However, in 1940 (and only 1940) the Brock was available in a solid coral gold version (also known as rose gold). It came with a two-tone enamel copper-colored dial with Roman numerals. The Coral Brock also features black baton-style hands.
The 1940 Coral Brock (and the yellow gold versions too) came with a 19 jewel, 14/0 sized 982 movement. In 1941 Hamilton introduced the 982M (as in Medallion) movement that would be used in solid gold watches. But in 1940 and years prior, all solid gold 14/0 sized watches got the 982 movement while gold filled models got the 17 jewel 980.
I recently had the opportunity to check out a Coral Brock and it's a very distinguished-looking watch. It's not very large, especially by today's standards so a woman could easily wear it as well.
They're not very common so it was great to have a chance to see one in person. If you ever happen to find one, I think the most challenging thing you might realize about them is it's just as hard to obtain a matching rose-gold buckle for the strap... try finding one of those!
I've also noticed finding matching coral buckles can be a pain, but I recently found a great way to "cheat."
ReplyDeleteI've been coming across quite a few obviously red bracelets lately (mostly affixed to project Gruens and Bulovas) that have brassed pretty badly in certain places, and I've been cleaning them up and having them replated (as it's more of a simply cosmetic issue with the bracelets, rather than the condition issue we find with cases). And since my platers have been doing so much in red on top of my bracelets, I thought I'd throw in a few buckles in the common (14, 16 mm) sizes while I was at it! Averaged with everything else in the batch, they ring up at about $20 apiece through the people I use in Los Angeles (likely cheaper elsewhere in the country), which is not exactly cheap for just a simple buckle, but it's worth it to have that perfect match to one's wonderful rose gold timepieces!
I have found them at JulesBorel.com in 16mm but 14mm is very hard to find for some reason. You should see if you can get a bunch plated (for a large price break) and then resell them. Plating is a good option though, as nothing beats a nice matching rose gold buckle on a fine strap.
Delete