1960 Accumatic X

Hamilton first introduced automatic models in 1953 with the Illinois line.  The automatic movements were made by ETA in Switzerland and imported to Lancaster, PA.

After a year Hamilton introduced their own branded models and quickly settled on Swiss-made movements made by Certina / Kurth Freres for the Automatic K-series models.

In 1956 they introduced the Accumatic line of automatics and this line went back to using movements made by ETA.  Accumatics and K-series models would be made together into the 1960s and the Accumatics took over from there on. 

Most of today's Hamilton movement are still made by ETA so you could say that the Accumatic line is still going 60+ years later.

One of the more scarce Accumatic models is the 1960 Accumatic X.  It was introduced in 1960 and changed in 1961 to the Accumatic X-B.  Presumably the movement changed between the X and the X-B, but it could also be the case design changed... I'm not entirely sure.

I haven't come across an Accumatic X previously, or at least I don't think I have.  The model is fairly plane-jane looking and would be easy to overlook as one of the other Accumatic models.

My project watch shows a lot of wear and you can tell by the somewhat crude H logo that the dial has probably been previously refinished.

I pretty much finished the project before I realized that this would be a new model for the blog.  So I didn't take photos of the movement disassembly, etc.  The movement inside is has a generic ETA rotor so I don't know for sure what the movement is.  I'm fairly certain it's a 677 like in this 1959 Accumatic VIII.

The case is a two piece design like the Accumatic VIII and the case back pops off the front.  You can tell from the myriad service marks inside that this watch has been well maintained.

The reassembled movement is running nicely.

The finished project looks a ton better with a new crystal.  The dial shows some toning, potentially from the old lume on the hands.  They've been cleaned in the ultrasonic and have fresh luminous paint so they look a lot better and won't harm the dial either.  

This watch came with an old Speidel bracelet with a "perpetual calendar".  You rotate the little wheels to roll the scroll to the proper day of the week that the month starts.  Who needs a Dateline when you have a perpetual bracelet?

1961 Pacermatic (Pacer A)

You don't get to see uncommon watches every day.  I guess that goes without saying, as they wouldn't be uncommon if you did see them every day.  I've already documented the 1961 Pacermatic but I had the opportunity to restore another and thought you'd like to see another one.

The Pacermatic is one of the mechanical asymmetric models and is extremely popular - so popular that they have been faked over the years.  It was only cataloged for a single year and it uses the same case the the Electric Pacer - so when it is "faked" it simply that a mechanical movement is put in an Electric Pacer case in an attempt to make an $800 watch a $3000 watch.

The Pacermatic is technically part of the K-series of automatics in that it utilizes a 17 jewel 667 movement like the other K-series models of the time.  The case is a two tone design with a yellow gold filled bezel and white gold filled lugs.  The dial says "automatic" and Swiss but is otherwise similar to the Electric Pacer.  To fake a Pacermatic you'd also have to modify the dial printing as well as the dial feet locations.

The back of this one has a presentation from Nonie and Grandpa so there is no doubt that this is a treasured heirloom.  The date of '63 isn't too unusual as models could sit on a jeweler shelf for a year or two.  This watch doesn't show too much wear, but it is a bit dirty.

The real tell for an authentic Pacermatic is the serial number of the case.  Cases for the Pacermatic came in two batches so their serial number falls into two ranges.  The case serial number should fall into the range of 528500-528800 (300 of in this run) or 637700-638200 (500 in this run).  Based on the range of the serial numbers, you can assume there were a total of 800 Pacermatics made.  This case falls comfortably in the middle of the second batch of numbers.

The 667 movement looks very good.  That's not too surprising as there are about 10 prior watchmaker service marks inside the case back.

The dial shows some rubbing on the right side.  I noticed the movement was a little loose in the case and could rotate a smidgen.  That will wear on the dial for sure.  It looks like the original dial to my eye.

The plastic crystal that came in the watch is beat so I'll replace it with proper glass crystal while all the parts are in the ultrasonic.

Everything is ready to be reassembled.

The basic mechanical movement is ticking away with a good motion.  Time to see what the watch timer thinks before putting the rest together.

Just a smidgen slow.  It won't take much of an adjustment to speed it up.

There... right on the money.

The finished watch looks fantastic with a new crystal.  This watch isn't perfect but it's an all-original version of a Pacermatic and would be the pride of any Hamilton collection for sure!

1954 Automatic K-500

About six years ago I did a post on a mystery watch that turned out to be an Automatic K-500  from 1954.  The K-500 was not cataloged but it did show up in a number of advertisements.

The K-500 is a very interesting model as it has several different dials and it's one of very few models that had a stainless case but gold dial markers and hands.

I recently had the opportunity to work on another K-500, this time with a black dial with a unique textured design.  As received, it was very beat up and in serious need of some TLC.

The case back is beefy can clearly marked Hamilton.

The inside of the case back is marked with 9959, the same model number as my other K-500 project.

Inside the case is a partial movement.  It's missing the automatic framework and rotor.  The first question is what caliber is this... a 658 or a 661?  One thing is for sure, this movement is wound tight - and that is very odd for an automatic, as an automatic is designed to wind continuously and once the mainspring is tight it will slip a little and allow the automatic to keep winding.

The precursor to the 661 was the 658.  It was only used in 1954 and for all intents and purposes it's the same as the 661 other than the design of the rotor and connection to the automatic framework.

The 661 rotor is held on with a unique switch design were you move a detent from one side to the other in order to free the rotor from the movement. 

The movement was secured to a movement ring by two screws.  One of them is broken, the screw head is broken in half and will need to be replaced.

The mainspring barrel is lumpy... I've never seen this before.  I suspect the cover was loose so a watchmaker added a bunch of dents to stretch it a little.  I'll clean it with the other parts but I suspect this barrel has been modified to use a manual-winding mainspring with a fixed end.

Everything is cleaned and dried.

I had to replace the barrel, as I suspected and the pallet fork as well, but now the movement is running with a good motion.

Based on the timer it's running a smidgen slow but it won't take much of a adjustment to speed the watch up.

There... running very clean and just a little fast.  The amplitude is a little low.  It may come up as things settle in and I'll have to see how long the watch runs on a full wind.

I decided to go with the 658 rotor and framework.  This movement is now back to the same outfit that it likely had when it left the Hamilton factory almost 70 years ago.

A new crystal and some fresh lume on the hands complete the restoration of this watch.  It now looks and runs much better.  Black dials are very hard to photograph.  The dial is by no means perfect but it looks very authentic.