1955 Sawyer

In my last post I noted that it's interesting how some models had very short production runs while others went unchanged for multiple years.  Sometimes watches that were made for several years seemed to evolve over time.

A good example of model evolution is the 1955 Sawyer.  It was produced through 1964 - a long run matched by few other models.  However, depending upon the year, it received several different bracelets that dramatically altered the look of the watch.

It started out in 1955 through 1958 with a bracelet as shown below...

By 1958, the only thing that changed on the model was the price.

 The 1959 model year introduced a combination leather and metal bracelet made by Kreisler.

In 1961, the bracelet was changed again to an all-metal design

1962 introduced another, similar design that I believe is different from the 1961 model - but I'm not 100% sure.  One thing is for sure, the price of the model was decreased by $5.50 so something must have been changed.

In the final year of production for the Sawyer, another bracelet was added - so that makes five different bracelet options for the model over 10 years.

One thing consistent in the model is the 10K yellow gold filled case with silver butler finished dial.  Tucked inside the case is a 17 jewel, 8/0 sized, American-made 730 movement, and possibly a 731 in the later models.  The 730 is a shock jeweled version of the 747 that was introduced in 1947.  The 731 changed the balance wheel design of the 730.

My project Sawyer watch came with it's original bracelet and using that I can date the model to the 1959 / 1960 period.  Other than the crystal being a bit scratched up, the watch is in very nice condition.

The case back is inscribed with a presentation from 1958.  Hamilton's model years were a little like cars and new models were introduced before the end of the calendar year.  So this watch was probably a very early run of the 1959 design... or the bracelet was added later.  There are no good ways to date the watch since the movement doesn't have a serial number.

The 8/0 movements like the 747, 730 and 731 are probably the "easiest" movements to re-assemble.  They can still have their issues - but getting them back together is a much simpler process than their 8/0 cousins, the 748, 735 and 736.

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

The freshly cleaned movement is now bright and shiny and purring like a kitten.

I had to clean and recline the hairspring multiple times before I could get the watch to run cleanly on my timer.  I like to leave watches running a smidge fast after reassembling them, as I find they slow down slightly after settling in.

The dial and hands go back into the case and this very original-looking Sawyer is ready for another 60 years of wrist time.

1965 Accumatic A-506

It's interesting to see how long various watches were produced.  Some were only made for a single year, others two or three.  A long run would be four years before being discontinued.  And there are quite a few that were made for 5 or more years.

One of the surprisingly long-run models is the 1965 Accumatic A-506.  It was produced through 1972.  Initially the model came with a silver textured dial or a black dial on either a strap or bracelet.

In 1968 the style of bracelet was changed.  It's not clear from the catalogs if the silver dial was also changed - but it appears to have lost it's "texture".

By 1972, the black dial was discontinued, as was the option for a strap.

Inside the one-piece stainless steel case is a 17 jewel ETA-based 689A automatic movement.  The movement may have been changed in the 1970's models to a Hamilton 63 or 63A, which is based on the same ETA 2451 grade.

My A-506 project watch arrived dead on arrival (DOA) and not running.   You never know what the cause of that could be... maybe it's just dirty, maybe something is broken, maybe the hands are just touching each other.  The crystal was also very scratched up so it's hard to tell what sort of condition the dial is in.

The crystal has to be removed in order to get to the movement and with the crystal out of the way, you can see the dial is actually in very nice shape.  It has as slight bend at the 2, 6 and 10 positions... I've never seen that before and I'm not sure what that's about.  It could be that the movement rattled previously and a prior watch maker did that to "fill up space" and tighten it up.

Inspection of the movement doesn't show any obvious reasons for not running... so that's a good sign that it's not a broken balance.

The textured dial looks almost like cloth.  Other than the three bend sections (one is visible under the 6) and a small scratch below the 3, the dial looks otherwise "new".

Two screws hold the rotor assembly on the movement.  However, one of them is missing.  If that fell into the works, it would definitely stop the watch from running.

With the rotor out of the way, I found the missing screw but it wasn't in an area that would stop the watch.  As I take it apart I will inspect each wheel to see if anything is bent or broken.

Everything seemed to be okay so I suspect it was not running because it was just dirty.  A thorough cleaning should correct that and now all the freshly cleaned parts are dried and ready for reassembly.

As hoped, all the watch appears to have needed is a trip to the spa.  The reassembled movement is now purring like a kitten, as evidenced by the blurred balance wheel.  Now it's off to the timer to see how it's running.

This movement's regulator has a "hair trigger" and even the slightest of adjustments has a large effect.  But eventually I got the timing to dial in around 3 seconds fast per day.

A new crystal will be a great improvement to the aesthetics of the watch.  Adding a 30.6mm PHD crystal will make the outside of the watch as nice as then inside.

And here's the finished project - what an improvement, huh?  Based on the bracelet and dial, I'd say this is a 1965 model.  The 1966 catalog has the same bracelet but doesn't show the same textured dial.   However I don't know for sure that the 1966-67 model did not have the textured finish so this could be a 1965-67 model.  Regardless - it's ready for another 40 years of wrist time... assuming it's serviced every few years in between.

UPDATE:  March 2015

I scored an alternate black-dialed version of the A-506.  The black dial is smooth and not textured like the gray dial.

The after-shot is a nice improvement over what I started with.  A new crystal and proper-fitting crown made a big difference.

1959 Automatic K-650

It's not unusual for a model to have two different dials.  Lot of models offered more than one dial... even from the earliest days of Hamilton's wrist watch line.  But it is unusual to have one style dial offered in one year, and a completely different dial the next.

One, and perhaps the only, example I know of is the 1959 Automatic K-650.  In 1959 it looked like this...

Then, in 1960 it received an entirely different dial with a white-colored chapter ring.  If it wasn't for the shape of the lugs and the unique bracelet design, you would not suspect they were the same model.

The Automatic K-650 came in a 10K rolled gold plated case with a stainless steel back.  It's the only Automatic K-series watch to come in a 10K RGP case.

Regardless of the style dial installed, tucked within the watch is a 17 jewel Hamilton 661 automatic movement.

I recently purchased a K-650 project watch and it came on a Speidel expansion bracelet with a calendar wheel window from 1968... that was kind of interesting but not enough so to keep on the watch.  The crystal on my project watch was rather beat up so just changing that out will be a nice improvement.

The stainless steel case back screws off

Although the watch runs, based on the appearance of the movement, I'd say it's been a while since this watch had a trip to the spa.

The 661 has a couple of tricky reassembly steps.  The first is to get the train bridge back on - it's large and the escape wheel, 3rd wheel and 4th wheel all have to be perfectly lined up in order for the bridge to drop in place.  The other tricky step is to reinstall the rotor carrier - as you need to get four pivots to line up for that.

In the shot below, everything is cleaned and ready to be put back together.

The movement is running again so it's off to the timer to see how it's performing.

Not too bad at all... just a little tweaking brings the beat rate up to 5 seconds fast per day.  Now to put the dial and hands back on and put it back in the case.

The last part to go back on is the oscillating weight.  It's very floppy and awkward when it's installed so putting it on last is a good way to make sure you don't fat finger the movement and drop it.

And here's the finished project in it's pillow shot.  A new crystal and fresh strap give the watch a step-change improvement in appearance.  A complete overhaul also means this watch will run as great as it looks.

UPDATE:

I happened upon a K-650 with the white rim dial from 1960.  Initially I thought it might just be a donor movement for another project someday.  Obviously the crystal was shot, the crown was shot and the dial had some obvious corrosion - which was pretty telling since the crystal was hard to see through.

I decided since the case was fairly good, it was worth giving an overhaul a go.  It turned out pretty good I think.  The dial isn't the prettiest dial I've ever seen but it's not horrible either.  I shortened the stem a smidgen after taking this photo - as I noticed the crown was little proud of the side.

Not a bad looking watch, considering what I started with!