I bet I've had over 1,500 Hamiltons cross my workbench over the last 15+ years.  I've seen a lot of things but I had never seen an obviously fake Hamilton... until now.  Of course, that may depend on what you define as fake. "Fake" watches, in my opinion, fall into three categories. The first are mules or "Frankens" - meaning they are a combination of parts that together do not constitute a legit model.  For example, there are myriad Hamilton "top hats" marketed on eBay with gaudy diamond dials in white gold or platinum cases where the only authentic Hamilton part is the movemen ..read more

 I'm often asked what I think about this model, or that model, by people who see things for sale.  There are a tremendous number of Hamilton models and surely something for everyone.   That said, if I were to do it all over again I'd be tempted to limit my collecting to only solid gold models.  I haven't counted them but I'd guess there are over 200 out of the roughly 1,100 men's model produced through 1969.  My logic is simple.  First, solid gold models where always the best that Hamilton produced.  Nacho Libre would agree. Second, it cost just as muc ..read more

 Tubular lugs must have been in fashion in the 1930s.  Several Hamilton models featured unique lug styles.  Some, like the Dodson and Sutton were made for a few years.  Others were short lived, like the 1939 Bowman.  It's a one-year-wonder. The late 1930's also featured a lot of models that were "curved to fit the wrist" and the Bowman is in that genre.  Priced at a mere $52.50, that doesn't sound like a lot of money but that would set you back $1,100 today.   Cased in gold filled and being rectangular shaped, you can expect to find the 17 jewel 980 m ..read more

A lot of 1960s watches had very unique styling.  There are some plain Janes, of course but in may situations you can spot a 1960's model just by it's appearance.  They will often have florentine engraving, unique lugs, unusual hands, and especially calendar complications. A good example is the 1966 Dateline T-482.  It has curved lugs, an engraved bezel, and a simple dial with a mismatched hands. The name for the model is very descriptive... most calendar models are in the dateline family.  The T means it's also a part of the Thinomatic family.  The 4 in 482 means it h ..read more

Hamilton purchased the Illinois Watch Company in 1928 - not the best of times to take business risks considering the soon to start Great Depression.  The Illinois Watch Company was a premier American watch brand, just like Hamilton, and it made perfect sense to bring two premier watch companies together.  Hamilton made a good go of it for several years but eventually they closed the Illinois factory and moved all they could to Lancaster, PA.  By the mid 1930s the Illinois brand was retired. Decades later, the watch industry continued to evolve.  WWII decimated Europe and th ..read more

Vintage Hamiltons can be like a box of chocolates... you know the saying?  I recently had the opportunity to work on a one-year-wonder - a 1952 Franklin.  It's an interesting model with a strong family resemblance to other models. For example, compare the design to the Barton or the Wesley - both high end models also offered in 1952 (and other years). The Franklin could possibly be considered the "poor man's Wesley" in that it looks very similar but is cased in 10K gold filled and features a 17 jewel 980 movement instead of solid 14K with a 19 jewel 982M.  The Franklin cost ..read more

 My last Christmas post featured what I'd consider the rarest of the CLD models.  This post is on one of the most ubiquitous - the 1948 Brandon. The Brandon was one of the first models in the CLD ("sealed") line and it's the only one to feature a rectangular movement.  The Brandon was produced through 1951 and came with either a silver butler finished dial or a black dial. The 1948 catalog did a nice job of detailing what makes a CLD model innovative for the time.  Hamilton didn't offer "waterproof" models and the CLD line was it's first attempt to marker watches that were ..read more

The winds of war were blowing in 1941, even though the Pearl Harbor didn't occur until almost 1942.  The Hamilton Watch Company must have had some insights though, as the 1941 catalog contained several watches that were introduced with "the military man" in mind.  I'm sure more than a few would see action across the world in a few short years. One of the new models was the Lexington - an interesting choice since the US Navy's second aircraft carrier, the USS Lexington CV-2 would be sunk at the battler of the Coral Sea in May, 1942. The Hamilton Lexington was the first model in Hamilt ..read more

Merry Christmas!  Queue the music!  Specifically Etta James's 1960 rendition of "At Last".   You may recall this song from the movies "Rain Man" or Disney's "Wall-E".   It's a song of intense anticipation, delight, and satisfaction that only comes after a period of longing and never giving up hope. What does "At Last" have to do with Christmas?  I suppose you don't really hear it played alongside all the other classic Christmas tunes.  Anticipation and longing are a big part of Christmas though.  Consider all of the children that have waited for S ..read more

There are a lot of features that can be used to describe a watch.  Sometimes features are formally referred to as "complications" but not all features are complications. For example, the most basic elements to describe a watch would be that it has a dial with hour and minute hands. The first complication would to add a second hand, either a central sweep second hand or the smaller sub-second hand.   Another complication would be if it was an automatic with the framework included to self-wind the watch.  Further, adding a date of the month or day of the week would be additio ..read more