1971 Dateline A-588

A lot of Hamilton collectors draw the boundaries of their collection at anything up to 1969.  1969 was the last year of US-manufacturing in Lancaster PA.  I suppose if you were to focus your collection only on US-made models then that logic would be well-founded.

However, a US-only collection would exclude every automatic model as well as any calendar model - as they were based on Swiss-made movements.

If you're going to include the automatic models (et al.) in your pre-1969 collection, you might as well include the 1970's models too.  As they are very similar and use many of the same movements.

If you really wanted to draw a firm boundary to you collection, you could arguably include anything with a beat rate of 18,000 beats per hour (BPH) - as that is the most consistent metric by which to define a "vintage watch", in my opinion.  It wasn't too long into the 1970's when Hamilton (and other) manufacturers started to utilized higher beat rate movements with 6 or 8 ticks per second (21,600 BPH  or 28,800 BPH respectively).  The higher the beat rate, the more precise the timekeeping - that's the logic anyway.  So something with 5 ticks per second has a precision of 1/5 or 0.20 seconds.  If you think about Olympic swimming or downhill racings times, precisions of less than 0.005 often determine who "won".

Of course, most people just need the "one Mississippi, two Mississsippi..." precision that a 18,000 BPH movement will provide.

So, if you're willing to extend your collection into 18,000 BPH models from the 1970's, why not include the 1971 Dateline A-588?

If you're familiar with Hamilton's nomenclature, you would know that a 500-series watch has a stainless steel case.  So the Dateline A-588 is a stainless steel model.  That might not seem obvious to the casual observer though - but 1971 catalog won't make it any clearer to you, as they didn't specify that the case was stainless steel.  Go figure.

The A in the A-588 means the model has an automatic, self-winding movement.

It's hard to tell what's going on with the bracelet in the catalog.  Some watches from this era have bracelets that are permanently mounted to the case.

I recently picked up a Dateline A-588 and I'm 99% sure that is what it is however it didn't come with a bracelet.  Instead is has lugs with a 14mm gap.  I suspect the special bracelet for this model had some some of hidden lug design but that's a total assumption.

In any event, my watch has seen better days and is in serious need of some love.  It ticks though - so that's usually a good sign.

The case back is somewhat domed, a good indication that there's an ETA movement inside instead of a Buren micro-rotor.

Sure enough, there's 17 jewel 694A movement tucked inside the one-piece case.

ETA models with a date wheel are easy to take apart but can be very challenging to get back together, mainly thanks to a couple of springs that help the wheel index and stay centered in the window of the dial.  Without the dial in place you can see that the hour wheel (in the center) moves the mechanism on the left so that when the hour hand reaches midnight the wheel should move to the next day.

Everything gets taken fully apart and thoroughly cleaned.  If you want to see the step by step process, check out the "overhaul examples" on the menu on the right side of the screen.

One of the challenging aspects of re-assembling this style of ETA movement is to get the four-wheel train bridge to seat properly.  When it's seated all four wheels will spin easily but getting all four wheels lined up requires a lot of patience and a delicate touch.

Once the train bridge is in place, I can install the pallet fork and the mainspring bridge.  All that's left to go on now is the balance assembly and then the watch should run again.

The balance is the most delicate parts of the watch - everything has to be perfect in order of it to keep accurate time.

Okay - the watch is now running so I'll see what the timer has to reveal about it's performance.

Ooh!  Something is making some noise inside... maybe some lint or a spec of dust somewhere.

Getting warmer but still not quite there yet.

Ahh... that's much better.

Once I get the date wheel and all the other parts back on the front of the movement, I can reinstall the dial.  I then need to put the assembly back in the case so I can use the crown to set the time to midnight.  Once I see the date wheel index I can set the hands at midnight... so the date will change at 12:00 or pretty close to it (it's never perfect).

The old crystal had deep scratches and had turned yellow so I will install a new one.  30.6mm diameter should do the trick.

Here's the finished project with a 14mm mesh strap.  That's as close to original as I'm likely to get.  14mm is a bit narrow and it sort of has a feminine aspect to it but as vintage watch collectors know, "real men wear small watches".

1930 Illinois Kenilworth / Galahad

The Illinois Watch Company was started in 1870, 22 years before Hamilton got it's start.  It has a rich tradition in excellent pocket watches as well as highly collectible wrist watches.  In 1928 Hamilton purchased the Illinois Watch Co. for the sum of $5 million and continued it's operations until the Great Deprestion forced it's closure in 1932.  Illinois didn't produce wrist watches for too long, only about 15 years, but some of their models are highly collectible and sought after.

Hamilton retained the Illinois brand after closing the factory and even utilized the 17 jewel Illinois 207 movement as the basis for their new 12/0 sized, 19 jewel Hamilton 401 movement used in the Explorer series.

In 1930 Illinois introduced the Kenilworth.  It also shows up as the Galahad.  Illinois models often had slight dial variations but both the Kenilworth and the Galahad are also known by the Model 217 stamped inside the case back.

Both models came in a 14K yellow or white gold filled case.

I recently received a non-running Kenilworth.  It would sort-of run in some positions and not at all in others.  The case showed a little wear through to the edges and it was a yellowish white color - at least in my shop's lighting.  Overall it was a nice example though and definitely worthy of restoration.

The case is a two-piece snap together design where the case back snaps into the bezel.  The bottom lugs appear to be bent inward a little bit so I'll try to straighten them to match the top.

The grade 207 movement has 17 jewels and the pinion that drives the second hand is not jeweled.  You can see it in the center of the movement below in a silver-colored bushing.  You can compare this movement to the Hamilton 401 in the posting I did on the Andrews.  On the 401 the second hand pinion is jeweled on both ends, bringing the total jewels to 19.

This movement is very dirty as you can tell by looking at the dull haze on the jewel chatons (or settings).  They will be a bright golden color when the movement is clean.

In the shot below you can see the inside of the case back is stamped No. 217.  It also has at least a dozen different watchmaker marks scratched inside.

The dial is held on by two dial foot screws at 2 and 8, as you can see by the larger holes in the corners of the main plate.

Now the hour wheel cannon pinion, minute wheel and setting wheel have all been removed.

On the reverse, with the barrel bridge and train bridge removed you can see how the gear train transfers power from the mainspring barrel to the balance assembly.  The little second hand pinion is driven independently by the third wheel.

The crystal is deeply scratched up.  Although it's plastic, the scratches are much too deep to be polished out so I will replace it with a proper glass crystal.

Fortunately there's a readily available glass replacement.

Everything is now cleaned and ready to be reassembled.

The watch is running fairly well - good amplitude and fair beat error.  Unfortunately it still stops when it's placed dial down so I suspect it has a worn balance pivot and the shoulder of the balance is bottoming out (and stopping the watch).  So this watch will need a little more work to get right.

In the meantime, here's a photo of what the finished project will look like with it's new glass crystal and a lizard-grain strap.  I couldn't get the bottom lugs to open much wider but the strap fits them just fine.  The watch probably should use a slightly wider strap, based on the slight gap at the top.  This dial is an old redial and although I think it looks very nice, I don't think it has a totally correct pattern... However, I'm not an expert on Illinois watches so this may be a correct pattern after all.  There are a lot of varieties within Illinois models.

1953 Lindsay

The early 1950's was a period of rapid transformation for Hamilton.  Increased competition from post-WWII Europe caused Hamilton to seek out innovative ways to differentiate as well as offer watches at a lower price point.

On the differentiation side, watch cases often came in odd shapes with contoured surfaces.  In addition, matching expansion bracelets also became commonplace.   It seemed the bolder the shape the better.

In 1953 the Lindsay was introduced.  It seems to be a mixture of Hamilton's traditional design aesthetic with a hint of their new flair.  The design is very similar to other models from the same period like the Medford, perhaps too much so as it was only produced for a single year.  However, another Lindsay model would be introduced in 1962.

The Lindsay came in a 10K yellow gold filled case with a sterling silver dial outfitted with solid 18K gold numerals.

Since it came in a 10K gold filled case, you'd be correct to assume that it would have a 17 jewel movement inside.  In 1953 the choice for the movement would have been a 12/0 grade and that would  be the 752.   The 752 is very similar to the 19 jewel 753 in the same way the earlier 14/0 980 was similar to the 982.  The 12/0 series also had a Medallion movement for solid gold models, the 754.

I recently received a very nice Lindsay in need of little more than a new crystal.

The 10K gold filled case back is unremarkable and pops off using the lip between the lugs for leverage.  Stainless steel case backs were starting to be introduced to lower costs a little and the newly reintroduced Hamilton Illinois-branded models were the guinea pig.

The inside of this case back is stamped with the model name, making identification easy.

The 752 looks a lot like the 770 movement that would be introduced in 1955.  The 770 just incorporates 5 additional cap jewels.  Pretty much all of the other parts are interchangeable.

Everything is cleaned and dried before being reassembled with fresh lubricants.

A new glass crystal will be a great improvement to this watch's appearance.

The movement is reassembled and the mainspring wound back up.  Now when I place the balance assembly in position it should start running.

The movement goes over to the timer to see what's going on inside.  Based on the results shown on the timer's screen, everything looks good.  I usually set watches a little fast as they often tend to slow a little after a few hours.

As you can see below, a new crystal makes a remarkable difference on an old watch.  A gentle polish makes the case really sparkle.