1962 Accumatic A-500

If you've followed my blog or are just knowledgeable about Hamilton watches in general, then you've surely noticed that Hamilton wasn't very creative with how it named Automatic models.  Sure they throw you some curve balls with things like the Rotomatic and the Astramatic line - but for the most part they just numbered them with three digit numbers.  The first number is the case material and I think the second number may be relevant since there are a lot of "X5X" models but from there it doesn't really seem to make much sense.  At least it's not obvious to me, anyway.

To underscore that point, I think it's interesting that some Hamilton models with lower numbers where introduced after models with higher numbers.  It's not common, but it did happen.

For example, there's the 1962 Accumatic A-500.  It was introduced a year after the Accumatic A-501.  Sort of makes you wonder what happened... was it delayed for some reason or was it just a matter of chance?  Regardless, the A-500 was produced for only two years so you don't see them terribly often.

The A-500 comes in a stainless steel case.  It's considered "waterproof" since it has a gasket on the screw-off case back and the crown - but I would never take a vintage watch near the water.  Actually, I wouldn't take a modern waterproof watch into the water either - but that's just me.

Tucked inside a A-500 I would expect to see a Hamilton 689 movement - although my recent project watch below has a 679 movement.  Both were made by ETA and they look VERY similar.  The 689 is based on an ETA 2451 while the 679 is based on an ETA 2465.  They look pretty much the same to me but there must be something inside that makes them different.

Anyway, you can expect to see either a 689 or 679 inside.

My A-500 project watch came from a fellow collector who needed some help with it.  As received you might say it had "good bones" which is a nice way to saying, "boy is that watch ugly".  The dial was either very dirty, very corroded or both.  Of course, the heavily scratched crystal wasn't helping things.  But it did run - so all was not lost.

I was glad to see the screw-off back - I prefer that to single piece cases.  Single piece cases are always a little intimidating to get the movement out... you don't want to break the two-piece stem.  Although sometimes these screw off case backs can be a real bugger to open as well... so it's a tough call.  I guess it's sort of a "pick your poison" decision.

This one opened right up without any difficulty at all.  The movement inside looks to be relatively clean and rust free - so whatever effected the dial didn't impact the movement - which is lucky.

Without the crystal in the way, you can see that the embossed dial is dirty.  The second hand actually has some lint wrapped around the post.  The lacquer on the dial has failed and peeled away around the outside perimeter.  Other than that, it looks great (ha ha!).

While everything is being cleaned, I'll gently clean up the dial.  You have to be VERY careful when the lacquer has failed - as the next thing to go is the printing and then you're screwed.  I've learned and relearned time and again that you have to know when to say when and to stop cleaning before it's too late.

I've also learned that when a dial looks better wet than it does dry, that a "poor-man's refinish" is a good option.  If a dial looks like crap when it's dry, you probably should consider getting it refinished - and in that case, going the poor man's route won't do any harm.

By poor man's refinish, I mean a very quick and light spray of fresh lacquer.  You can get this from any craft store and it's the sort of thing you'd use on model airplanes, and such.  A little goes a long way and you can see below that after the lacquer dries, the dial looks much better.  It's not perfect, but it's not expensive to do either and the dial is technically still "original".

All the parts are thoroughly cleaned and dried before being reassembled.  I'll also install a new GS PHD (high dome) crystal with a 29.8mm diameter.

You can often see the grade of the movement stamped under the balance wheel, along with the maker.    You can see this is a 2465 movement made by ETA.  Back in the day, ETA was an ebauche maker (they still are)... meaning they produced partially made movements that other watch companies would finish and customize.  That's good to know when you need a part, as that part could just as easily come from a Benrus as from a Hamilton.

The movement is reassembled and running so it goes onto the timer.  I'll put the oscillating weight (aka rotor) onto the movement later.  It's easier to make adjustments when the rotor is out of the way.

Everything is running nicely.  I'll leave it running slightly fast for now, as they tend to slow down slightly after a while.

With the movement doing it's thing, I can turn my attention to the rotor carrier.  There aren't that many parts to it, really, but they have to go in the right place and in the right orientation or it won't work properly.

It's ready to be dropped back onto the movement and secured in place with two screws.

Everything appears to be back where it belongs and functioning properly so now I just need to install the dial and hands and put it back in the case.

And here's the finished project.  I think it turned out very well and much better than I thought it was going to based on how rough the dial was at the beginning.  The dial doesn't look new by any stretch of the imagination but I bet you wouldn't guess how bad it was if you didn't see it at the start.  This watch is now ready for another 50 years of faithful service.

WWII Hamilton H-37500 Elapsed Time Clock

By far the coolest and most complicated Hamilton clock I've ever laid hands or eyes on is the WWII-era H-37500 Elapsed Time Clock.  This specialized clock was designed for the US Navy for use in the F-4U Corsair as well as several other platforms.  It also goes by the part number AN-5741-1.

Although the H-37500 was first produced in 1944 - it was used on various platforms into the 1980's, including on US Navy P-3 Orions.

So what's so cool about the H-37500?  Well - it is an 8-day, 16 jewel movement with two mainsprings.  It has 5 different registers that do things like indicate the date, serve as a stopwatch, track elapsed time, and of course, tell the time of day.  That's pretty cool - right?

Well how about installing it behind a 2,000 horsepower motor, sending it into harms way, landing it hard - day after day onto a carrier deck and then leaving it the rain and blistering sun 24x7?  There are over 400 parts inside that make the clock "do it's thing" so overhauling one of these bad boys is not a do it yourself project.

You can see it in the upper right of the cockpit photo below.

The clock was jointly developed for the military by Hamilton and Elgin.  So you can find the Hamilton H-37500 or the Elgin E-37500.  They are largely identical - although you can bet the Hamilton version is better (ha ha!).

Accurately measuring elapsed time is a critical part of navigation.  Imagine taking off from a carrier, flying a few hundred miles, kicking the crap out of the enemy and then having to make your way back to the carrier at a different location without running out of fuel.  You'd need to know how long you'd been flying and in what direction in order to have any prayer of getting to where you wanted to go.

I've wanted to get one of these for a long time.  They are readily available but I wanted to get one that was already in good shape and not too much of a project for me.  Call me a wuss, if you will, but I draw the line at say, 50 parts.  416 is way too complicated for me to figure out on my own.

You can tell by looking at the clock that it's meant to be installed in the instrument panel.  Although it's quite capable of standing upright on it's own.  There are different dial patterns, depending on the installation of the watch.  Sometimes they are white on black.  In my case, it's the WWII green and yellow pattern that shows up well when UV lamps illuminated the cockpit instruments at night.

The clock is secured inside a gasketed case.  There's a screw-off plug that gives access to the regulator if the beat rate needs to be adjusted - that way you don't need to unscrew the myriad fasteners that hold it all together.

I couldn't help myself, I had to open it up and see what makes this watch tick - literally.  Here's some shots of the inside.

I think I can honestly say that if I took this clock apart I would comfortably have 20 extra parts left over when I was finished trying to get it back together.  There is a repair manual though, AN05-35A-11, should you feel the itch to tackle one yourself.

Going back to the front - I'll give you an orientation of what does what.  The knob on the lower left winds the watch.  Just turn it clockwise and you're off to the races.  The dial is a 24-hour dial so 12-noon has the hour hand pointing down.  The register on the left is the date - so when the hour hand goes around the dial once, the date will index to the next day.  The little "set" button next to the winding knob will index the date one position when it's depressed.

The knob on the upper right actuates the chronometer (stop watch).  Push it and it will start the stop watch.  The large second hand in the center (pointed at 14)  is the second hand for the chronometer.  The little green hand in the small right register is the clock's second hand. When the chronometer second hand goes around one minute, the yellow hand in the upper register will index one space and will continue for 60 minutes.  If you push the upper right knob again it will stop the chronometer and pushing it a third time will reset it to zero.

The register at the bottom is the elapsed time indicator.  This 12-hour register is a stop watch too.  There is no second hand though, just a minute and hour hand.  If you push the winding knob on the lower left, it will start this function.  Since there's no second hand, the indicator dot will switch to red - to tell you the elapsed time indicator is running.

If you push the winding knob again, the elapsed time indicator will stop and the window switches to yellow and red.  Pushing it a third time will return it to zero and the window switches to yellow.

Although my clock has been serviced, it was running about 70 seconds slow per day on my timer.  That was an easy fix though - as just a tweak to the regulator got it running right in line with a good amplitude and low beat error.

I bought my clock from Historic Aviation Supply - they did a fantastic job on this clock and I'd highly recommend them if you're in the market for something similar or need some help with yours.  Check them out at http://historicaviationsupply.com/pages/hamilton-37500

1941 Gilbert

August was a banner-month for Gil-watches it seems.  Early in the month I purchased a 1953 Gilmore thinking it was a Gilbert.  Then I got a 1938 Gilman later in the month.  And then, finally, I closed out the month with the purchase of my original target - a 1941 Gilbert.

The Gilbert was introduced in 1941 just before the start of WWII and reintroduced after the war.  It was produced through 1951.  It came in a solid 14K yellow gold case with a sterling silver dial and solid 18K gold numerals.

Tucked inside is a 19 jewel 982M medallion movement.  The 982M was the 14/0 sized movement used mainly in post-1940 solid gold models (although some gold filled models got them in 1952 when Hamilton switched over to 12/0 grades).

As received, my project watch arrived in decent enough condition but was not running.  The Speidel expansion bracelet needed to go - as it's definitely not original.

With the bracelet out of the way, I can see one of the lugs is bent inward slightly.  I should be able to tweak that carefully back into it's proper place.

With the lugs now straightened, you can see the case back is unengraved and looks good.

Without the crystal and bezel blocking the view, the dial looks to be rather old.  It appears to be original to my eye - at least I don't see any obvious signs of being refinished.

This 982M is the older style of the grade with a solid gold medallion inset into the train bridge.  It's a little dirty but not too bad - definitely ready for a trip to the spa.  Later 982M's lost the medallion and got an engraved circle with a M inside instead.

The back of the dial in unremarkable and looks as authentic as the front - so I would say this dial is most likely original to the watch.

Everything is thoroughly cleaned and set out to dry before being reassembled.

A close look at the balance reveals that the impulse jewel is off to the side.  It's at about 4:00 in the photo below.  This explains why the watch wasn't running.  It should be pointed at about 1:00.  So the roller table is either loose or the hairspring collet needs to be turned about 90 degrees.

The roller table was definitely loose, as I could rotate it easily with tweezers.  I lined it up using a "best guess" and a few gentle taps to a punch on my staking set will properly seat it back in place.

The movement is ready to receive the balance assembly - let's hope I lined up the impulse jewel well.

Success!  The watch is running now... it's a wee bit fast and the beat error is acceptable but a little high.  First I will try to slow it down...

A few tweaks to the regulator brings the beat rate in line.  Since I've gone this far I might as well try to lower the beat error a little more as well.  That means removing the balance assembly again adjusting the hairspring collet so I can change the position of the impulse jewel relative to the pallet fork.

Third time is the charm... I'll leave the watch running a smidge fast but the beat error is right where I like to see it.  It could be less but anything under than 1ms is beyond fine in my book.

With the movement running just as it should, the dial and hands go back on and the assembly is reinstalled into the freshly polished case.  A new genuine lizard strap completes the restoration.

This watch turned out great.  You can probably see why I confused the Gilbert and the Gimore - they are very similar!