PDA

View Full Version : Can you date a Hamilton for me?


doug sinclair
11-22-2003, 06:54 AM
Chris,

The National Association of Watch & Clock Collectors, sponsors of this message board, has many of the records of the Hamilton Watch Co. These ledgers will likely list the date the watch was shipped, (not necessarily the day it was completed), and even to whom (retailer, jobber, etc.) it was shipped.

Serial numbers for watches were alotted in blocks of numbers. It may have been years before a particular block of numbers was used up. Thereby, it is not possible to specify the actual date of completion. That, plus it may have been a year from the time that a particular watch serial number began in production, until all the parts were made, the watch assembled, and made ready for sale.

Here is the NAWCC link

NAWCC (http://www.nawcc.org/)

Look for Staff Information on the left side of the screen, click on it, and scroll down until you come to Sharon Gordon, librarian. Click on the link and sent her an email with your query.

Information from the NAWCC is free for members. If you are not a member, there will likely be a fee for the information that they have on file.

Doug S.

Kent
11-22-2003, 07:11 AM
Chris:

Doug has given you good advice. One of the benefits of NAWCC membership is the free research service that is available.

The serial number vs. grade vs. date table in "Hamilton Hand-Written Serial Numbers No. 1 To 824,700, by Col. George E. Townsend," by Roy Ehrhardt, Heart of America Press, Kansas City, MO, 2000 (Still in print - see Heart of America Press (http://www.hoapress.com)), shows the run 887,301 - 890,300 to have been built over the years 1912-1913. The dates given in this particular table seem to me to be more accurate than those published elsewhere.

Kent

That guy down in Georgia :smile:

Don Dahlberg
11-23-2003, 03:36 AM
Hamilton 992 serial number 889576 is from a batch of watches (889001-890000) that went to the Finishing Department on 8/17/12 and 9/21/12. It took from 1 to 6 months for a watch to make it through the finishing department, so I would guess that your watch was finished late 1912 or early 1913.

The records at NAWCC end in the mid 800000s. If you are a member, it is worth asking, but I suspect that we do not have the ledger with your number. It will be close.

Don Dahlberg
NAWCC Volunteer