other sub-second movements from the 1960s.  The main difference is the 639 is VERY thin.  There isn't a lot of clearance inside between overlapping parts.  Notice the male stem.  That's a little different too - most other movements have the female portion of the two-piece stem on the movement side.  The corresponding female part of the stem is installed in the crown.

The inside of the case back has several marks from past watchmakers... the latest appearing to be from 2001.

While everything is being cleaned I will prep a new crystal.  This one is just a smidge too small so I will have to order a slightly larger size.  The printing on this GS Crystal package means the contents are a PK-style (low dome) round crystal with a diameter of 29.3mm which is a 26-1/4 size in GS units.  I'll need to order one more like 29.4 or 29.5 for a perfect fit.

Everything is cleaned and dried before being reassembled with fresh lubricants, several different oils & greases are used in various places.

The reassembled movement goes onto the timer... it's running a bit fast but I can slow that down easily.

The Buren 280 has a moveable Hairsping stud so I can adjust the beat error fairly easily.  You can see I moved it in the wrong direction on the right side of my display as the two lines separated.  As they got closer together the beat error was reduced.  The timer wrapped from the right side of the screen over to the left side and I left the balance as is with a beat error of 0.8ms.

A new teju-lizard black strap completes the restoration of this very nice looking Lord Lancaster BB.  Once I get a tighter fitting crystal the watch will be ready for wrist time.

1957 Crispin

Hamilton's top-of-the-line models are often part of the "Masterpiece" line.  They feature solid gold cases and US-made movements.  They also often have a diamond-shaped marker on the dial to denote the masterpiece status.  If you see this marker on a gold filled case, you should wonder if the model is a franken - as it likely is.

One of the Masterpiece models from 1957 was the Crispin.  It was made for two years.

The Crispin came in a 14K yellow gold case with solid 14K gold numerals or markers on a sterling silver dial.  It was only available with a strap.  No bracelet was available and you'll see one reason for that below.  The style of hands used on a Crispin is called "dauphine".

Tucked inside the case is Hamilton's 22 jewel 12/0 sized model 770 movement.  This movement was introduced in 1955 and produced through the end of US production in 1969.

My Crispin project watch had some serious issues.  Many years on a bracelet wore seriously deep grooves into all four lugs.  In a couple of the lugs the wear went almost all the way through!

The case back looks like this watch should open through the crystal but there are some marks opposite the crown to indicate where a case knife can be inserted to separate the bezel from the back.

The crystal had a small crack so I removed it and got a better view of the dial underneath.  The dial is missing the markers at 3 and 9.  It's ready for a trip to the dial refinisher anyway.

The 770 movement is a really nice movement and fairly easy to work on too - I think Hamilton had the best interests of watchmakers in mind when they designed this movement.

The center of the case back is actually a movement ring that comes out.  I suspect the center isn't solid gold - based on the minor verdigris near the stem groove.  Solid gold does not corrode so you won't find verdigris on a solid gold case.

I've had this project watch for a while and have been waiting for the dial to come back from the refinisher.  My friends at International Dial did a nice job on it I think.  The line by the 3 marker isn't perfectly aligned but once it's installed you probably wouldn't notice it.

The 770 movement is now purring like a kitten at 18,000 beats per hour.

Here it is on my timer... looks great overall... great beat rate, great amplitude and a great beat error too.  Nothing to complain about here.

I took the case to my favorite local jeweler and he was able to solidify the lugs.  They're not perfect but they look loads better than what I started with... that's for sure.

The Crispin is a fine looking watch in my opinion.  Definitely a sharp dress watch for any formal occasion.  This one is ready for another 50 year of service - but hopefully it's days of a bracelet are behind it.

1961 Talbot

Some vintage Hamilton Watches from the 1950's and '60s echo the traditions established by Hamilton's earlier models.  The craftsmanship and materials reflect Hamilton's status as a premier watch manufacturer.  At the same time, some models are very futuristic and innovative - hardly recognizable to watches from the prior decades.  Further still, some watches are clearly entry-level watches meant to compete at a lower price point with imported brands.

But in contrast to all of these classes, there are some watches that have an interesting mix of traditional and innovative elements.  There aren't that many of them but they are interesting unto themselves.

Take for example the 1961 Talbot.  It was the second model to bear the name, the earlier version was in the 1930's.  It was produced for 7 years.

From a traditional standpoint, the Talbot came in a 10K gold filled case in either white or yellow.  The sterling silver dial had solid gold numerals, rhodium plated on the white version.  You could get the watch on a bracelet as well as a leather strap.

From an innovative standpoint, it has a funky spotted finish on the dial.  In addition, it's one of the few models to feature Hamilton's final 8/0 sized, sub-second, American-made movement, the 731.

The 731 is an improvement over the 730, which was the improvement version of the 747 introduced in 1947. I'll tell you more about it below.  I'm not exactly sure when the 731 was introduced - I think the mid 1960's - so the earlier Talbots probably have a 730 and later ones have the 731.

I recently picked up a Talbot project watch in need of some serious TLC.  As you can see it was very dirty and the crystal was a wreck.  It must have been crushed, is my guess.  It was not running either but it appears to just need a very thorough cleaning.

With the crystal out of the way, you can see the dial is in decent shape but its a little spotted and dirty. Hopefully it will clean up - I have no idea how well it would turn out if it was refinished.

The 731 is basically a 730 movement with an improved balance.  The 730 differs from the 747 in that the balance is shock-jeweled so the delicate balance staff is less likely to break if you drop the watch or bang it into a doorjamb.  The 731 is different from the 730 in that it has a Glucydur Balance.  This special balance is made of a material that is very robust to temperature changes and there are no timing screws of any sort.  It is machined-balanced for perfect poise when it is manufactured.  Most modern watches today usually use glucydur balance wheels.

The stainless steel case back has an odd coating of verdigris all the way around it.  You don't tend to see stainless steel get this green.  That will clean off with some elbow grease and a half hour or so in the ultrasonic.

Here's a better shot of a Glucydur balance.  Notice the little holes on one side.  Those represent material removed in order to balance the wheel and put it in "poise" - which basically means perfectly  balanced with no side more heavier than the other.  On a compensation balance and the bi-metallic balance wheels used prior, the little screws where used to poise the watch and the position of the screws effected temperature compensation as well as beat rate.

While everything is being cleaned in the ultrasonic, I will prep a new glass crystal for installation in the bezel - once the bezel de-funkified.

Everything is cleaned, dried and reassembled with fresh lubrication.  The now-running watch goes onto the timer.  It's running a little slow with decent amplitude but the beat error is a little high at 5.0 milliseconds.   Adjusting the beat error on a balance like this (with a fixed hairspring stud location) is very tricky but 5.0 is a little too high so I'll give it a go.

The beat error is how off-centered the impulse pin (jewel) is relative to the pallet fork.  It's represented by the distance between the two lines on the timer screen.  If the impulse pin was perfectly centered the error would be zero.  If it's not centered, the balance will swing further to one side than the other.  That will cause the watch to stop a little sooner than it would with a lower beat error.

To adjust the beat error, I need to remove the balance from the balance cock and then turn the collet that holds the hairspring onto the balance staff - that will rotate the balance wheel relative to the hair spring stud - and that means the impulse pin is moved relative to the stud too.  I just need to move it the right direction and distance.

Monkeying around with a balance and hairspring is usually a recipe for disaster and it's not for the faint of heart.  As you can see below, I must have moved it the wrong direction, as the beat error has now increased to 7.8ms.  Oops!   Now I have to try again.

Alright - down to 2.0ms.  Now the watch is running a little more slowly but I can tweak the regulator and bring that in line.

And finally everything levels out with a good beat rate, good amplitude and a good beat error.  Could the beat error be even better?  Sure - but I've learned (more than once) not to press my luck.

Here's a shot of the now-running and cleaned up movement, sparkling away as it should.

And here's the finished project watch with a new glass crystal and a new lizard strap.  The dial cleaned up pretty well but still has some age spots... but then again, so do I.