1939 Bowman - Before and After

In 1939 Hamilton introduced the Bowman - a very unique looking watch with sweeping tubular lugs.  It must not have been very popular though as it was a "one-year wonder" and only made in 1939.

The Bowman is very similar to an earlier model called the Bentley.  Unlike the solid 14K gold Bentley, the Bowman is 14K gold filled.  It shares the dial pattern and crystal with the Hamilton Emerson, which was introduced the following year (1940).  In fact, it looks a lot like an Emerson except the lugs are totally different.

Behind the dial is a 14/0 sized 17 jewel 980 movement.  The dial choice was easy... only an applied gold numeral dial was offered.

I've had my eye out for a Bowman for some time now.  I don't know how rare they are but they are definitely uncommon and you can go a long while without seeing one for sale - especially one in nice shape for a reasonable price.

However, as fate would have it, I recently stumbled upon a Bowman with a buy it now option and I jumped on it within an hour of it being listed.   Based on the seller's photo I could see it would need a new crystal and the refinished dial was pretty dirty.  I happened to already have a crystal on hand from an Emerson I restored a while back and an original dial too that a friend gave me when I restored his Boulton.

Bracelets were not original options for the majority of Hamilton watches until the late 1940's - so the metal bracelet on the Bowman had to go.

Once received, I serviced the movement, installed the "original" dial and a fitted a new glass crystal.  With a new lizard grain strap, this Bowman now looks awesome.

And just for reference, here's a photo of an Emerson so you can see how similar they are.  The Emerson featured "hidden" lugs so you can't see how the strap attaches.  Both watches are fairly small (especially the Emerson) and good choices for a ladies watch, if you're in thinking of a nice gift for a special lady who appreciates fine vintage time pieces.

Hamilton Military - USMC Korean War Watch

I recently completed a long-standing personal quest.

A couple of years ago I acquired a military dial for a Korean War-era Hamilton military watch.  It started a personal mission to match this lonely dial with a correct military watch and put it back into service.  Turns out, that was harder that I thought it would be.

As in WWII, Hamilton made military watches for the Korean war - but strictly for the United States Marine Corps it seems.

Now, I don't know if Chesty Puller wore a Hamilton watch - but I wouldn't be surprised if he had.  Lt General Puller was a "Marine's Marine" and by the time he retired from the Corps he had earned more awards than any Marine in history, including five Navy Crosses.

The USMC Hamilton watch looks familiar to WWII-era watches but the dial is slightly more refined and the movement is an 8/0 sized, 17 jewel 747 movement.  Those differences are why it took so long to complete this project.

The case is a rugged parkerized case with a screw-on back made by the Star Watch Case Co.   The parkerized case was introduced at the end of WWII with the 987A movement.

If you compare the newly completed USMC watch above with a WWII-era watch below, you will see the numerals on the WWII watch are a little larger, the seconds track is more detailed, and the chrome plated case has slightly more tapered lugs.

The WWII watches used the larger, 6/0 sized 987A movement (or the 987S / 2987 for sweep second models).  Parkerized versions of the WWII watches were introduced near the end of the war.  The chrome plated watches were prone to wear and the case was redesigned.

Other than the dial pattern, the main difference between the watches is the movement ring has to be thicker to incorporate the slightly smaller 747 movement.  In addition, the stem for a 747 is a "Tap 10" thread and thinner than the "Tap 8" thread for a 987A movement - so the crowns for the two watches are slightly different.

Here's a movement shot of the 747 inside the case.  There's a rubber gasket inside the circumference of the case and a dust cover goes over the movement ring before the case back is screwed on.

So why did it take so long to complete my personal quest?  Well, these watches are relatively hard to come by it seems.  You can find the cases with some frequency but not the movement rings and matching tap 10 crowns.  I could find already-completed watches - but my goal was to utilize the dial I had purchased - so I needed to find just the right project watch in need of some TLC.

Mission accomplished.

1958 Drummond

Last month I purchased a Hamilton mantle clock on a total impulse buy in a local clock shop.  When I saw it I was struck by how much it looked like a 1958 Drummond.

A few days later, while surfing eBay, I came across one of those watch listings with a photo from 3 feet away.  I wasn't really sure what it was but it had a 730 movement so I figured it was probably something nice.  So I was pleasantly surprised to find it was a Drummond.

The Drummond was introduced in 1958 and made through 1962.  The case is 10K gold filled with a stainless steel back.  The silver dial has solid 14K yellow gold numerals.

Under the dial is a 17 jewel 8/0 sized 730 movement.  The 730 is a 2nd generation of the 747 movement that was introduced in the 1940's.  The main difference is the 730 has shock jewels for the balance.  Shock jewels protect the delicate balance staff pivots from damage from accidents like dropping the watch or banging into a door jamb.

As you can see in the photo below, the Drummond is a watch with a very simple, clean looking design.