An older Hamilton

[admin]

Picked this up, gosh, I’d say 7 years ago, at a thrift shop for $5.

I have not been able to find anything about it, and I am hoping maybe one of you all know.

The bullseye pattern and lack of name is what’s confusing me.
Keeps amazing time for a mechanical, though.

Any clue?
–
Logan

[admin]

Picked this up, gosh, I’d say 7 years ago, at a thrift shop for $5.

I have not been able to find anything about it, and I am hoping maybe one of you all know.

The bullseye pattern and lack of name is what’s confusing me.
Keeps amazing time for a mechanical, though.
[​IMG]

Any clue?
–
Logan

[admin]

Have you checked out vintage hamilton watches dot com? It has alot of info and nuances on the brand. Sweet find by the way. According to the website, you should be cleaning and servicing the watch every 3 to 6 months…I have seen the price on newer Hamiltons and I would guess you got yourself a treasure (that works well too).

[admin]

Judging by the crosshair pattern, lack of date function and the version of the Hamilton logo (which came about late 50s but wasn’t really standard until 63ish) I’d say late 60s to early 70s.

Off the top of my head, I’d say Sea-Mate II, but I don’t think those ever had anything except arabics at 12-3-6-9.

If you’d like to poke around a bit you can find a lot of old catalogs in the reference section of vintagewatchforums. Look at the lug/case shape and the dial markings (and of course, you need a black dial which there will be a lot less of back then) but don’t put too much stock in the hands — these would often get assembled with whatever was available rather than wait on production of what was “right”. There is a lot of information until the mid-70s at which point things peter out and then we’ve got almost nothing about the 80s, 90s and into the mid 2000s. Long story.

This is, of course, assuming it is all original and that it wasn’t recased or redialed at whatever point as sometimes happens with older pieces.

Except for a few specific models old Hamiltons like this are almost invariably worth more on the wrist than at the market. If you figure out what it is you can check watchrecon and eBay for it or similar pieces, but don’t expect much. Hamiltons are really an area of expertise for me and if it were one of the sought after pieces (military, a ventura, etc) I’d recognize it instantly. After that the vintage market is rough even when you’ve got something gold cased (Though you will see the occasional delusional seller). That said, and though it is impossible to give a proper valuation to a watch from just pictures, if you do think you want to pass it along PM me and I’ll do my best to help make sure you get something fair.

The best information you’ll hear from anyone about it is this: enjoy it and wear it in good health.

[admin]

Can we see the caseback?

Sent from a device.

[admin]

That would help, indeed, imho

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