1961 Ramsey

I know a lot of collectors who have the bracelet-bug.  Like everyone else, they started collecting watches and eventually gravitated to a certain genre.  Most folks are happy with narrowing their focus to a time period of watches but a select few notice how many watches are paired with a unique and stylish bracelet.  Something happens to them... and they go a little crazy.  Some even buy the bracelets first - and then try to find the watch to go with it!

They are strange, strange people.  (just kidding of course).

Personally I appreciate the creativity of design and how the right bracelet complements, and often completes the watch.  Sometimes it goes so far as the watch just doesn't look right without it's bracelet.  A good example is the 1961 Holden.

I recently picked up a watch that made wonder how hard it would be to find the bracelet.  It's a 1961 Ramsey.  It was made for two years.

The Ramsey was an entry-level model in Hamilton's line up.  However, just because it was an entry level watch, that doesn't mean it wasn't interesting.  Maybe it was just a little less interesting than some of the other really cool models in this time period.

The Ramsey is a round watch and some people consider that to be "boring".  The embossed dial has numerals at 12 and 6 and little bow-tie shaped markers at 3 and 9.  The other positions have sliver-shaped markers.  There's a textured band that goes around the circumference of the dial and adds even more visual interest to the watch.

What I like about the bracelet design is it echoes the bow-tie markers and the textured band.  I bet it looks really cool in reality.  But alas, my watch arrived naked of a strap or bracelet.

The back is engraved with a presentation to an employee of Amphenol-Borg. Amphenol merged with Borg in 1958 and made small electronics, automobile clocks, and other stuff.  Like Hamilton, it's history post 1960 was checkered with various acquisitions, divestures and take overs.  But at least in 1961 the company still appreciated it's employees.

Without the beat up crystal in the way, you can get a really good idea of the features of the embossed dial.  It's not the prettiest dial I've ever seen but it is very interesting, especially when compared to other period models with very plane dials.

The movement inside the case is a Swiss-made Hamilton 673 with 17 jewels.  The 673 was made by A. Schild and is based on their 1200 grade.  You'll find the same basic movement in other manufacturer's cases but Hamilton called this specific movement the 673.

Everything is cleaned and ready for reassembly.

A. Schild was an "Ébauche " maker.  An "Ébauche" is a partially finished movement... maybe 95% complete, and sold to someone else to put their finishing touches on.  Many times you'll find the makers mark inside the movement near the balance jewel.  Typically it's a shield-shaped mark with initials of the maker and a number denoting the grade.  You might be able to make out AS 1200 in the shot below.  Knowing the original maker of the movement helps in getting parts.

The crystal on this watch definitely needs to be replaced.  A lot of times I will use a PK-style low down crystal on a watch like this with a sub-second hand.  But the crystal I took off was a little higher than a PK so I'm going to go with a PHD, high dome, style in 30.1mm.  That way I know the hour and minute hands will have clearance.

The movement is reassembled and ticking away with good motion.  It's off to the timer for a performance assessment.

Right on the money... nothing to complain about here.

The dial and hands go back on and everything slips back into the two-piece case.  A nice lizard strap completes the restoration.  I think this watch would look great with it's original bracelet but it looks pretty darned good with a strap too.  Maybe one of my friends will contact me about this watch - as this is the first Ramsey I've ever seen and I wouldn't be surprised if there's a bracelet waiting for one of these watches to show up.

1962 Yeoman

I'm approaching my 500th model... another month or two and I will be there.  My goal is to mainly post new models, although I sometimes update past posts with new dial variations, etc.  So overtime my posts will become more and more infrequent, as new models become more difficult to come by.   They're out there somewhere though - so I suspect I will be able to keep going for another couple of years, I bet.

Anyway, chalk another hard to find model off the list - as I finally laid hands on a 1962 Yeoman.  It's a one year wonder and I've never seen another.  That doesn't mean I have the only one.  It's just not a very common model and you don't see them very often... if at all.

The Yeoman is a complex-looking model, much more-so than it's catalog image would indicate.  The case is stainless steel and it was offered with a florentine-style bracelet or a strap.  The dial is a two-tone radial finish - and I'd hate to have to get it redone as I doubt it would be done right.  The odd hour markers are applied but the even numbers are printed in black enamel in a very delicate font.  The hour and minute hands are very slender and are lumed to glow in the dark, as are the odd numbered markers.

You might expect the Yeoman to have a Swiss-made movement inside like most of the Sea-somethings.  However, the Yeoman has a Lancaster-made 17 jewel 730 movement inside.

I recently landed a Yeoman and I was prepared to pay dearly for it but luckily no one tried to out snipe me for it.  It came on a Speidel bracelet that didn't really match very well so that got tossed on the scrap pile.  As received, the project watch was in good overall shape and the dial looks excellent.  Stainless steel can take a beating but this case could stand a few minutes of buffing to restore it's shine.

The case is a two-piece design and a case wrench will make short work of opening it up.

A substantial brass movement ring holds the 8/0 sized movement in place.  This is a large watch, for vintage standards anyway.

The case is made by Ed Grimm SA in Switzerland.  I've seen that maker on a few other 1960-era models.

Everything is cleaned and laid out for reassembly.

The reassembled movement is running briskly but only a timer will tell you for sure how well it's performing.

That's weird.  Something inside is making a virtual racket and creating a lot of extra noise.

A trip past the demagnitizer and then recleaning the hairspring seems to have cleared things up.  The amplitude is great... I'll take anything over 200 but the beat error is on the higher side of acceptable.  In a pinch I would let this slide, since the beat error doesn't really impact anything other than having the watch stop a little sooner when it winds down.  However, since I have spare balances, I might as well give reducing the beat error a try.  That requires pulling the balance off the balance cock and rotating the hairspring collet on the balance staff.  It's very fine work and easy to goof up so I don't like to do it if I don't really have to.

Success!  It's total guesswork how far to turn the hairspring, assuming you can even tell which direction to go.  I chose wisely, and the beat error is a very acceptable 0.8ms now.  Nothing wrong with this timekeeping now.

Here's a nice shot of the two tone dial after I installed the hands.  Now I just need to install a fresh crystal to seal it up.

A 30.1mm high dome crystal will do nicely.

I'm not a big fan of bracelets unless they are the original style.  In this case I will opt for a nice genuine lizard strap in black.  It goes great with the black numerals and give this watch a classic 1960's vibe.  It's really a beautiful watch... I wonder why it was only made for a single year?

1963 Eric

There are two models called the Eric. The first came out in 1948 and was made for four years.  The second was introduced in 1963 and produced for only two years.  Other than the name, there are no other similarities between the two models.  The earlier Eric is fairly ubiquitous and readily found for sale.  The later Eric is much less common and a lot harder to find.

The 1963 Eric came in a 10K gold filled case with uniquely designed lugs.  The radial finished dial has gold numerals and markers along with a gold ring around the outside perimeter.  The sleek baton hands compliment the slender hour markers.  You could purchase the Eric with a florentine-style bracelet or on a strap.

Tucked inside the case is Hamilton's 22 jewel flagship movement, the 770.  This 12/0 sized movement was used in round cases as much as non-round - which is interesting since Hamilton was still producing their round 8/0 sized 730 / 731 movement at the time.

I think I've only seen one or two Erics in the wild over the last few years so I was very happy to have landed one for myself.  It didn't hurt that the seller's pictures were not very good.  As received, it was better than I expected and showed a little wear but not much to complain about.

Although you can't really tell from the front, there's a substantial amount of material connecting the lugs to the case.

I had to look closely to determine that the case is a one-piece design.  With such a wide bezel, it gives you the impression that the case might separate but there is no seam.  This watch opens through the crystal.

The 770 movement is in good shape.  There's a dull haze so it's been a while since it's been cleaned.

I don't see any service marks inside the case back.  The golden movement ring is removable and secures the movement inside the case once the crystal is installed.

All the parts are thoroughly cleaned and dried before reassembly.

The freshly oiled movement is now ticking away with nice motion.  It's off to the timer to see how it's running.

Good amplitude, acceptable beat error and just a smidgen fast - all things I like to see after an overhaul.  I find the beat rate settles down after a little while.

A new crystal is always an easy way to make a watch look better.

With such sleek looking lugs, a nice unpadded genuine lizard strap is a perfect compliment to this very elegant looking dress watch.    I really like this watch - it's a real beauty in my opinion.  I don't know what font the numerals are but they are very interesting, especially the number 2 in 12.  It looks like an upside down 6 with a flag on the end.