1956 Stormking IV Military

My last post was a Stormking III, so I told you a lot about the model line.  Some of the Stormking models are super rare.  One of them is the military version of the Stormking IV.  It's called the Stormking IV Military because it has a 24-hour dial.  It was produced from 1956 through 1959.

Like the regular Stormking IV, the Military comes in a 10K gold filled case with a stainless steel back.  Tucked inside you will find an 18 jewel 735 movement.  The 735 is a shock-jeweled upgrade to the 748 movement was discontinued in 1955.

The sterling silver dial of the Stormking IV Military is much more complicated than the 12-hour version because there are 24 solid 14K gold hour markers.  It takes 24 hours for the hour hand to make it around the dial so 12 noon looks like 6:00 on a regular dial.  That makes glancing at this watch and telling the time a little tricky, until you get used to it.

There's a circle of pearled dots inside the hour markers with luminous dots at the 2, 4, 8, 10, 14, 16, 20 and 22 hour positions.  The luminous dauphine hands glow in the dark too.

This is a very uncommon watch and I was fortunate enough to have a friend send me his.   As received, it came on a bracelet that looks like the sort of style that could be original to another model but it's not original to a Stormking IV or the Military version.  The crystal was beat up and if you look closely, there's no second hand.

The back screws off to reveal the movement, tucked safely inside a movement ring.

The dial has some spots but looks to be original.

A close look at the second hand bit shows that it's still there - so that's not the reason for the missing second hand.  It wasn't inside the watch so it was removed for some unknown reason.

The back of the dial is clear of any markings, so that's a good sign that this is an original dial too.

Here's a shot of the 24-hour setup on the left compared with a 12-hour setup on the right.  The diameter of the 24-hour hour wheel is larger than the regular wheel.  It has more teeth, as well.  The minute wheel is also different - it has fewer teeth to engage the hour wheel and it's a slightly smaller diameter on the pinion side of the minute wheel.

If I zoom in a little closer, you can see the differences between the two hour and minute wheel combinations.  Just those two parts are what make this Military version unique.

Everything gets cleaned and readied for reassembly.

It's running really well right out of the shoot.  I'll slow it down a little more but I tend to leave watches running just a little fast as I think they slow slightly over time.

A new crystal and a fine lizard strap make a dramatic improvement to the watch's appearance.  Fresh lume on the hands and dial doesn't hurt either.  I don't know what exact second hand the watch should have - not that I would have it anyway.  I did happen to have a spare Rodney second hand though so I installed that instead.

The Stormking IV Military is a very cool watch and a great conversation piece.  I like it... too bad I have to give it back.

1955 Stormking III

When I first started collecting Hamiltons I was drawn to the CLD line.  I'm not sure why... perhaps it was because there were a finite number of CLD models so it seemed achievable.  Over a couple of years I acquired all of the more common models... the Nordon, Langdon, Brandon, Croydon, etc. and even quite a few with the less common dial options... like a black Brandon.  However, eventually I was forced to capitulate - as the remaining models were either solid gold, extremely rare, or both!

It wasn't long after that I was drawn to the Stormking line of watches.  Again - there are quite a few models to collect.  In fact, there are 12 different Stormkings, ranging from Stormking I to Stormking XI (with two IV variants).  Sounds pretty do-able, right?

Wrong.

Well, not if money isn't an issue, I suppose.  You see, Stormking I is solid 18K gold and several others are solid gold too.   They're all nice looking watches though so even getting a couple is a nice objective for any Hamilton collector.  The Stormking IV and V are probably the most easily found, especially the former.

By sheer luck, I recently stumbled upon a Stormking III and jumped at the chance to get it.  The Stormking III was introduced in 1955 and made for four years.

All of the first five Stormkings have a very similar case design.  The II and III are 14K gold.  The III has a stainless steel back though.  The IV is gold filled and the V is stainless steel.

The Stormking III came with a two-tone "BMW-style" sterling silver dial with solid gold markers, numerals and luminous dots.  It has a lot going on with respect to dial features.

Under the dial is an American-made 8/0 size 18 jewel 748 movement or a 735 movement, depending upon if it's an early example or later example.  The 735 replaced the 748 in 1955.

My Stormking III project watch arrived in classic project watch condition... pretty dirty.  The crystal had a small crack but otherwise it looked like it would clean up fine.  The bracelet it arrived with looked like something that could have been period correct - but it's a Speidel bracelet and that manufacturer was rarely used by Hamilton.  It's certainly not original to a Stormking III - as that came only on a strap.

The back of the watch is stainless steel and it screws into the 14K bezel.

There's no problem identifying this model, assuming you can get the back off.

The serial number on the 748 movement dates the movement to 1954 - so I suspect this is an early example of a Stormking III.  It's held in place by a gasketed movement ring and once I remove the stem the whole assembly can be drawn out of the bezel.

The dial is original and in great shape.  There's a little toning in the center from the radium on the hands but not enough to be a distraction.  I'll remove the radium in the ultrasonic cleaner and return it to the earth from which it came.

See, nothing on the back of the dial to indicate that it's been refinished.  This would be a tough dial to get redone - it's possible but there are a lot of minor details that would be hard to replicate.

Everything is cleaned and ready to be reassembled.  These 8/0 size sweep second movements can be a real challenge to get back together.  I don't have too much difficulty now days but back when I first started this hobby, this particular movement often drove me to tears... it can be that frustrating.

The reassembled movement goes onto the timer...

... and a little tweaking gets it right in line.  There's nothing to complain about this watch's performance.  It doesn't get much better than this.

A new crystal, strap and fresh lume on the hands and dial brings this watch back to showroom condition.  This Stormking III turned out fantastic!  Now to find all the other versions...

1932 Whitney

There are some 1930's models that are pretty hard to come by - at least in really good shape.  One of them is the 1932 Whitney.  It was produced through 1934.

The Whitney came in either a 14K yellow or white gold filled case.  Depending upon the year, buyers could select from either a luminous dial or an applied gold numeral dial - although the latter was called a Raised Gold Figure (RGF) dial.

The Whitney is notorious for wear through on the bezel and case due to the prominent features of the unique stepped-case design.

Behind the dial is a 6/0 size 17 jewel 987-F movement.  The 987F is identical to the 987 movement, excepted the jewel settings are held in place with Friction, instead of screws.  Otherwise all of the other parts are the same.

I recently has a friend send me his "new" Whitney.  It wasn't running and he needed some help.  It was in great shape, otherwise.

A close up of the movement revealed that it was bright and shiny.  I can normally tell a serviced movement by the brilliance of the gold-colored jewel settings (chatons).  They seem to be a good litmus test for cleanliness.  These chatons look great.

When I looked at the front of the watch, I noticed the second hand was up against the dial... so much so that the watch had stopped.  I lifted the second hand up a little and off the watch went running.  In fact, it was running so well that I don't think I could get it any better.

The inside of the case back appears to say GS May-13 so maybe it was serviced last year?  Or maybe it was May 17 this year?

The best part of the watch though is the pillow shot.  My friend has a knack for buying "handyman specials" and spending a lot of time and effort (not to mention money) on getting them to look and run well.  This just proves that even a blind hog finds an apple every now and again!  Ha ha!

This Whitney is awesome - I wish it was mine but, alas, it has to go back to it's rightful owner.