1960's Mystery Automatic

When it rains it pours.

So far this month I've had three watches that I can't specifically identify.  Of course, after almost 400 posts most of the more common varieties have already been written about.  So I'm going to have to find things that are a little less common if I'm going to keep the blog going.  There are over 1,100 models though - so I should be able to keep busy for a little while longer.

Most of the mystery watches I have come across are obviously 1960's models.  As I recently learned, Hamilton produced a series of the men's and women's models with M and F designators.  These models were produced from 1961 through 1967 but not a part of the regular Hamilton line.  The conventional wisdom at this point is that they were intended for distribution through a separate channel - perhaps a special "catalog store" like Service Merchandise or the equivalent.

I also learned that the logic used for the models indication was pretty straightforward.  The M or F was for men's or women's models, the next number (e.g. 59) was the retail price ($59) and the last number of the sequential model.  So an M59-4 was the fourth men's model with a retail price of $59.

Of course, that only explains a model if you can identify it... which in this next case, I can't... not yet anyway.

So my mystery watch is an automatic and a nice looking one, at that.  It arrived in running order but could stand a good cleaning.

The one-piece case design is 10K yellow gold filled and it opens through the crystal.

The markings inside the crystal support the hypothesis that this is a 1960's-era watch.

Behind the dial is a 17 jewel 689 movement - also a good indicator that this watch is an early 1960's watch.  This is an early precursor to the 21 jewel model 63 that I restored earlier this month.

Everything is cleaned and dried before being reassembled.

The most difficult part of reassembling this movement is to get all four wheels lined up under the train bridge.  All four pivots have to go into their respect jewels or it won't go together.  When everything is lined up the bridge drops right in place... but it can take a while to get it to drop in place and there is no forcing it.  So it can be a very frustrating experience.

Once the train bridge goes on, next the pallet fork goes in.  Then the barrel, barrel bridge and the ratchet wheel, etc.  Last to go on is the balance assembly and if all goes well the watch should start running - like it is below.

It's running about 1 minute fast per day with good amplitude but a high beat error.  I can fix all of that.

First I lower the beat error by moving the hairspring stud location.

Then I slow the watch down by slightly lengthening the hairspring using the regulator.  Now it's running 11 seconds fast per day with a beat error of 0.5ms.

With the movement running I will flip it over and work on the front of the main plate.  First thing to go on is the Roskopf cannon pinion.  This special design is used when the center wheel is actually off to the side and not in the center at all.  In this watch, the third wheel pinion actually engages a wheel that is attached to the cannon pinion.  The wheel on the cannon pinion can slip on the cannon pinion - thus allowing you to set the time without binding the gears.

Next the gold-colored minute wheel and the silver setting wheel go in.

The minute wheel is covered by a plate and the hour wheel for the hour hand goes over the cannon pinion.  Now the dial can go on.

With the dial in place, I'll flip the movement over again and prep the oscillating weight to go back on.  To screws will secure it in place.

Now the movement can go back into the case and I can install the hands.

Great care has to be taken to make sure the hands don't run into each other or hit any of the hour markers.

"The claw" will help me compress the crystal just enough that it will fit into the bezel and lock everything in place inside the case.

Now all I need is a strap.

I decided to reinstall the Kreisler bracelet that came with the watch.  I have no idea if it's "original" but it's definitely old and it's a good size too... at least for my wrist.  This turned out to be a nice looking watch.  Now I just need to see if one of my collector buddies will help me identify it.

UPDATE:

Well, it turns out I just didn't look hard enough as a fellow collector pointed out it's a 1962 Accumatic A-400.  The A-400 was introduced in 1962 and produced through 1964.

The mystery has been solved.

1961 Sea-Skip

There was something for everyone in Hamilton's 1960's line up.  Didn't want to wind your watch?  Choose from the Electrics or the Automatic models.  Didn't like round watches?  No problem, choose from one of the many asymmetrics.  Want something fairly traditional but not too traditional?  How about a round watch manual winder with a textured dial?

One of the options for the latter was the 1961 Sea Skip.  It was produced shown in the catalogs in 1961 but looks like it was really introduced in 1962.  It was produced through 1964.

As you can see in the catalog, the Sea -Skip came in a stainless steel case with white (silver) colored embossed numerals and markers on a white textured dial.  It also came with an optional gray dial.

In 1962, the catalog showed both options.

Tucked behind the dial is a Hamilton 688 movement, a Swiss-grade made by ETA, the same company that makes Hamilton movements today, in fact.

I recently picked up a Sea-Skip.  It wasn't running very well and the crystal was severely cracked.

Without the crystal in the way, I can see that the textured dial has some minor corrosion on the  hour markers and hands but otherwise it looks to be okay.

The stainless steel back is meant to unscrew.  Looks like someone had a bit of an unsuccessful go at opening the case - it's all scratched up.  Sometimes opening a case like this can be very difficult, especially if you don't have the correct tools.  Fortunately the scratches are not visible from the front.

Oddly enough, the inside of the case back says "Made in Switzerland".  That's not something I've seen too often.

The 688 movement is bright and shiny but arguably ready for a trip to the spa.

The crystal is a special type that accommodates a reflector ring.  The reflector ring goes inside the crystal and adds a special bit of sparkle or flair.

Normally I use a GS PHD-style crystal for watches with sweep second second hand.  But a PHD crystal won't accommodate a reflector ring.  Sometimes I also look in the PA-waterproof line of GS crystals for an appropriate crystal when a round crystal with a reflector ring in needed.  When I don't see an obvious replacement crystal, I will also go with the GS ET-line of crystals.  These crystals are a lot like PHD style but they come with a silver or gold ring.  In the shot below, you can see I selected an ET crystal in 31.1mm diameter with a white (silver) ring.

Everything is cleaned and ready to be reassembled.

The movement is back to running order.  Next stop is the timer to see how it's running.

That's not too shabby... I'll leave it as is.

The dial and hands cleaned up fairly well.  Not much I can do about the corrosion on the 4 and 8 markers.  It's interesting that it's so symmetrical.  A new crystal and a fresh black strap are a remarkable improvement over what I started with though.  That's for sure.

1970 4005-3 Automatic

Here's another mystery watch for you.  Any watch that I can't identify in Hamilton catalogs is a mystery watch to me.  However there are plenty of reasons why a legitimate watch might not be in the catalogs.

For example, special watches were produced for the awards division - and sold to companies to use for service anniversaries.  In addition, Hamilton produced unique watches for export to foreign markets.

Part of the challenge with identifying a mystery watch is to figure out about what time period it was produced.  Although the 1970's had some funky, chunky designs the decade also had plenty of traditional designs too.  Then you have the 1980's... I consider that "the dark ages" as there is very little info online about that era.

There are a number of clues I look for when trying to identify a non-catalogued watch.

First, you can usually tell a watch is pre-1970 if it says Hamilton Watch Co, Lancaster PA inside the case back.  That's true for awards division watches as well and if the watch has a presentation from a company on the case back that will usually tell you a lot too (like the date).

Second, the type of movement inside is a good clue.  Certain movements were used for certain periods.  In addition, the "beat rate" the movement has is an indicator.  Most vintage watches have an 18000 Beat Per Hour (BPH) rate.  That works out to 5 ticks per second which is the same as when you count "one Mississippi, two Mississippi" etc.  In the 1970's beat rates increased to 6, 7, 8 and even 10 beats per second.  So if the watch has an 18000 BPH beat rate but doesn't say Hamilton Watch Co, Lancaster PA inside then you can probably assume the watch is an early 1970's watch.

Third, the printing on the dial is often a clue.  The 1970's seem to favor "Self Winding" on automatic dials rather than "Automatic".

Fourth, models produced for export often had 5-digit model numbers that started with 64.

So that leads me to my mystery watch.  As received it was pretty beat up but running.  Looking at the printing on the dial, it looks very 1960's to me.  It's a large watch though so that could be more 1970's.

The back cover unscrews and has a four digit case number - 4005-3.  A fellow collector I know says the watch shows up as a 64005-3 in his reference.  That's odd... is this a US watch or meant for export?

The inside of the case back says Hamilton Watch Co Swiss.  That would tell me this is a post-1969 model.

Inside the case is a 21 jewel Hamilton 63 based on an ETA 2451 grade.  It's basically an upgraded version of the 689 and 689A used in the 1960s.  The 63 was introduced in the late 1960's, I think.

The crystal on this watch is very scratched but it incorporates a reflector ring so replacing it with a non-reflector ring PHD crystal isn't a good option.  Instead I will try to polish the scratches out.

This movement has four extra jewels in the rotor carrier.  You can see them in the shot below. Add those to the 17 jewels inside the movement and you get to 21.

While everything was in the ultrasonic, I polished the crystal.  It looks much clearer now.

Everything is laid out before being reassembled with fresh lubricants.

This main plate is stamped with the ETA logo and 2456.  My references don't indicate any known differences between the 2451 and the 2456.  Maybe it's in the balance design - as I think that's what makes a 63 different from a 689.

Once the balance is reinstalled, the watch movement looks like a typical manual winding ETA grade. It's off to the timer now.

Something inside is making a little extra noise.  I'll reclean the hairspring and see if I can get rid of it.

That's better... two close together parallel horizontal lines.  It doesn't get much better than that.

Next to go back on is the dial and then the hands.  I set the hands to midnight - that way I know they're synchronized.

The rotor goes back on and then the assembly goes back into the freshly polished case.  A new black teju lizard strap completes the restoration.

Now as for what to call the watch?   Since most clues point to late 1960's and early 1970s and since it doesn't say Lancaster PA inside nor Self Winding, I would narrow it down to very early 1970's.  The four digit case number of 4005 is a good identifier and the -3 means it's stainless steel.  So I would call this a 1970 4005-3 until someone can tell me otherwise.