1971 Day'N Date 6001

Whenever a manual-winding watch does anything more than tell the time, it's called a "complication".  An automatic watch has a complication because it's will automatically wind itself.  A chronograph is a complication because of the stop-start-reset function that is added on.  Adding the day of the week or the day of the month, are two additional complications.

Needless to say, some complications are more "complicated" than others - and when you add several of them together, you get something really complicated.

Hamilton's first calendar complication was introduced in 1953, along with their first automatic models, as part of the Hamilton Illinois line.  However, the first models to have a day of the week complication weren't introduced until the early 1970's, in a model line called Day'N Date.

One of the first Day'N Dates was the 1971 Day' N Date 6001.  It was produced for two years.

The Day'N Date 6001 came in a 10K RGP one-piece case and retailed for an even $100.  I think the model is a good metaphor for the time it was produced.   It's a very traditional looking watch produced alongside models that rejected age-old design aesthetics, like the Accumatic A-517, in favor of a new funky and chunky theme.

Tucked inside in an ETA-based Hamilton 826 - a 17 jewel automatic grade that is not too dissimilar to what is in modern Hamiltons today (although there are certainly some significant differences).

I recently scored a Day'n Date 6001 for a decent price because it was missing it's stem and crown.  It came with it's original bracelet along with it's inner and outer boxes too.  Other than some scratches to the crystal and the missing crown, it was in very nice shape.

The case is very thick - especially considering the styling of the Thin-o-matics that had been around for a decade or longer.  The stem tube had been crimped down a smidge so I had to work it a little to get to be round again.

Looking at the back of the movement, you can tell that this is an ETA movement by the shape of the rotor.  The rotor carrier is attached with two blue screws... a detail you will see on todays ETA movements too.  This is also one of the rare situations where the movement-side of the two piece stem is the male side.  Most times the male side is attached to the crown.

Another "modern" feature is the dial feet are secured to the movement using u-shaped levers that are hinged at one end and, when pressed in, will bear against the dial foot using the other side of the U.

With the dial removed, this is the point where you take a deep breath and wonder, "how does this come apart and will I be able to get it back together again".   Now you can see why these are called complications.

The day wheel just slips up, along with the hour wheel beneath it.  That leaves what looks a lot like the ETA-based date models you've seen me do like the Dateline S-575.  I re-oriented the photo so the stem is at the right side of the photo.  This looks like familiar territory, with the exception of the additional parts on the right side from about the 19 to the 23.   Those parts help you to set the day and date.  Removing the date wheel is initiated by removing the index and cover on the left side, near the 6, 7 and 8.  You can see a screw head that secures a small cover.  Under that cover is lever that engages the teeth on the date wheel to align it squarely (so it shows up correctly in the dial window).  The lever is very small and it's held in place with a spring that will disappear if you're not extremely careful.

Removing the date wheel allows access to remove the other parts on the stem-side of the main plate.

Well, the dial-slide of the main plate now looks like your garden-variety manual winding movement like an ETA 688.

The rotor comes off the back side easy enough - just the two blue screws hold the carrier on and a single screw (from the other side) will remove the rotor from the carrier.

With the rotor out of the way, I've already removed the ratchet wheel from the barrel arbor.  This is now very familiar territory, as the rest of the disassembly is just like the other ETA movements I've done.

With all the parts set out and ready to be cleaned, I have to admit that I'm crossing my fingers that I don't lose anything before I get it all back together.

The movement is cleaned and oiled and back to running away.  These "modern" ETA's have a faster beat rate than the pre-1970 vintage models.  Rather than beating 5 times per second, this one does 6 beats per second, or 21,600 beats per hour.  Modern Hamiltons typically have a 28.8K BPH rate, or 8 beats per second.

It's running a smidge fast but the amplitude and beat error are great.  I can slow it down slightly.

I'll leave it running like this... pretty much spot on.

A new crown is needed and I need to fit a female stem to go into it.  It has to be just the right length in order engage the male-portion in the movement.

Well, it all came together and I'm proud to say this was my first Day'N Date overhaul.  I reassembled the front of the movement in my photography light tent - as I was sure I'd lose the tiny spring for the index lever.  I'm glad I used the light tent, because the little spring did fly off twice - but it was easy to find inside the white tent.  I would have spent 30 minutes on the floor of my workshop if I had done it on my bench.

Here's the finished project back in it's original box.  It's a nice looking watch, even better than my camera makes it out to be.

1968 Sea Haven II

The 1960's was a turbulent time for Hamilton.  Earlier in the decade Hamilton acquired a couple of Swiss companies... the first being Hugenin Freres and the latter being Buren.  Both companies were based in Bern, Switzerland.  In fact, it's not unusual to occasionally see Hugenin watches with an H- logo similar to the H-logo Hamilton used in the 1960's.

As is sometimes the case, the master became the servant and Hamilton's acquisition of two Swiss companies was a premonition of Hamilton's eventual acquisition by a Swiss company in the early 1970's.

Hamilton didn't go down without a fight though and new models were introduced all the way up until the end of US production in 1969.  One of the last new models to be introduced was the 1968 Sea Haven II.  It was only produced for two years.

Based on the general shape and the details of the dial, the Sea Haven II could easily be mistaken for a 1964 Sea Ruler - although the Sea Ruler has a faceted crystal and slightly different lugs.  The Sea Haven II came in a one-piece 10K RGP case.  Tucked behind the white dial is a Hamilton 688 movement, a 17 jeweled Swiss grade made by ETA... basically a manual winding version of the 689 automatic movement, with which it shares a lot of parts.

I recently scored a nice Sea Haven II project watch.  It drew my attention because I thought it also came with it's original bracelet - but on close observation it's not quite an exact match since the catalog has straight lines and my project watch has lines that fan out.  It was a little bit of a risk because it was missing it's crown, which means it was also missing the male-portion of the two-piece stem.  You never know what else could be wrong with a watch that has an open hole where the crown ought to be.

The case back is unengraved and looks pretty good.  I don't think this watch saw too much wrist time.

The 688 movement looks no worse the wear from not having a crown for so long.  In fact, you can see by the blurred balance wheel that the watch is running.  This is a tricky movement to reassemble, thanks to the train bridge that requires four pivots to be perfectly aligned.  That is much easier said than done.

Everything is cleaned and dried.  Manual winding movement have much fewer parts than automatics.  Putting one together may seem daunting - but compared to an automatic, this watch is a breeze.

Thanks to my timer, I can see that something is preventing the watch from running cleanly.  It could be some spec of crud on the hairspring but close inspection will be needed to diagnose the issue.  Based on the distance between the two lines, I'd say the beat error is a bit high, even though the timer can't discern the beat error, thanks to the extra noise.

The 688 has an adjustable hair spring stud location so I can easily tweak the beat error and get the two lines to collapse on each other.  However there is still too much noise to give this watch the green light.

Re-cleaning the hairspring did the trick and a little more fine tuning of the hair spring stud brought the beat error right in line.

Here's an interesting nuance to reassembling a watch... the setting wheel often have a top side and a bottom side.  The bottom side is often chamfered and you need to put the chamfer side down or the setting will feel "crunchy" when you set the time.

A new crystal will do a lot to improve the watch's already decent appearance.

Well, with the dial and hands reinstalled and a fresh crystal to protect them, this watch turned out to be very nice.  There's a hint of wear to the inside of the lugs, thanks to the bracelet.  Since it's not the correct bracelet I may swap it out with a nice strap.  I did a nice job fitting a new stem and crown... they look like a perfect fit.

PS:  the bracelet would be a good match for a Thinline 4004 or 4007 - so I'll have to keep an eye out for one of those.

1957 Automatic K-203

If you wanted to add an automatic watch to your Hamilton collection - that would present a challenging dilemma.  There are 59 automatic models in the initial K-series line alone.  There are 66 models in the Accumatic line as well.  That's 125 different models in just those two lines and there are probably another dozen specialized automatics like the Rotomatic and Asthmatics lines too.  Of course, you can't forget the 57 Thin-o-matics that are available as well.  That means there are about 200 models to choose from.

Collecting vintage watches is not a hobby for prudent people.  Or should I say, a prudent person probably wouldn't be drawn to collecting watches... just one would probably do fine.  However, if someone was, say, married to a prudent person and could could only sneak one or two watches into the house every now and then, then my advice would be to focus on solid gold models.

Why is that?  Simply put, the maintenance costs of a solid gold model are the same as a gold filled model.   So if you're going to have a "prudent" collection, you can minimize your maintenance costs by focusing on solid gold models.

Focusing on solid gold models also makes your decision much easier - as that removes over 2/3rds of the choices from the pool.

One of the great choices would be a 1957 Automatic K-203.  It was produced through 1961.

Being a 200-series watch, you'd be correct to expect the K-203 to come in a solid 14K yellow gold case.  It has a silver dial offers solid 14K numerals and markers along with a pearled track.

The K-203 also has silhouette hands - meaning there was radium applied to the bottom of the solid dauphine hands so that they glowed onto the dial from under the hands.  I'm sure that was a very interesting effect when the watch was new - but by now the radium on the hands can take it's toll on the dial's finish.

Like most K-series models, the K-203 has a 17 jewel Hamilton 661 movement safely tucked inside.

I recently picked up a very nice K-203 project watch.  It came on a period correct bracelet but I don't know if it's an original bracelet.  The catalogs don't mention a bracelet being available - so maybe it was installed at the original purchaser's request.

The solid gold case back in engraved with a presentation from 1960 for 35 years of service.  There are no marks whatsoever to indicate that this watch has ever been opened.

It took all of my strength to open the case back.  There are no marks on the inside of the case back either - so I suspect I am the first person to see the inside of this watch since the first person to close it up in 1960.

The movement is bright and shiny - but surely after 50+ years it's about time this watch got some fresh oil inside.

There's not much radium lume on the hands - which is probably why the dial looks as good as it does.  I remove the rest of it in the cleaner while the other parts are being cleaned.

There are a LOT of parts in a 661 movement.  It's not the easiest movement to put back together but if you're careful, it's not the worst movement either.

The reassembled movement is running again and goes onto the timer.  Without the oscillating weight and the carrier, the movement looks like your garden variety manual winding movement.

There's no complaining about this watch's performance.

The oscillating weight (rotor) connects to a carrier that is fastened to the back of the movement.  I put the rotor on last, before closing up the watch, as it's swinging around makes the movement a little awkward to handle.  With the watch running great, the dial and hands go back on and it all goes back into the case.

A new crystal will complete the watch's restoration and a watch this nice look like new.

The expansion bracelet fits the watch very nicely and it also fits my wrist - so I may leave them joined like I found them... although I tend to prefer a strap over a bracelet.  This K-203 turned out magnificent.  My camera is ruthless for pointing out flaws and this watch is flaw-free.  There's a hint of radium burn to the center of the dial but you wouldn't notice it in person.

If you could only have one automatic in your "prudent collection", this watch would be a great choice.

After wearing it for a little while, I found the bracelet seemed to compete with the watch so I installed a genuine gator strap instead... now there is nothing to distract from this watch's beauty.