Vintage Hamilton Watch Restoration: 1950 Spencer

Hamilton made watches in all sorts of materials but rarely in "cheap" materials, that is, at least, up until the late 1950s when the watch industry faced significant competition from lower cost global competitors. For many decades Hamilton used metals that ranged from platinum on the high end, to 10K gold filled on the low end, eventually introducing stainless steel for the most durable models.

Gold filled has a couple of different levels but generally it's 1/20 gold filled - meaning 1/20th of the case thickness is layered in gold - that's 5% and a significant difference over gold plated cases where the gold layer is measured in microns.

Fitting almost squarely in the middle is 10K solid gold - above which you'd have 14K, 18K and platinum and below would be 14K gold filled, 10K gold filled, eventually Rolled Gold Plate (or RGP), and stainless steel.

Solid 10K gold is the most durable of the solid gold options but it wasn't used all that often. One of the models to feature it was the 1950 Spencer.

The Spencer was produced for five years (through 1954) and featured a sterling solver dial with 18K solid gold numerals. Tucked inside the case was Hamilton 17 jewel 8/0 sized 747 movement.

My project Spencer reminds me of Jack, from Jack and Jill - it appears to have lost it's crown and the number 7 has come off too. Fortunately it's caught under the hour hand so it will be easy to replace.

The case back looks fine but it probably has a bit of wear based on the soft details of Hamilton and 10K solid gold. It will probably look a lot better with some light buffing.

The dial looks to be an older refinish. It's not bad but I can tell from the finish that it's not an original dial. It's the correct pattern though and with the 7 put back in place it looks much better.

The hole in the side of the movement where the stem goes makes me wonder if the stem and crown came out together. That's pretty unusual. Perhaps there's an issue with the set lever that holds the stem in place.

The case back makes it easy to identify the model - it's clearly stamped right there in the center.

There are numbers scratched into the back of the dial - proof positive that it has been refinished. I'll put a small dollop of UV glue over the posts that hold the 7 in place - that will secure the posts once I place the dial in the sunshine for a few minutes.

With all the parts stripped from the back of the movement, I can see there's a portion of the stem still holding the winding pinion and clutch in place. That means the set lever is doing its thing. I can turn the set lever screw a few turns and slide the remainder of the stem out the hole.

Everything is cleaned and ready to be reassembled. I like the 747 movement. It's very well designed and almost reassembles itself.

The completed movement is ticking away with a good motion. So it's off to the timer to listen to how it's working. This photo shows the serial number of the movement - Y149205. That dates the watch to 1949. The model years for watches are similar to automobiles, the next year models came out in the Fall of the prior year. So this watch is likely a 1950 model from late 1949 - perhaps a Christmas present.

It's running a little fast and the beat error is well out of range. The amplitude of 209 degrees is on the low end. That will likely come up after I adjust the beat error. The 8/0 movements actually have several different strength mainsprings. This watch already had a white alloy spring but it might be the minimum strength option.

Reducing the beat error requires pulling the balance from the balance cock and rotating the hair spring collet in the correct direction the correct amount - so it's not a task for the faint of heart. One false move and the watch will only tell the correct time twice a day.. as it will no longer work.

Fortunately I chose wisely and went the correct direction the correct amount. The beat error of 2.3ms is well within my personal specs of 3.0ms and the benefit of reducing it further really doesn't justify the potential risk of goofing it up. I like the Swiss-made Hamilton calibers more when it comes to adjusting beat error - you can fine tune it to near-zero without risking the balance because the hairspring stud is moveable (most of the time).