1954 Bradford and Bradford B

Bradford B or not Bradford B - that is the question.

Prince Henry would have been puzzled by my latest project and getting "thee to a nunnery" wouldn't have clarified things much either.

Hamilton had an Awards Division that produced fine watches for companies and organizations to use as awards and presentations.  Many times Hamilton's customers would not want their recipients to be able to find their award in their local jewelry store.  So the Awards Division would use designs from discontinued models and mix things up with slight dial variations.

You can often spot an Awards Division watch because it says "Masterpiece" on the dial.

Are they legitimate Hamilton models?  Sure, why not?  However you won't find them in the catalogs so a lot of collectors don't view them as desirable as a catalogued model.

I get a lot of emails from people with questions about a family watch.  I like to help people out and that's one reason why I started this blog.   I recently received an email with the attached picture, with an inquiry about how to get it restored.

The watch looks very familiar but the "Masterpiece" on the dial is a giveaway that it's an Awards Division watch.  A little sleuthing and I was able to determine it's a variation of the Bradford, although it would be easy to confuse with a Parker as well.

What's interesting about this watch is it was presented for 25 years of service in 1966 - long after the Bradford was discontinued.

The Bradford was initially introduced in 1954 with a solid 14K yellow gold case.   In 1955 a white gold version of the Bradford was also made available.  The Bradford was produced for two years before being replaced by the Bradford B.

Hamilton used B models when the movement was changed inside the watch, requiring a slightly different case configuration and dial feet locations.  From the outside you cannot tell the difference between a Bradford and a Bradford B.

The original Bradford used the 17 jewel 8/0 sized 747 movement.  That movement was replaced by the 730 movement but some higher end models received the newly introduced 12/0 flagship movement - the 22 jewel 770, which came out around the same time.  So if you have a Bradford with a 747 inside it's a Bradford and if it has a 770 inside, it's a Bradford B.

The Bradford B was produced for several more years with production ending in 1962.  You could get it in either yellow or white gold and with a white or black finished dial.  There was also an option of a diamond-dial as part of the catalogued "Masterpiece" line - but not to be confused with the Awards Watches.  The diamond dialed version does not say "masterpiece" on the dial - it just has 11 diamonds in all but the number 12 location.  That was a pretty hefty option though - and it doubled the cost of the watch so there aren't too many Bradford B Masterpieces floating around.

Back to my project watch, I agreed to take it on because I thought it would be a good project for the blog and the current owner is the recipient's son.  There are no better watches than family watches, regardless of brand, in my opinion.

This Bradford needs some help though, and I'll start with finding out if it's a Bradford or a Bradford B.

As stated above, the watch was presented in 1966, long after the Bradford and Bradford B was discontinued.  It could have a 730 movement inside or even a 731, based on the 1966 year.

The dial's finish is compromised all the way around the perimeter.  One of the challenges of Awards Division watch dials is to get them refinished correctly.  Catalogued models are usually easier to get right than non catalogued models, as the latter might have been special orders originally.  In addition, this dial has a pearled track - it's often a coin toss on whether it will be done correctly.

The mystery solved - this watch has a 770 (I figured it would) so it's a Bradford B.  The crown is a replacement but it's "okay".  This isn't a waterproof watch  but the crown is.  It's not a big deal one way or the other, as it looks okay on the watch.

I'm sure at this point this case looks like any other yellow Bradford B case.  An 8/0 movement would not fit inside this recess.  I can see a couple of watchmakers' marks inside - that explains where the odd crown came from.

Coincidently I recently picked up a spare 770 movement and look what it came with?  An original Bradford B dial.  There are a couple of minor spots but after 50 years you might expect a blemish or two.

Everything is cleaned and dried before being reassembled.

The movement is noticeably cleaner and sparkling after a trip to the spa.

The watch is running nicely... just a smidgen slow but that's easily corrected.

A very minor tweak to the regulator index and the watch is running right on the money.

The crystal that was in the watch was a little small and was glued in.  That might have been why moisture got in.  I'll measure it and put in a new crystal that is slightly larger.

29.3mm will do the trick.

This Bradford B is now back to showroom condition, except for a tiny black spot next to the 12.  It's a beautiful watch and although it doesn't have the original dial installed, it's 100% revertible... not that you'd want to put that old dial back inside.

I'm sure Prince Henry would be pleased.

1965 Thin-o-matic T-414

There used to be a large number of fraternal organizations.  Perhaps the oldest one is the Loyal Order of the Water Buffalo which dates back to prehistoric times.

I'm kidding, of course, but in truth there were a large number of fraternal organizations formed after the US Civil War in the 1860s.  It was a popular way for veterans to get together in companionship and brotherhood.  Other organizations formed as a result of immigration from specific countries.  These societies offered a sense of community and security, as immigrants usually worked in dangerous occupations and members promised to take care of each others's widows and orphans, should calamity occur.

One of the oldest fraternal organizations is the Order of Free Masons, or Freemasonry.  It dates back to the 17th century, perhaps even longer, depending on who you ask.  It's often referred to as a secret society, as members are sworn to secrecy about some of their activities.

Over the last 150 years a lot of fraternal organizations faded away but the Masons are still around, along with a few others.  I myself am a member of the Knights of Columbus, another fraternal organization.  Today's fraternal organizations do a lot of charitable service work.   For example, a Masonic group, the Shriners, are well known for providing free care at children's hospitals.

The Masons must have had a significant enough presence in the 1940's through the 1960's to justify the inclusion of Masonic dials on a lot of Hamilton models.  Instead of numbers or markers, the dials featured various Masonic symbols.  What do the symbols mean?  Beats me, it's a secret.

An example of a catalogued Masonic model is the 1965 Thin-o-matic T-414.  The T-414 was available through 1967.

The T-414 was available with a "regular" dial with numerals and markers or with an alternative Masonic dial.  The case is 10K yellow gold filled and was paired with either a special bracelet or a strap.

I recently received a T-414 from a fellow collector and it came with it's original bracelet.  As received it looked to be in good shape but it wasn't running and the crown was unattached.  Even though the crown appears in the photo below, it's just held on by the case's stem tube.

The back of the case is pie-panned shaped and that's a clue that this Thin-o-matic doesn't have a micro-rotor movement inside.  Instead it likely has a Hamilton 623 movement made by ETA.

The watch opens through the crystal and, sure enough, there's a 17 jewel 623 inside.  This movement is based on an ETA 2520 grade.  Can you see the stem?  Maybe not, most of it has rusted away.

YIKES!  Although most of the movement looks okay, there's a lot of rust along the side and one of the dial foot screws is nothing but a rusty mess.  The female side of the two piece stem is just a couple of rusted prongs - so it will need to be replaced, assuming it can even be removed.

The other dial foot screw is also rusted but at least I can sort of see it.  The first challenge on this watch is to figure out how to get the dial off without ruining it.

I sprayed a dollop of penetrating oil on the rust and did my best to loosen things up but I didn't get too far.  However, I was able to gently pry the dial off without losing the dial feet in the process.  So that's a major milestone.

Wow - it's hard to believe that this much rust can be so localized.  There are about 5 or 6 parts in this tight area that have been destroyed and will need to be replaced.

Fortunately I have a spare parts movement to use, so between the two movements I should be able to cobble together a working example.

The 623 and the 624 (with date complication) take a special stem.  I had to order one and I was lucky to find it - it was discontinued long ago.

I'll also need the male side to thread into the crown.  This side needs to be trimmed to the proper length depending on the case design.  So I'll trim it when the watch is near finished.

Everything is cleaned and dried.

The basic movement is reassembled and ticking away nicely.

Not too shabby, according to the timer.  On most movements I'd call it a day but this movement is so easy to adjust that I'd feel guilty if I didn't try to tune it in even further.

There... that's pretty much right on the money now.

A trip to the spa did this unique watch a lot of good.  It's interesting that the dial does not say Automatic on it.  Go figure.  It's also interesting that it has four applied gold dots and the rest of the markers are printed Masonic symbols.  I wonder if there's a reason for that?  I could ask a Mason but they probably won't tell me... ha ha!

1970's Automatic Dateline 64029-4

There are quite a few models that are sometimes referred to as European models because they weren't shown in the US catalogs.  Typically they are known by the model numbers on the back of the case.

One example is the 64029-4.  I would probably put this in the Dateline family as a Dateline A-something but it's really only identifiable by the numbers on the back of the case.  The -4 means it's yellow gold plated, there's also a very similar looking -3 that is all stainless steel.  I recently landed a 64029-4 and it looks to be in decent shape but it's missing the second hand. The lugs are fairly short and angled down, that makes me wonder if there's a special bracelet intended to go with it.

The back is plain and doesn't say Hamilton anywhere on the outside.  It has Hamilton Swiss on the inside though, another clear sign that it's a European model.

Inside is 21 jewel Hamilton 64A.  This movement is pretty much the same as the 17 jewel 694A but the reversing wheels in the automatic framework have jewels.  In fact, you can see them in the two small golden wheels visible in the shot below.  Each wheel has two jewels and bring the jewel count up from 17 jewels to 21.

The crown on this watch is very small and tucked into the side of the case.  It's worn so I will replace it.  That will make manually winding the watch a little easier.

Once the dial and hands are removed, I can set to work stripping parts from the front of the movement.

I'm going to replace the crystal since the current one is a bit beat up.  It has a yellow reflector ring which I'll reuse.  I can use an ET 31.5mm crystal with a white ring and just swap rings since the white ring isn't needed.

The yellow ring has minute marks and bold lines on 5 minute intervals.  I need to be careful to align it properly when I press the new crystal in place so the bold lines align with the dial markers.

Everything is cleaned and ready to be reassembled.

I'll use the stem tube as a guide for aligning the reflector ring and press the crystal into place using my crystal press tool.

The basic movement is reassembled and ticking away with good motion.  It's off to the timer to see how well it's working.

Uh oh... it's running very slow with poor amplitude.  The timer hears what the eyes cannot see.

Upon close observation I noticed the hairspring was out of plain and when I looked really closely I saw the hairspring stud index is a little out of whack.  It should be flat and in this position it's twisting the hairspring out of plain.

To fix it I need to first remove the hairspring.  Then I can better seat the regulator index and the stud index.  I need to be careful not to bend the prongs on the regulator.

I check the hairspring shape and flatness from this angle.  It's looking good now.

Well, now it's running fast with good amplitude but the beat error is still way too high.  That's not too surprising though since the location of the hairspring stud and regulator were dramatically changed when I took the balance apart.  All I have to do is move them back to their proper relative locations.

In the photo below, moving the regulator index (with two gold dots) will speed up or slow the watch. Moving the gray stud index will rotate the entire balance and allow me to better align it with the pallet fork and reduce the beat error.  A beat error of 0.0 would mean the balance and pallet fork are perfectly aligned and the balance swings equally to each side.

I'll make a best guess and see what happens... now it's still a little slow and the beat error is better but still too high.

I thought I nailed it on my next attempt as the two lines collapsed into a single line.  However, when the beat error popped up on the display at 9.9ms I knew I still had work to do.

Slowly I tweaked the hairspring stud until the beat error neared zero.  Now things are looking good.

Here's a shot of the regulator and stud locations to compare with above - notice the locations are different, relative to the balance cock and to each other.

The dial-side can now be outfitted with the calendar complication parts.

This crown appears to be tiny but it's actually 3.5mm.  The original and it's replacement is shown below.  I tried a 4.0mm crown but it was too big for the recess in the side of the case.

I have no idea what second hand was originally on the watch.  The hour and minute hands are gold and black with luminous paint.  The dial is golden in color too so I think a gold second hand would be hard to see.  I happened to have a black second hand and it was the perfect length to reach the minute track.  In my opinion it's a perfect addition and complements the dial and hands exactly.  Outfitted with a fresh genuine lizard strap, this watch is ready for some wrist time.

The new crystal and crown make this watch look it just left the jewelry showroom floor.