r/Vintage_Hamilton

Just wanted to share

Found this at a local shop. It will need some service as the hairspring (I think, still learning) won’t continue to rotate when held vertically.

I’d like to get into watch making/repair. Not sure if this is the piece to do that with, but I’ve been eyeing pocket watches along with wrist watches.

Looking for informed thoughts and opinions on if it’s a good piece to learn on (parts available etc) or should I get a professional?

My father recently showed me this old Hamilton watch from my grandfather. I thought restoring it would cost a fortune and take forever. I googled around and found a guy named Tan Lai at vintagehamilton.com and sent it to him (I have no affiliation with them). Had it back in a week! Yes some told me to leave more patina on the watch - I wanted it 'like new'...I figure that it's got plenty of time now to get new patina. Anyway just wanted to share this 80 year old watch that I now have as an heirloom.

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”? 😂

Pretty hard one I reckon! Tried to capture all scenes featuring the watch, but slightly blurry as I can't screenshot off of Prime Video so photographed screen. Willem Dafoe's character John LeTour wears this tank watch in Light Sleeper. Does anyone have any idea what it may be? I did try searching but couldn't find any info. Thanks in advance for any ideas.

Edit: A better quality video image where you can see the watch which maybe useful, still can't see the dial though. Another one here for a brief moment.

Trying to find what is the watcj called and its period. Seems like a 1930s one. It has 987f movement. 10k GF

So I recently picked up this piece from a Whatnot auction the seller didn’t think that it was working said it was over wound and I got a much better deal on it than I should have.

Once I got it I realized that it was not over wound at all and is actually in running condition. It looks like the second hand on the sub dial got broken tho and is shorter than it should be. I am terrified of ruining it or breaking it by pulling the back off to see what the movement looks like because it is in working condition. The crystal itself looks to be in great shape without any noticeable scratches or anything.

I’ve run some google image searches and come across a few that are similar but none that seem to match it spot on. Hoping that the community can help me identify what exactly I have here so I can decide what to do with it.

I have been looking for a Hamilton USN Buships “Canteen”. Do yall know where I can get my hands on this watch?

Was just handed this Hamilton by a coworker to restore. Haven’t had time to research yet but appears to be late 50’s to early 60’s. Balance is good, case is pretty grimy