The Milton utilized the 14/0 sized, 19 jewel 982 movement and came in a 14K gold filled case. The dial has solid 18K gold numerals and dots on a silver dial.
A while ago I purchased a black dialed Hamilton Brandon on a complete impulse buy... one of those "closes in 30 seconds" auctions where I pulled the trigger without much time for investigation. When I received it I realized that the dial was not a Brandon dial after all. The Brandon has all numerals and I should have known better (the seller should have too). Here's what I thought I was getting...
But this is what I got...
I should have known immediately that it was a Franken, as the minute track doesn't really fit the bezel opening very well. But Black dialed Brandon's are uncommon so I thought maybe I got lucky. A little exploration of dial patterns revealed it was a Milton dial. Fortunately I didn't pay very much for it and I could use it for a spare movement anyway.
The crystal was pretty beat up but the dial underneath was actually quite nice... albeit refinished. So I decided to find a Milton case in need of some TLC.
Being made for five years, finding a Milton didn't take too long. As you can see in the photo below, the watch I found definitely would benefit from some restoration.
Of course, once I received it I was a little disappointed to see the case was really worn, mainly on the corners, front and back.
If you look in my December posts you'll see I explored fixing some gold filled cases by sending them to a talented goldsmith with a laser welder. The Whitman I restored was a total wreck but turned out surprisingly well. I also sent this Milton case. If I didn't tell you it was restored I bet you wouldn't even suspect!
Check out these photos of the same watch, with the black Milton dial installed along with a fresh glass crystal.
Looks great on the wrist too!
Thanks for all of the great conrent! Have you ever thought of making video blogs of all of this work?
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