1982 LL Bean Pocket Watch

Hamilton provided field watches to LL Bean for several years in the 1980s and 90s.  You can find them with mechanical movements, quartz movements and even automatic movements.  The original field watches were based largely on the military models, and what appears to be specifically the GG-W-113.  They also made a pocket watch version that I've always been curious about... did it have a larger pocket watch movement too?

Priced at $75 in the early 1980s, that seems like a pretty good price by today's standards... around $200 give or take.  When in decent shape, they often sell for north of $200 today on eBay, and I have never succeeded in purchasing one, until now.

My LL Bean pocket watch is in need of some TLC, which is probably why I was able to get it.  The luminous paint on the hands had failed and it was rather grungy in general.

My watch even came with its original fob, as shown in the catalog depiction.

The crystal on my watch is cracked and needs to be replaced.

Other than being quite a bit larger, the case back looks very similar to the wrist watch version of the field watch.  There's a little recess on the side where a case knife can pry the back off.

Well, mystery solved - the movement inside is a 17 jewel Hamilton 649 movement, just like in the field watch and the GG-W-113, along with a substantial movement ring to secure it inside the case.

Like other watches with this movement, it has a golden lever inside that stops the balance when the time is set... also known as "hack".

While the parts are being cleaned I will prep a new crystal for installation.  This is the same style crystal I'd use other models, just with a 36.2mm diameter.  However, the wrist watch version also had a reflector ring.

Everything is cleaned, dried, and laid out for reassembly.  There's a clear gasket inside the case back to help seal the watch.

The movement is back to running order.  It's off to the timer to see how it's performing.

It's running a smidgen fast but that should be easy to adjust.

11 seconds fast... that should be good for now and it might slow a little as it settles in.

The finished project watch now looks like it's ready to go into a new LL Bean catalog.  I even put the fob on in the same manner in which the catalog depicted it.  The hands and dial have been relumed so they will glow in the dark again.  This pocket watch turned out great, I'm glad I picked one up!

1962 Boyd

Have you ever seen a Hamilton model that looked familiar but was still something you hadn't seen before?  That happens to me all the time when it comes to cushion-shaped models.  In fact, the earliest Hamilton wrist watches were cushion shaped and named Cushion for that very reason.

However, over the years there have been many other cushion shaped models and one of them is the 1962 Boyd.  The Boyd was made for three years but only the 1962 version has gray highlights on the dial at the 12, 3, 9 and 6 positions.  That feature is missing on the 1963 and 64 examples.

You could purchase the Boyd for between $50 and $60 in 1962, depending on if you wanted a strap or the bracelet.  That may not seem like a lot but in today's dollars that's in the neighborhood of $500 making the Boyd an entry-level model but definitely not an inexpensive watch.

Some of the features that made the Boyd an entry level model are the rolled gold plate bezel, stainless steel back and Swiss-made movement under the dial.

My Boyd project watch is a typical watch that probably hasn't seen a watchmaker more than once in almost 60 years.  However, a little TLC and a fresh crystal will go a long way toward bringing new life to this dresser-drawer treasure.

The bracelet on the watch is not original and it's in rough shape so it will come off.  Looking closely at the case back, it's clear this is a two-piece case.

Although this is a 1962 model, it has a presentation from 1964.  That means this watch probably stayed in a jewelry store for a little while before it was likely given as a graduation present.

The 17 jewel 686 movement based on the A Schild 1200 ebauche.  This example looks nice and clean considering the state of the outside of the case.

The dial is in good shape although there is a slight dent between the 10 and 11 where the dial foot is attached.  It's not easy to see unless the light hits it just right.

I don't see any previous watchmaker marks inside the case back, so this watch may have never been serviced before.

I'll get out a new crystal while all the parts are being cleaned in the ultrasonic.

Everything is ready to be reassembled with fresh lubricants.

The first parts back on are the train wheels.  Getting all four pivots to line up so the train bridge can go on can be tricky but if they are aligned the bridge will fall into place, so it's easy to see when something isn't quite right.

The movement is back together and ticking away with good motion.  Let's see what the timer thinks of it.

It's running a little fast and the beat error is a little high but both are easy to adjust.

First I'll reduce the beat error by tweaking the hair spring stud location.

Then I tweak the regulator fork until the beat rate comes into line.  Everything looks great now.

Paired with a nice brown leather strap, this watch looks like an entirely different watch, doesn't it?  It looks and runs great, that means it's ready for more wrist time.

1960s Accumatic Pan Europ 63009-3

In the 1960s Hamilton purchased the Swiss watch manufacturer Buren, who previously made the microrotor movements used in some of Hamilton's Thin-o-matics.  Eventually Hamilton manufacturing would move to Buren's Swiss factory as the company evolved into a global watch company.  I suspect Hamilton produced watches specifically for non-US markets.  Over 50 years it's not surprising that some of them would make their way to the United States.

As evidence, there are quite a few non-catalogued models that are known mainly by the model numbers on the case back.  One of them looks a lot like the 1964 Dateline A-579, but came in a yellow case.  It's model number is 64017-4 instead of -3 like on the A-579.

Another model is the 63009-3.  It looks exactly like the Dateline A-579 except there's no date complication.   I'm going to guess this is also an early 1960's model because the dial has a few small radium burns from the hands being in the same position for many years.  By the 1970s radium was no longer used.  I'll remove the radium in my ultrasonic cleaner and replace it with modern luminous paint.

The back of the 63009-3 is exactly like the 64017-3, the only difference is the model number.  These cases are notoriously challenging to open and it's not unusual to see the case back is riddled with previous tool marks.  This one has a couple but isn't too bad.

Still, getting this one open is aided by having a holder to secure the case so a case opener can work its magic.

If you know anything about Hamilton model numbers, they will often start with the caliber of the movement inside... in this case (pardon the pun) you will find a caliber 63.  It's a 21 jewel version of the 17 jewel 689 automatic you will find in the Accumatic line.  The four extra jewels are in the reversing wheels of the automatic framework.

Looking closely, you might spot there's a screw wedged between the rotor and movement retaining ring.  I doubt this watch has been winding properly.  There's an empty hole where the retaining clip would be... I wonder if that's where the screw came from?

One of the signs that this is not a US model is it doesn't say Hamilton Watch Co Lancaster PA anywhere inside the case out outside.

Well, there are two screws but only one retaining clip.  Perhaps the other clip is inside the movement somewhere.

Sure enough, I found the other clip inside the movement.

Everything is cleaned and dried before being reassembled.

The basic movement is back together and ticking away with good motion.  Let's see what the timer thinks of it.

It's running a smidgen fast and the beat error is a tad high.  Fortunately both are very easy to adjust on this movement.

First I'll tackle the beat error... it doesn't get better than 0.0 ms.  The amplitude is a little low but I haven't fully wound the mainspring yet.

Alright... the beat rate is slowed to just 18 seconds fast per day, it should slow a little as it settles in.  Notice the amplitude is up to a vigorous 287 degrees.

I suspect the bracelet on this watch is original and it's the same as what was on the 64017-3.  It's a challenging watch to fit a strap to as the lugs are short and a curved spring bar is needed.  It's one of the few models that I prefer a bracelet be installed.  The radium is gone now so the dial won't suffer additional damage but the hands will glow once again, thanks to the new luminous paint.