u/coils_and_contacts

Hey folks,

I’m a Hamilton guy so I rarely post to sections like this but looking over parts lots for improperly listed movements I managed to find this guy. This is my only photo till it arrives anyone know what it is?

Total cost was 112 USD. I’m going to try to get it fully functional but it likely will go to one of my omega specialist colleagues (barring some absurd value)

Thanks guys, from an American wristwatch guy to Swiss wristwatch guys 👍

-J

Hamilton Electric Model 2 prototype

Couldn’t believe one of these came up for sale, so when I saw it I knew I had to own it and now I’m flabbergasted I do.

1 of 23 it is marked twice for serial numbers, the balance cock is marked 10 and the pillar double marked 14 and 10.

As the first incarnation of the Hamilton 500, even if incomplete, this one will have a safe home in my showcase for many years to come!

-J

Hey guys,

Spring weather has started crushing us in the north west so I finally had a free morning to case that 502 cal. into this gold dial Converta-II. It is still using an improper 505 type stamped brass balance wheel.

Hopefully the animated GIF actually uploads too, the balance has great motion!

Of course if anyone else has a converta I-II-III or IV don’t hesitate to post them,

In the last Saturn-Spectra thread so many extremely fine watches were posted that it has me curious to know what other cool electric examples may belong to the community!

Thanks for looking guys, and again, I’d love to see your personal converta models and hear any anecdotes you all may have about them

-J

Hey guys,
Super cool one came in today!

you don’t see many of these around anymore, and this one isn’t perfect yet but it’s getting there. The 502 was the original designation of the 505 before the marketing department deemed “505” catchier to the consumer ear. In hindsight I suppose they were right, I can’t imagine a world where this caliber is called anything else. Needless to say the 502 was never officially released or marketed. 18k export models are the only consistent source for the caliber as far as I can tell.

In the factory these were made and tested with 500 type balances (the type with removable timing screws opposed to the familiar 505 stamped brass type) fitted to the upgraded 505 staff and contact (on the roller table) assembly that we’re I’m sure all begrudgingly familiar with.

I don’t have that proper balance here as they are extremely seldomly seen, the balance cock is also that of your typical 505 on my example. All 502s I’ve seen so far have used the 500a style cock with the micro regulation screw and kif anti shock. A variant which I unfortunately just ran out of repairing a spectra 😭

Some may be asking “what visually separates the 502 from the 505 then?” The first place to look for differences is the battery well, even if you are left with only photos of a pillar plate the fact that there is no cut-out in the battery well is the easiest tell.

All 505 pillar plates will have a cut into the pillar plate just above the end of the cell lead, so if you come across one missing said cut-out but still has the 505 style cell leads and bridge train then you may be looking at something special!

I picked this up from an eBay auction for under $100 USD so keep your eyes peeled! These awesome historical electrics do still crawl out of the woodwork sometimes.

The crown gave me a good laugh as well, makes one wonder how it got there

Along with that another pleasant surprise I had fixing this guy up was when I installed an original brass 201 button cell for pictures and it actually began to faintly tick!

Honestly I’m flabbergasted the old mercury cell could hold its charge that long it really blew me away. The entire rebuild was one surprise after another!

Thanks for looking guys, this one’s been fun and it’s now running like a dream.

I’m hoping others can find more like it!
As always, thanks for reading

-J

Final side note,
If anyone has any leads on a 502 balance I’d love to hear them 😉. I’ve spoken to a few retired gurus about buying one but balances like this really are getting hard to find so I’d absolutely feel guilty taking one of theirs 😬

It’s a long shot but feel free to shoot me a DM

Lots of cool electrics have been popping up lately, here’s one going to a longtime pal in NJ.

Perhaps one of the most beautiful embossed dials ever made. On the wrist the Saturn’s dial looks like a thousand thin needle-like crystals radiating from a single nucleation point.

Inside is a serviced 505 with NOS D-pin, The white gold case pairs well with this absolutely Stellar (🥁-tiss) NOS white gold filled + lizard band from Kreisler.

Feel free to post any Saturn or Spectra models you may have in your personal collections as well! It’s amazed me so far to see how many beautiful pieces are owned by members of this community.

Hope you guys like these asymmetric-electrics! I have a bunch more where this came from.
As always, thanks for looking!

-J

(P.s. Please forgive that spec of dust on the crystal and my grubby fingerprints. This was an assembly just to see how well the band pairs before last quality check😭)

Hey guys,

I got my start collecting Hamilton watches in middle school almost two decades ago with my first pacer. From then on I was hooked, anything cool or unusual that came up I had to go for using what little cash I could muster from selling chewing gum or whatever other tasty snacks I could market to other students. The fact that at one point Old Wisconsin miniature beef bites were my hottest product still makes me laugh whenever I think of my humble beginnings in horology.

Never did I think I’d find a legendary 505c electric watch and to this day I still haven’t but this week I’ve come one step closer. I’m not sure if this dial ever was attached to a functional movement but I’m just happy it made its way into my collection. So to celebrate here are some neat calendar electric parts I’ve picked up throughout the years.

A dial, a few plates, and a few movement blanks presumably used for case prototyping. A number is lightly engraved into the obverse on the 507 example, that engraving is 507-1. I’d also love to know if anyone has any speculation about the purpose of these two movement blanks, even if your guesses are just shots in the dark. I have about 5 of them in the C variety but the 507 blank is my last one. I made sure to send one of each off to Jarett as well just in case he ever figures out what they actually are.

Hopefully you guys enjoy viewing these photos as much as I have enjoyed accumulating these parts throughout the years.

Enjoy!
-J

P.s. much like the published New Jersey state police dial from last time unfortunately this 505c dial is lacking its feet 😔

Would it be sacrilege to use dial dots and a Lip R184 to make a facsimile 505c 🤔 only time will tell.

Hey guys,

A few months back a collector buddy of nearly 10 years had a birthday and I was completely out of anything to send his way to commemorate our business relationship.

Wound up scrolling eBay looking for cool electrics that might fit and I wound up coming across this state police dial from his home state for under $200. It didn’t have any dial feet on the reverse but appeared to be in pretty good cosmetic shape. I was ecstatic, It seemed I had found the perfect token of our friendship!

Then when I got home I had to crack open René’s book to look over the published example and the engraved number appears to match the published NJ state police dial on page 199!

It seems to me highly unlikely that someone would counterfeit this dial, but just to be safe I would love to pose the question to the community.

My photos of the dial were somewhat poor, making the engraved number difficult to read so photo #2 is heavily edited to make the number more clear.

Any opinions or examinations would be greatly appreciated, even if it’s just a hunch.

As always, thanks for having a look and I hope the market bears great deals for us all this season.

-J

I’ll likely never find the rest of the case for this guy, but it’s a beautiful piece nonetheless.

Found this on eBay Bin/Obo at $150 in late December, perhaps a true Christmas miracle! If only I had Dr. H’s luck I might’ve found two in 30 days I’ll always be envious of that feat lol.

Dial to my eye looks original and is hallmarked on the reverse, hand chased case ring is in 18k white gold, both were manufactured by the solidarity watch case company of Brooklyn N.Y. The condition is so poor that it’s hard to make out the reverse hallmark It appears double stamped as well.

The dial and case ring are now fitted with a 979-F cal replacing the 987 that it arrived with. No matter what I did I just couldn’t get this 987 to run within Δt+\-60 but for archival purposes that movement’s serial number was #2257618 dating it to 1927 coinciding with the first production run of white gold rectangulars. (Assuming that this movement hasn’t been replaced over the last 99 years) both movements data are included below.

Even finding photos of this model can be a bit vexing. Hopefully you guys get as much enjoyment out of these pictures as I do 😊

Glad to be part of such a knowledgeable board and I’m looking forward to seeing what all we can accomplish as a community!

-J

P.s. anyone remember when this model was only known as the “Gular”? 😂