1966 Dateline T-482

A lot of 1960s watches had very unique styling.  There are some plain Janes, of course but in may situations you can spot a 1960's model just by it's appearance.  They will often have florentine engraving, unique lugs, unusual hands, and especially calendar complications.

A good example is the 1966 Dateline T-482.  It has curved lugs, an engraved bezel, and a simple dial with a mismatched hands.

The name for the model is very descriptive... most calendar models are in the dateline family.  The T means it's also a part of the Thinomatic family.  The 4 in 482 means it has a gold filled case.  The 82 might mean something but it's not likely the 82nd model.

My project watch reveals the unique features of the model way better than the catalog.  It's a very interesting look, in my opinion.  I like the fat hour hand and skinny minute hand.  Even the window around the date is unusual - it's thicker on the right side than left.  You can see the bezel has a textured pattern to it but the lugs are polished to a shine.

The back of the case is unremarkable, other than a bit of wear.  Being a Thinomatic, it has a very thin case with a flat surface.  You can tell from the view of the rear that the lugs would benefit from using curved spring bars.

The most obvious distraction for the watch is the crown is shot.  It's very worn and the seal has separated from gold, leaving a silver ring floating on the stem tube.

Looking at the inside of the case back, can you guess what kind of movement is inside?  Yup, definitely a micro rotor.  Notice the two numbers in the case... the K12026 is a unique serial number.  The 997166 is the model number and the 66 indicates the year the model was introduced.

Under the hood is a 17 jewel 621 movement made by Buren, which Hamilton owned by this time.  In fact, Hamilton moved to Buren's factory location after shutting down Lancaster production in 1969.

The large silver oscillating weight tends to slide on the axle and eventually rubs on the back of the case - leaving the tell tale ring.

The calendar complication is fairly simple on this model.  The wheel by the 15 rotates several times over 24 hours and on the last one it flips the date wheel.  There's an indexing lever at the 30 that makes sure the date is centered in the dial window.

Under the cover is a spring that pushes the index lever against the calendar wheel.  I need to make sure this spring doesn't disappear on me.

This view shows you the orientation of the parts that make the calendar complication do it's thing.

While parts are being cleaned, I'll turn my attention to the crown.  I happen to have a new Hamilton crown that is a perfect match for the old one.

This model is unique in that the two piece stem has the female portion in the crown hub.  Not all crowns are identical.  I might get lucky and be able to reuse the stem with the new crown.  Otherwise I will need to trim a new stem for a proper fit.

Let's see... looks like a gazillion parts, must have everything.  Now to put it all back together again.

The movement is now mostly reassembled, enough anyway to be able to run.  I can now check it on the timer.

Not too shabby... the amplitude is a little low but I didn't wind the watch very much since there's no crown. That will come up significantly once I wind it more fully.

The finished watch looks great.  The dial has some moisture damage around the circumference but nothing too obvious.  Overall this is a really great looking watch!