1941 Lexington

One of my favorite models is the 1941 Lexington.  I suppose that's for a few reasons.  

First, as a former naval officer, the name reminds me of the USS Lexington(s), of WWII.  The original USS Lexington (CV-2) was the second aircraft carrier built by the US Navy.  It was sunk in the battle of the Coral Sea.  Another carrier was already being built (the Cabot) CV-16 and was renamed the USS Lexington while under construction and served during WWII, then off and on until it was finally decommissioned in 1991, while I was in the Navy.  I remember seeing it the fleet, it was the training ship for naval aviators.  It's a museum now in Corpus Christi, Texas.

Second, the watch was intended for use with service members.  The Endicott and Sentinel were similarly marketed and those are personal favorites too.  I find that very interesting, since WWII didn't actually begin for the United States until the very end of 1941, after the watches came out.  So it gives you some insight into the political climate prior to WWII with war on the horizon.

The 1941 Lexington is also a milestone model for Hamilton.  It was the first model to utilize stainless steel.  Up until 1941, Hamilton never used stainless steel for any wrist watch model.  It also never used rolled gold plated cases.  So that's a great insight to know if you see a Hamilton wrist watch with a 987 movement in a case with a stainless steel back or a RGP bezel... it's not an authentic model.

The code price of 12 equated to $42.50.   That's the equivalent of about $940 in today's currency - so it was not an inexpensive watch.

The Lexington is very distinctive looking with a black dial (uncommon prior to 1941) and slender white baton hands.  It's not luminous but the black dial with white letters is very easy to read.  The stainless steel case is solidly built and although the watch is very small by modern standards, it feels substantial in the hand.

My project watch looks like it's never been altered in the past 85 years.  The glass crystal has plenty of bumps and bruises.  Stainless steel can take a beating and this case shows some wear but a thorough cleaning will do it some good.  The baton hands look exactly as they should.  This is a model where the hands are really important.  Any other style of hands would look out of place, in my opinion.  The scale of the hands seems to match the font size of the numerals and width of the hour 5 minute indices, don't you think?

The back of the case is nicely engraved with the initials (I presume) of the original owner.

The black dial seems to have a dusty-looking patina.  I'm going to let sleeping dogs lie though.  Black dials are very hard to clean as they seem to turn grey if attempt even a gentle cleaning.  That said, they will often look better if you get them wet, so sometimes I will spritz them with a light spray of clear lacquer and make a faded dial look much better.  This one is perfect, I wouldn't change (or risk) a thing.

Tucked behind the dial is a 14/0 sized, 17 jewel 980 movement - exactly what you'd expect to see.  

Check out the crown... it has a prominent long post.  This crown design accommodates the shape of the case opening (or stem tube).  One of the most common questions I receive is "what crown do I need" and that's a surprisingly complicated question to answer.  

How would you describe this crown?  There's the material of construction, the diameter of the head, the length of the post, the diameter of the post, the thread for the stem, etc. etc. etc.   It's really one of those "you know it when you see it" things.  Sometimes the Hamilton parts manual specifies the crown for specific models, but often times it doesn't and in those situations you really have to give it your best guess.

Once the dial is lifted out of the way, I can see that the arm on the set bridge / yoke has broken off.  This little arm is the detent that keeps the stem in either the winding or the setting position.  I'll need to replace this part to keep the watch from accidentally going in to the setting position while it's being worn.

The watch was not working when I received it and here's one of the reasons... the mainspring is broken.  It's also fairly "set" and would have needed to be replaced anyway.

Everything is cleaned and dried.  This can be a challenging movement for beginners to reassemble thanks to the train bridge design but after 1,000 attempts you get the hang of it.  When I first started working on watches this design, the 982, and the 748 movement would almost drive me to tears.

The reassembled movement is ticking away with a nice motion.  Even the balance is blurred by the camera.

It's running a little fast but that should be easy to adjust.

Okay - that should do the trick.

My posts may make it look like every watch goes perfectly.  That's not always the situation though.  In full disclosure, this movement ran great... until you moved it crown down, then it locked up.  Obviously watches need to run in all positions but they may run differently in certain positions.  Wrist watches were typically adjusted to three positions... dial up, dial down, and pendant (crown) up.  If you look at railroad watches, they're adjusted to the other positions that you might find a watch in your pocket... pendant to the left, pendant right, etc.

So what would make a watch stop in a certain position? Great question... really it could be anything.  Every wheel (and the pallet fork) rides on two pivots.  Dial up or dial down they're riding on only one, depending on the orientation.  However, rotate the movement on it's side and both pivots are in use and if any of them have an issue, it could stop the watch.

My experience has been it's either the pallet fork or the balance.  Usually it's the balance.  It could be the pivots or it could be something else that gravity effects only in a certain direction.

Anyway, I ended up taking the movement apart and checking everything very closely, ultimately resolving the issue after replacing the balance assembly.  Now it runs great in all positions.

I replaced the beat up crystal with a fresh glass crystal and now the watch looks as good as it runs.  This is a great watch and easy to see why it's a personal favorite.

1955 Automatic K-403

The first automatics in Hamilton's lineup were originally branded as Illinois watches.  Interestingly, they used ETA movements.  

Within a year or two Hamilton-branded automatics were introduced.  The earliest models used Eterna movements but those were rapidly replaced by Kirth Freres (Certina).  The model line was aptly named the Automatic K-series.  Although the K-series continued to be made in the 1960s, by the end of the 1950s two additional automatic model lines were introduced... the Accumatic series and the Thin-o-matic series.

The K-series is probably my favorite of the three.  That's mainly because they are big and chunky and each one is a little different.

A good example is the 1955 Automatic K-403.  It was produced for three years. 

As you can see the catalog depiction, the K-403 was available on a bracelet or a strap.  It features a 10K yellow gold filled case.  The dial is embossed with numerals and markers with a pearled track.  It's "waterproof" but I wouldn't put that to the test.

My project watch is in very good condition.  The dial is a little toned from the luminous paint on the hands but nothing too distracting.  The bracelet is nice but it's not original, so I could take it or leave it.  Personally, I'm a strap man.

The case back is engraved with a somewhat cryptic presentation from 1956.

The inside of the case back makes identifying the model easy - it's stamped right inside the case back.  The movement is in excellent condition.  

Everything is cleaned and readied for reassembly.  There are a lot of parts to an automatic but this movement is very straightforward to put back together.

The basic movement, sans the automatic bits, is back together and running nicely.  Let's see what the timer has to say about it.

It's running a little fast but it won't take much of an adjustment to slow it down a smidgeon.

There... a tweak here, a tweak there, a tweak here again, eventually I get it in the ballpark.  I'll leave it a little fast for now.

The finished watch looks fantastic, partly due to having a fresh crystal.  This is a sharp watch with an interesting design.  I like the shape of the lugs and the accents around the perimeter.

1966 Thin-o-matic T213

 I love a good mystery, and when it comes to Hamilton watches, there are occasionally mystery watches that eventually get identified.

A good example, is the 1964 Fairlane.  It was a mysterious watch that was eventually identified because an example was found with it's original box. 

Another example is the 1928 Oval.  It wasn't cataloged but was shown in advertisements.

Some hard to identify models are actually awards division watches.  They weren't shown in the retail catalogs but they're easier to spot because they often will say "masterpiece" on the dial or have they typical engraving pattern on the back denoting who it was presented to.

I recently had the opportunity to identify another mysterious model.  I consulted with my friend Andrew Krug, author of the Hamilton Field Guide (hamiltonfieldguide.com).  The 1966 price list shows a model that is not presented in the 1966 catalog.  Based on all that is known and by process of elimination, we agreed that the watch in question is a 1966 Thin-o-matic T-213.

How did we arrive at the conclusion?  The type of movement would imply it's a Thin-o-matic.  The case is solid 14K so that means it's a T-2-something.  The case back is not stainless steel so it's not a T-25-something, plus there are no T-25 somethings.  All of the T-2-somethings are identifiable.  Now, it's possible that it could be a T-212 but there is no mention anywhere of a T-212... the price lists go from T-211 (and T-211B) to the T-213.   So we landed on this watch being a T-213.

As received, the watch is in typical "as found in a dresser drawer" condition.  The lugs have a slight groove from being paired with a metal bracelet.  The dial on this watch is very interesting.  It has a raised wall around the perimeter that integrates with the hour markers for 1, 5, 7 and 11.  The luminous markers are 12, 3, 6 and 9 are the same style but the markers are 12 are flipped to form a shape resembling a heart.  I think it's really a great dial design!

The solid 14K gold back has notches to accept a case wrench and unscrews.

Tucked inside a pink micro-rotor movement, specifically the 666 caliber.  I think this caliber is aptly numbered, as it can be devil to reassemble if you're not familiar with it.  The movement is secured in the case with two screws and retainer clips.

The case back is properly marked and clearly an authentic Hamilton model.  This watch has been serviced several times over the last 60 years.

Here's a better shot of the dial.  I believe it's both embossed and has applied gold numerals / figures.

Everything is cleaned and ready to be reassembled.  It always feels like there are twice as many parts to a microrotor movement than an other typical Hamilton caliber.  There's a specific order of assembly to follow but it will all go back together smoothly.

The reassembled movement comes back to life once the balance is reinstalled and the balance jewels are closed within the incablock springs.  It's off to the timer to listen to the ticking.

Not too shabby at all.  I'll leave it here for now.

A new crystal completes the restoration of this fine watch.  I love solid gold Hamiltons.  My advice to new collectors is to focus on solid gold (or platinum) models.  All of the models are exquisite and although the size of the collection will be smaller, the cost to maintain the collection will also be smaller.  Of course, there are some really great models that aren't cased in solid gold, so there are exceptions to the rule.  But you really can't go wrong when it comes to a solid gold Hamilton.