Vintage Hamilton Watch Restoration

Every Hamilton collector probably has a decade that they tend to gravitate towards.  It may take some reflection to get to, but it's there somewhere.

For example, the 1960s offers literally hundreds of watches to choose from... automatics, electrics, date models, and funky designs worthy of "Mad Men" appearances.  

Then you have the 1950s, with spac...

Wow!  It's been 10 years since I posted on today's model.  I bet I have had this watch in my to-do stash for at least half that time.

It's a 1968 Dateline S-577.  It's one of six different Dateline models that are manual winding with a date complication.  The Dateline S-577 was made for only two years.  

I find it interesting that Hamilton "tested the waters" with Swiss-made calibers using the Illinois brand in the early 1950s.  Hamilton purchased the Illinois Watch Company in 1928 and the Great Depression necessitated closing the factory.  Most of the Illinois machinery found it's way to Lancaster and Hamilton made a few models using an Illinois designed movement.<...

Back in 2014 I did a post on the 1958 Deauville, well, actually a 1960 Deauville.  Now I can do a post on the earlier version.

Introduced in 1958, for the first two years the model featured a unique dial with numerals at 12, 3, 6 and 9.  The dial was embossed so the numerals and markers are stamped into the dial from behind.

 I think it's interesting to imagine day to day life in the Hamilton factory in 1969... especially if you worked at the company for a long time.

For example, in 1929 Hamilton produced 11 different wrist watch models, arguably more if you consider the variety of gold / gold filled types.  They also manufactured a myriad pocket watch movements and models as well...