1959 Accumatic VII

I know of three Hamilton watch models that feature reeded edges - like a coin.  Two of them you see more frequently than the third.  The most common is the 1935 Boone.  A somewhat rarer reeded-edge watch is appropriately named the 1969 Liberty Coin.    It has the distinction of being the last US-production watch.

The third watch with a reeded edge is the 1959 Accumatic VII.

The Accumatic VII was produced for only two years.  It features a 17 jewel, Swiss-made Hamilton 672 movement.

The case is 10K yellow RGP with a snap-on stainless steel back.  The dial is fancy with radiating grooves extending from the center and pearlized dots making up the minutes track.  The catalog says the numerals and markers are embossed but they look like applied gold markers to me, as you will see below.

I recently picked up a Accumatic VII - it's the only one that I have ever seen for sale so I dug a little deeper than I usually do for a watch.  It was advertised as recently serviced and based on how it looks, both in person and on my timer, I would believe it.

The bracelet on this particular watch is not the original style shown in the catalogs but it is period correct.   Between the bold features of the dial, the case and the bracelet, this watch has a lot going on as far as eye candy.

Check out the number 6 and the hour markers below… do these look like embossed (stamped) figures to you?  Me neither.

1939 Brock

Very few Hamilton models had production runs of five years or longer.  One of the longest running models was the 1939 Brock.  It was produced through 1952 and maybe even two more years if you consider it's 10K replacement - the Brockton.

The Brock is also one of the few models that Hamilton did a coral gold version of in 1940.  It's known as the Coral Brock and I did a post on that last February.

The Brock comes in a 14K solid gold case and you'll find it with either an AGN dial or, less frequently, with a two-tone black and gilt dial.

From a movement standpoint you will find a 19 jewel 982 movement in the 1939 version and after that you will find a 19 jewel 982M.  The 982M Medallion movement was introduced in 1940 for all the solid gold watches that used a 14/0 size movement.

I recently scored a Brock and, based on the serial number of the movement, it is a 1950 model.  I was able to snag the watch for a very good price because the seller listed it as a ladies watch in need of a battery.

The Brock is quite small by today's standards and would make a very nice ladies watch today.  The seller's photos even made it look like a ladies watch - and even though I wasn't entirely positive, I was pretty sure it wasn't a ladies watch because only the men's watches have sub-second hands.

As received it was very dirty but a few turns of the crown showed that a "fresh battery" was not going to be needed.

With the bezel removed you can see that the dial is in very nice shape.  Think it is original?  Nope - it's a very nice refinish.  One of the obvious signs in the little notch in between the 3 and the crown - see it, right on the edge of the dial?

The 982M from this era is highly damascened with a gold, almost orange, enamel in the engravings.  Personally, I like the older 982M's with the actual medallion instead of the "circled M" on the later models.

Well, a thorough cleaning and fresh mainspring bring the watch back to vigorous life as you can see below on my timer.  A little tweaking to the regulator will slow it down a smidge.

And here's the finished product, all polished up with a new genuine lizard strap.  The acrylic crystal has a couple of cracks in the corners so I'll replace it.

My better half didn't get anything sparkly for Christmas this year so this might be a perfect "get out of the dog house free" card.  I think I'll look for a nice 16mm short strap in addition to a new crystal.

1955 Dorsey

Watches from the 1950's have a look all their own.  1930's watches often show Art Deco influence with luminous and enamel dials.  They are usually large or very narrow and long.  Watches from the 1940's are generally smaller, simpler designs reminiscent of the post war recovery.  But the 1950s was a time when Hamilton really started to spread out a little and they introduced a number of bold, futuristic designs.

Take for example the 1955 Dorsey.  Looking at the angled case, it almost has a "stealth" presence, foretelling the future of military aircraft that would be produced 50 years later!

The Dorsey shares a name with another solid gold Hamilton model, the 1936 Dorsey.  Other than both being solid 14K gold, the two are otherwise unrelated.

This model was produced for only two years and you can tell a 1955 Dorsey from a 1956 version by the diamond "masterpiece" marker under the Hamilton name on the 1956 Dorsey's dial.

The Dorsey features a solid 14K yellow gold case with a sterling silver dial with 18K gold markers.  The hands are dauphine style and non luminous.  Behind the dial you'll likely find Hamilton's newly introduced 22 jewel 770 movement or possibly a 19 jewel 754 if there were any remaining in inventory.

I recently received a 1955 Dorsey in need of some serious love.  It was very rough and one could almost make an argument to scrap it - but that would be a sin, in my opinion.  This Dorsey can be saved!

One of the obvious things that is going to be needed is a stem and crown - as there is nothing but a hole to show for the original stem and crown.

Yikes - this dial is about as rough as they come.  I've seen worse but I'm not optimistic that cleaning alone will be enough.  This might have to be professionally refinished.

The 770 movement runs - that's a good sign.  Of course, on my timer it has a beat rate of 21,600 beats per hour… that's 6 beats per second.  Sounds great but this watch should only beat 5 times per second so that's running mighty fast.

With the dial removed you can see that the set lever (on the right) is missing in action because the set lever screw has sheered off.  The set lever is what holds the stem in the movement and you loosen the set lever screw to remove the stem.  Based on the rust that is present, I suspect the set lever seized and a little too much force was applied to the crown.   Off it came, stem and all.

Everything gets taken apart, including the mainspring in the barrel.  Based on the generous coil of the mainspring it can be reinstalled.

To my delight, everything cleaned up nicely.  Even the dial looks better.

The movement is running well and back to 18000 beats per hour.  The beat error is a little high but not high enough that I'm willing to fuss with the collet on the hairspring.  A purist probably would, but I've learned from experience not to press my luck.

And here it is all cleaned up.  The dial still shows damage along the perimeter where the gunk ate through the finish and tarnished the silver.  I'm really surprised I didn't lose the Hamilton logo and crosshairs in the cleaning process.  Original dials are more robust to cleaning than refinished dials so this original dial held up well.  A new crown and a genuine lizard strap complete the restoration.

I think the watch will look much better with a fresh redial so we'll go the distance on this Dorsey restoration and get the dial redone by International Dial.  I'm sure Rob and the gang at ID will do a bang-up job on this dial and then it will be good to go for another 50 years.

UPDATE:

I got the dial back from being refinished.  I think it looks much better.  They didn't have the exact pattern for the seconds crosshair but other than that it's a good looking redial.  I also put a new glass crystal on the watch - so the gold fish bowl effect of the thick acrylic crystal is gone.