1930 Coronado

Some of the most popular Hamilton models are also some of the oldest.  Hamilton's first wrist watches for men came out in late 1918 but you only had one choice for a few years.  By 1927 several models were available but there were only six to choose from, unless you add the various case materials and dials as options.

After that, every year brought more and more options.  In 1930 the Coronado joined the lineup.  It bears a strong family resemblance to the Piping Rock, which came out a couple of years earlier.  Both models feature a three-piece solid gold case with flexible lugs.  However, the Coronado has a barrel shaped bezel.  Both models feature very plain dials with the hour numbers integrated into the enamel of the bezel.

Between the Piping Rock and the Coronado, it's hard to say which one I prefer more.  Probably the Coronado, as there aren't that many of them out there. 2,343 14K white gold Coronados were made compared to 1,524 14K yellow models.  Hamilton records indicate that three 14K green gold examples were made... thus making the green gold Coronado one of the rarest models out there.

The Coronado featured the top of the line movement that was produced at the time... the 19 jewel 979 movement, later versions would get the 979F when it came out.  So you will find Coronado's with either movement - they are identical other than the jewel settings in the 979F are held in place by friction instead of screws.

The one liability that the Coronado and Piping Rock share are the flexible lugs.  They're not overly fragile but after 90 years they can become a bit floppy.  A talented gold smith can repair them so.  Check out this post to see an example.

My project watch arrived in average condition. The lugs are very flexible but not broken.  The bezel shows a bit of wear - this is probably the one thing to look at when you're in the market for a Coronado - assuming you even find one.

The one feature of this watch that I don't care for is the crown.  It's an obvious replacement and looks as out of place as a rubber nose and fake mustache.  I should be able to find a better alternative.

As you can see, the lugs flex more than they did originally.  A tight case will have the lugs point downward, to curve with the wrist.

The serial number of the movement dates to 1929.  That's not an issue as the model year for watches is like cars and starts in the second half of the prior year.  So the 1930 models came out at the end of 1929.  This is a first year Coronado.

Without a case, you can really tell how simple the dial is. It's engraved so it can be refinished perfectly time and time again, as long as the engraving isn't worn off.

The mainspring is set so I'll replace it with a fresh white alloy spring.

The numbers scratched into the back of the dial are evidence that this dial has been refinished at least once previously.

The movement is disassembled and thoroughly cleaned.  One interesting feature of the 979 movement is the center wheel is solid gold... did I mention it was the top of the line movement?

The reassembled movement is ticking away with a good motion.

Its running a little fast but I should be able to slow it down.

There we go... the mainspring has given this watch a lot of energy, almost too much as the amplitude is very high.  It should be okay though.

A new crown is a huge improvement to this watch.  It now looks and runs great.  I'm sure it would be the pride of any collection.

1934 Livingstone

"Dr Livingstone, I presume?"

The subject of that well known greeting was the namesake for my latest project watch.  David Livingstone was a well know British explorer from Victorian times.

In 1932 Hamilton introduced the "explorer" series.  These new models all featured the 12/0 sized 401 movement that was based on an Illinois caliber that came as the result of the acquisition of the Illinois Watch Company in 1928.

Four models were introduced in 1932... all named for famous explorers... Byrd, Ericsson, Andrews, and Wilkinson.

In 1933 the Stanley joined the series, named after Henry Morton Stanley.

Henry Morton Stanley is the explorer that found Livingstone on the shores of Lake Tanganyika on November 10, 1871 and he's the one who said, "Dr Livingstone, I presume".  In 1934, the Livingstone joined the series for the third and final year.  After 1934 the 401 movement was retired.

The Explorer series are fairly scarce.  They were offered in solid gold and gold filled cases.  The 401 movement is very scarce and your ability to maintain one is probably limited to scavenging from an Illinois caliber unless you happen upon a 401 from someone scrapping a $700 watch for $100 in gold.  So, if you're going to purchase a Hamilton Explorer model, you may want to make sure it's working.

My project watch shows some wear to the gold filled case but it's not too bad thanks to having a fairly thick crystal installed.  It protected the case from wear from shirt sleeves over the last 90 years.  It's not working, hopefully it doesn't have a major issue, as I do not have a donor movement to help save the day.

The back of the case looks great.  If I didn't know better I would have suspected it to be solid gold.

The dial is a little dirty in the corners but has a very nice milk chocolate patina.  I'll try to remove the gunk but leave the dial looking 90 years old.

The 401 is a 12/0 sized movement, just like the 770 movement that would be introduced in 1955.  However the 401 is almost 1.5x the size.  That's because the 12/0 size is based on the width and the 401 is much longer than a 770.  The movement is wound but not running.  The balance looks to be okay but lots of things can prevent a watch from running.

Looking at the dial side of the. main plate, its a fairly simple setup.  I'm not able to set the time for some reason - hopefully a good cleaning will clear that up.

Notice there are five wheels in the gear train.  One of them, for the seconds hand, is just an arbor and the fourth wheel drives both the escape wheel and the seconds hand.

Everything is cleaned and ready to be reassembled.

The train wheels are all in place.  Now the trick will be to get the train bridge in place.  Getting five pivots to all line up at the same time can be very challenging but that's what you need to do to get the train bridge in place.

Five minutes later and the bridge is in place.

Next in place is the mainspring and the barrel bridge.

The balance came separated from the balance cock in the ultrasonic.  The hair spring stud screw came out.  Can you see it in the photo?  It took me quite a while to find it.

For whatever reason, it took me over 30 minutes to get the balance installed and the watch running.  Hairsprings from this era are unforgiving... one false move and you're toast.   But the movement is now ticking away with a good motion.  Time to see how it's really doing.

When I first saw the timegrapher I was thrilled.  However, the beat error is really high.  The amplitude is great though.  To adjust the beat error I will need to remove the balance again and to be honest, without a spare balance, I'm not willing to try.  I'll take a ticking watch that keeps time over a non-running watch that is only correct twice a day.  A high beat error means the watch will stop a little earlier than a watch with a low beat error, and it might need a little flick of the wrist to get started but I'll take it.

The finished watch will benefit from a new crystal but a nice genuine croc strap goes a long way toward making it look great.  This is a great watch... too bad I need to send it back to it's owner.

1937 Sidney

The most prominent decorative art style in the 1920s and the 1930s was Art Deco.  It features delineated geometric shapes and bold colors.  You'll find Art Deco influences in all sorts of objects from household appliances to sky scraper buildings.  It's sometimes applied incorrectly to the bold linear designs from the 1950s and 60s that would be better described as Mid Century Modern.  However, you'll often find Art Deco influences in the watch designs from the 1930s.  A great example is the 1937 Sidney.  It was produced through 1940.

 

The Sidney was part of a new generation of models that introduced the "new" 6/0 sized 987A movement.  The 987A replaced the 987E and although it shares a lot of the same parts, it was a significantly improved design.  The 987A would eventually power hundreds of thousands of WWII military watches.

My Sidney project watch is an interesting example.  At first blush, the dial appears to be the black enamel numeral design - it's definitely the correct pattern.

However, the printing is actually gold in color, depending on how the light hits is.  So this is obviously a refinished dial, but it's very interesting.

This was a Christmas present from 1938 for "Ethel" from Bus Tate.  That's a rather odd name, don't you think?  Is it a first and last name or is it nickname?  I wonder what the story was between Ethel and Bus Tate.

This is an early 987A movement... the 38,077th one to be made to be exact.  However, notice the extra holes in the barrel bridge and the train bridge to accommodate case screws.  There were no three piece cases during this timeframe but this movement was designed for use in one - perhaps as a replacement should a 987, 987F or 987E fail.

The movement winds and winds and winds without ever getting tought - so that's a clear sign that the mainspring is broken or not attached to the arbor.  Opening up the barrel solves the mystery, this blue steel mainspring is clearly broken.

The crystal on the watch is clearly beat up so while all the movement parts are in the cleaner I will prep a new glass crystal for installation.

Everything is ready to be reassembled.

The movement is ticking away with a vigorous motion.  Let's see what the timer has to say.

It's running a tad fast and has a high amplitude.. maybe the mainspring I installed is too strong.  I'll try another.

Yikes... it's still running way too fast and beyond the adjustment of the regulator.

One of the things that can make a balance run really fast is if one of the balance weights comes off... that can happen in the ultrasonic as the weights are just screwed into the balance wheel.  They're installed in pairs opposite each other across the balance arm.  A missing weight will dramatically speed up the motion but in this case I don't see any gaps.

A balance is "poised" so that it's equally weighted all the way around and doesn't have a "heavy side".  In order to slow a balance you can add weights to wheel.  If you need to speed a balance up you can remove weight.  However, you need to make sure you change the weight the same on each side of the balance.

In this situation I will add a timing washer to two opposing screws on the balance.  I'll use the screws that are closest to the balance arm.  These timing washers are tiny - so tiny that you probably wouldn't even see them if I took a photo.  They are crazy small but just heavy enough to slow the balance 1, 2 or 3 minutes per day, depending on which one you choose.

Well, now it's running a smidgeon slow but I can adjust it from here with the regulator.

A touch here, and shove there, and finally I get the beat rate to be an acceptable 11 seconds per day fast.  The amplitude and beat error are excellent too.

My finished project watch is looking great with a new crystal and it's running as nice as it looks.  This was a challenging project, I'm glad I was able to fix it.  I think Ethel would be very pleased.

1930 Raleigh (Plain)

In 1930 several new models were introduced to the Hamilton men's lineup.  Hamilton had just completed the acquisition of the Illinois Watch Company and the future looked bright... that is to say, until the Great Depression came along.

However, the show must go on and one of the new models to be introduced was the Raleigh.  Like several of the earlier models, you could get it with an engraved bezel or with a plain bezel.  You also had several choices of gold fill - yellow, white, or green.  The Raleigh was made through 1932.

The shape is reminiscent of the Coronado but the Raleigh's lugs are not hinged.  It's also very similar to the Langley - which was cased in solid gold - so sometime's the Raleigh is referred to as "the poor man's Langley".  $57 doesn't sound like a lot of money but in today's dollars that would be almost $1,100 - so I don't think a poor man would have sprung for a Raleigh... gold filled or not.

My project watch arrived in typical 90+ year old condition.  The crown was unattached, the crystal is beat up, and the bezel shows the tell-tale wear through to the corners from decades of shirt sleeve wear.

The movement is in good shape and the balance appears to be intact - which is great, because watches for this era were often rode hard and put away wet.  They can be very troublesome and finicky.

The mainspring has the remnants of grease inside but it's an old blue steel design - I have no doubt that it has set into a tight coil and lost the majority of it's strength.

Yup - called it.  Notice the spring is not much larger than the barrel it came in.  This watch would probably run for a few hours before running out of steam and petering out.  I suppose you could keep winding it several times a day but a new mainspring will power the movement for 35+ hours.

While all the parts are in the ultrasonic I will prep a new crystal and white alloy mainspring for installation.

Everything is spic and span now and ready to be reassembled... wish me luck!

It doesn't look like it but the reassembled movement is ticking away with a good motion.  The regulator came pre-set to "slow" so I'm curious to see how it's running.

Well, it's running nicely from an amplitude and beat error standpoint but it's also running a little slow.  There's plenty of regulator room to work with and it won't take much to speed it up.

One quick adjustment to the regulator arm and the movement is now running just a smidgeon fast.  I'll leave it here though as I find that movements tend to settle down a little after they are overhauled.

A new crown and a new glass crystal make this 94 year old watch look fresh as a daisy.  There's not much to do about the case wear.  You could try to replate it but that wouldn't last too long so why bother.  When you get to be 94 you'll probably have some worn parts too.