1960 Automatic K-415

It's been a long time since I've seen a new-to-the-blog Automatic K-series watch.  I should compare the list of models to the models I've already covered.  I bet I'm pretty close.  

Anyway, I'm now one model closer to finding them all.  Today's watch is a one-year-wonder and was produced only in 1960.  So there aren't that many out there, compared to all the other models that were produced.  

By 1960, there were a lot of choices for the discriminating buyer.  You had the Automatic K-series line, but also the fairly new Accumatic A-series as well as the equally new Thin-o-matic line.  Plus you had plenty of really interesting Electric models entering the line up.  And of course, there would be plenty of manual winding models to choose from as well.

The 1960 Automatic K-415 would be the 15th K-series model with a gold filled case... well, sort of.  There is no K-413, for some reason, at least not in the catalogs.  If you're curious, there would be five more before the K series ended with the K-420.

To my eye, it looks very similar to the K-407 and the K-410 (another model I haven't come across yet).

As you can see in the catalog snips below, the case of the K-415 shares a similar look to the K-407 and K-410, in that all three have a recessed crown.  Each has it's own unique bracelet though, and the dials are different, of course.  So all three are distinctly different models and the cases are not interchangeable... they just look similar and are easily confused.

My project watch appears to have had a rough life.  It's very dirty, and has more that it's fair share of corrosion.  The Speidel bracelet is an aftermarket add on and will be tossed in the bin once I remove it.  The watch itself looks decent enough, but it's not running.

It appears like the majority of corrosion is limited to the bracelet.

If you look closely, you can make out the initials of the original owner's name peeking out from a layer of "old man funk".  This watch is long overdue for a trip to the spa - but it looks like it served it's owner well and could tell a few good stories.

It took a bit of elbow grease but I was able to unscrew the case back.  The movement is in remarkably nice shape.  The rotor appears to have been rubbing the case back and it's left a ring on the inside.  I see one prior service mark.

Lifting the movement out of the case, I can see the dial looks really good.  There's a hint of radium burn from the hands but nothing too remarkable.

I moved the small detent in the center of the rotor in the direction of the arrow in order to free the rotor from it's arbor.  Now I can lift the rotor off the movement and start the disassembly process.

A new crystal will be nice improvement.

Everything is cleaned and dried.

The crown on the stem is very worn and showed corrosion similar to the bracelet.  It's lost a lot of it's surface and nows a good time to replace it - if I have the correct one.

There is a surprisingly lot of information needed to choose a crown.  First you need to know the style... dress, waterproof, etc.  Then you need to know the critical dimensions, the diameter of the head, the size of the pipe (if there is one), the height of the crown, the thread tap, the color, etc.  It's harder than you think.  Using my calipers I can see the existing crown has a diameter of 3.8mm.

Looking in the parts manual, I can try to guess what crown it could be.  I still need some info, but I know it's waterproof, yellow, and has a pipe.  I'm thinking 184939, 184940, 184941, 194842, and 184943 are all possibilities.  I've tried to build out a stash of crowns to see what they look like but I haven't found them all yet.  I'm missing 940 and 942 but I have the other three to try.

First I'll start with 184939 and 184941... 939 is larger than 941.

Whatever crown I choose, it will need to fit in the recess of the case but on top of the pipe sticking out.  The 939 crown is too large for the recess and the 941 wouldn't accommodate the pipe.  So I need something 3.8mm diameter with a pipe larger than 1.7.

184943 is my only available choice... let's try it.

We have a winner!  The new crown fits inside the recess and goes over the pipe.  It's also the correct color and thread (tap 10).

Looking at the new crown versus the old crown, the old crown appears to be taller (height) so 184942 might be the perfect choice, but I haven't been able to find one yet.  Of course, there's no saying that the old crown is even the original.  Going off the catalog image, the crown is fully recessed and matches 184943.

Now that the crown is sorted out, I can reassemble the watch and get it onto the timer.

The reassembled movement is ticking away with a fine motion.  The timer agrees and says it's running a little fast.  I'll let it settle down before making any adjustments.

The finished watch looks as good as it runs.  I find this dial very interesting.  The hour markers alternate styles with the even markers looking like hearts (sort of) and the odd markers like arrow heads.  At first, I thought the might be the same markers but on close examination, they are quite different.  Regardless, this is a fantastic example of a rarely seen model.

1935 Ramsey Pocket Watch with 918 - Ask the Man Who Owns One...

Hamilton made all sorts of awards watches for organizations or companies.  You could even personalize your own watch by putting your name on the dial in place of numerals for hour markers!

One of the most prolific companies to use Hamilton watches for awards was the Packard Motor Car Company.  Packard was well known for creating luxury cars, especially before WWII.  During the war, Packard made lots of military-related products, including the Liberty V-12 engine used by the US Navy in PT boats.

After the war, Packard struggled to compete with the Big 3 automakers... GM, Ford, and Chrysler.  Eventually Packard merged with Studebaker to form Studebaker-Packard Corporation.  After several years of declining sales, the Packard brand ended in 1959.

You will find a variety of Packard awards watches out in the wild and they're easy to spot because they all have the Pakard slogan "Ask the man who owns one" on the dial.  This slogan came from the advertising jingle that promoted the brand...

"Ride ride ride ride ride along
in your Packard, in your Packard.
In a Packard you've got the world on a string.
In a Packard car you feel like a king.
Ride ride ride ride ride along
in your Packard, what fun!
And ask the man, just ask the man
the lucky man who owns one!"

As an awards watch, they're usually cased in solid gold so I've come across plenty of movements with dials after their case was scrapped but I haven't had a complete watch until now.

It's a pocket watch model called the Ramsey from 1935.

The Ramsey was cased in solid 14K gold, either in white or natural gold (yellow).  You could choose the dial you wanted as well as one of three movements, the 922 with 23 jewels, the 904 with 21 jewels or the 918 with 19 jewels.  These movements would all be replaced in a year or two with the soon to be released 917, 921 and 923 movements.

All the physical dimensions of the 918, 904 and 922 are the same, the construction of the movements improved along with the jewel count.  The 918 movement was a fine movement with nickel plating, 19 extra-fine ruby and sapphire jewels, solid gold chatons (jewel settings), micrometric regulator and it was adjusted to temperature as well as three positions (dial up, dial down, pendant up).  The 904 and the 922 included white gold plating on the movement, solid gold train wheels, and were adjusted to five positions.  The 922 is an especially attractive movement.

My project watch arrived courtesy of it's current owner.  It's a family heirloom and way overdue for restoration,  It's not mine, but I'm grateful it's being saved for future generations, as the solid gold case is quite valuable.  The Ramsey was priced at $100 in 1935... that's $2400 in today's dollars but with gold over $4,000 an ounce, this watch is probably worth that or more in gold alone! 

The case back snaps on and you just need a fingernail to get it to open.

Under the rear cover is a dust cover that bears the presentation to the recipient from 1935 for 10 years of service.  Boy, those days are gone for sure.  Name a company that treats their loyal employees to a gold watch after 10 years!

The inside of the dust cover shows the 14K solid gold mark hallmark.  The inside of the rear cover shows all the Hamilton Watch Co information.

The movement appears to be in decent condition at first blush, but close inspection shows rust in a few areas, including the hairspring, which is not good.  The movement is not running but nothing appears to be broken.

The tip of the second hand appears to be black - I'm not sure if that's rust or if it was purposely painted black.  This dial is the No. 50 pattern with solid 18K numerals and features the Packard logo.

There are three dial foot screws on the side of the movement.  I'll loosen all three and will lift the dial off the main plate.

Despite my best efforts, I couldn't get the dial off.  One of the dial feet is stuck solid.  So I had to remove the balance (for safety) and then the barrel bridge so I could have access to the dial foot from the opposite side.  I placed a dot of penetrating oil on the foot and was able to push it out from behind.

With the dial of the way, I can remove the hour wheel and cannon pinion.  The rest of the dial-side of the main plate looks pretty good, other than a little rust on the screw heads.

While the parts are in the cleaner I will turn to my go-to polish for the case.  The initial photo doesn't really show the extent of black grime that covers the case.  I don't think it's dirt, per se, but the result. of years and years of exposure to a humid environment - perhaps inside a safe somewhere.

Everything is cleaned and ready to be reassembled.

First one are the escape and 4th wheels and their bridge.  Once they spin freely I can install the third and center wheel, barrel, and install the barrel bridge.

A little bit of trivia for you... during this period of time, the balance cock screw had a smaller head that the rest of the train bridge screws.  You can see the screw to the right (below) is intended for the balance cock.  The other two support the barrel or train bridges.

Once all the train wheels are installed and spin effortlessly, I install the pallet fork.  After this point I can wind the watch and then install the balance.

The movement ticked with the balance installed but there is a big difference between ticking and actually keeping time.  This balance is making a lot of noise as it moves.

Rust is really bad for watches and especially on the hairspring or the mainspring.  Just a tiny amount of rust on the mainspring will cause it to break.  The hairspring will move with a little rust but it's ability is compromised.  This is why you want to always keep vintage watches away from water - even if you think they are waterproof.

The watch's balance is on the left below.  I happened to have a 918 donor balance and you can compare the two below.  Notice the difference in rust!

My donor balance is ticking away with a nice motion.  Time to see what the timer thinks of it.

Not too shabby but the beat error is way too high at 5.6ms.  I will have to remove the balance and try to reduce the beat error by improving how well the impulse jewel is centered.  The beat error is a measure of how far the balance swings from one side to the other.  When the impulse jewel is centered, the beat error is zero.

After a couple of attempts, I was able to get the beat error reduced to an acceptable 1.7ms, well within my personal specs of 3.0ms or less.

The dial and hands go back onto the movement and the assembly goes back into the freshly polished case.  This watch now looks like the family heirloom it is intended to be.

I'm a little Tea Cup...

I think my favorite genre of Hamilton watches would have to be the WWII military models.  I must be an old soul, I guess.  I think the 1930s and 1940s would also be my favorite time period.  I like the movies from the time as well.  Maybe it's because I like to imagine my grandparents when they were young and just starting out their adult lives, finding each other and starting their families, which would eventually result in my being born twenty some-odd years later.

I think I also really appreciate the idea of our nation coming together, putting aside our individual preferences and rallying behind the common cause of fighting fascism.  We are a nation of immigrants but we were all Americans and acted like it.

Of course, there was a lot of crappy things back then too - and we didn't treat all Americans equally.  I wouldn't argue that it was the best of times... perhaps it was just a simpler time and we still had a lot of growing up to do as a nation.  Still do, apparently.

Hamilton was not immune from the need to rally behind a common cause.  Normal watch production was rededicated to military efforts and hundreds of thousands of time pieces were manufactured for our nations military and our allies.  Hamilton even produced watches for Russian forces!

Some civilian watches still slipped through though, often using movements from excess inventory left over from the 1930s.

Back in 2013 I did a detailed post about understanding the various military models.  Check that out if you haven't already seen it.

The first military watch Hamilton produced was the model 27013, aka, the "Tea Cup".

There were no catalogs, per se, that detailed the Hamilton lineup but there are military publications that Hamilton produced to detail the parts required and how to service the movements while in the field.

The 27013 is called the tea cup because the case back snapped into the bezel and was shaped like a bowl, or tea cup.

The 27013 used the 17 jewel 987A movement that was introduced in 1937.  Other military models also used the 987A, and others used the sweep second version, the 17 jewel 987S.  US Navy and Marine Corps models used a special 18 jewel version, called the 2987.  I like the 2987 models the best, and I'm sure I'm not alone.

The Ord Dept examples are the most abundant - as I said, well over 100,000 examples were produced.  Tea Cups are a little less common but still out there in the wild.

I was recently sent a Tea Cup in serious need of some TLC.  The owner purchased it, where else, on eBay and the seller had a very detailed description but even so, left out certain issues they no doubt were aware of, but at least the did say it needed restoration.  

The crystal is a deep shade of amber and that's something a collector should be on the look out for.  Back in the day certain plastic crystals degraded over time, turning yellow and also outgassing a chemical that would corrode the metal it was exposed to.

The watch has the pop-off back and is properly engraved with the requisite markings for the Ord Dept specifications.

With the movement removed from behind the crystal, you can see the hour and minute hands are rusted solid.  Fortunately, it appears the second hand was spared any corrosion.  The dial and hands have what I would assume to be old radium lume.  It's best to leave this material alone but as long as you don't eat it, there really isn't much to be worried about.

I suspect the eBay seller knew that this movement is missing the pallet fork and pallet bridge.  They probably also knew the balance staff is broken.  So basically this watch requires extensive repair or just a replacement movement.

I happen to have a 987A that I was saving for another project but I'll dedicate it to this project instead, it's a worthy cause.

Everything gets completely disassembled and cleaned.  I'll install a fresh Dynavar mainspring to power the watch.

The reassembled movement is bright and shiny and ticking away with a nice motion so it's off to the timer to listen to the ticking.

Not too shabby... it's running a little fast but that's an easy tweak to slow it down.  Everything else looks great.

A new old stock vintage canvas strap completes the final assembly.  I was also saving this for a rainy day but I guess that day is today.

I was able to remove most of the offending rust on the hands and their rustic appearance matches the dial really well.  A new crystal is a huge improvement over what I started with.  With a functioning movement and vintage strap, this watch is ready to go into harm's way... and by harm's way, I mean dinner and a movie.