First and foremost, excuse the oversize strap, it's not my doing. I'm asking the experts here for help in positively identifying this 14 karat gold Hamilton Cal. 770. I believe it's a Parker, but I've never seen a diamond dial Parker in catalogues. The similar Bradford model came in a diamond dial variant (but with 11 diamonds; mine has 16), and had similar lugs but they're stepped rather than chamfered.

I've also read a lot of repetitive hyperbole regarding the Cal. 770 - 'it was their highest grade movement and competed squarely with Patek Philippe'. Can anyone point me to the origin of this claim? It seems to be often repeated with no reference or justification as if it's just an accepted fact, like the sky is blue.

Cheers

 

At the time yes the 770 and esp 982m Hamilton’s where some of the best in the world. Esp when you look at post war Europe’s manufacturing ability.

The 982 was the highest grade I believe but the 770 was close.

 

I thought the 770 was later - and has more jewels plus shock protection. Doesn't that make it higher grade? I'm still learning though and I'm likely missing the finer details. Thanks for your help!

EDIT: I've since given up on finding the watch in catalogues and I've concluded it was most likely part of their Awards Division collection. The lack of any engraving on the caseback is still a mystery, however!

 

TropicConnie,

Have a look at vintagewatchforums.com

You should be able to find what you need there

 

Thanks, I already looked all over that website. There's nothing on my exact watch but I did learn a little about the movement.

 

Have you been to www.hamiltonchronicles.com ?

 

Scoured all over that website too. I've concluded with 99% certainty that the watch isn't a retail model. Really the only thing that even hints at it not being an Awards Division Hammy is the lack of any inscription on the caseback; I'd imagine the vast majority of the watches coming out of the Awards Division would have had some kind of inscription.

 

in the 30's it was very common (with Hamilton) to get diamond dials applied to your watch via some New York jewellers.

as the dial on your version varies from either the 5/6 or 11 jewel models presented in the cattledogs perhaps it's in a similar vein.

if it was an Awards Division watch then it should have an inscription of some sort.

Only perusing the factory records (I'm not even sure if the Awards stuff is in them) might answer the question.

you'd need to contact the NAWCC as I believe they have them archived.

 

Is th back marked Hamilton? What about inside the caseback?

 

Thanks! I'll contact the NAWCC and see what I can find out about both my watch and the Hamilton 770 inside it.

I haven't checked inside the caseback myself, I'll ask the watchmaker for a photograph.

 

Thanks Gator, I think you're correct about the customization on the dial. Thanks also for your insight into the movement, I only today realized that it's essentially interchangeable with other Hamilton movements of the time, hence being a 'grade' rather than a 'caliber' or 'reference'. It sure is pretty! I'd love to get my hands on a copy of the service bulletin, I love all the technical info I've seen in them explaining the intricacies and differences between each grade.

 

Sorry for resurrecting a dead thread, but I've seen inside the caseback and there is no markings. Apparently Hamilton regards these as 'Counterfeit'?!

 

I think that notice only applied to ladies watches because jewelers were selling Hamilton movements in their own cases and telling customers the whole thing would be covered under Hamilton's warranty. A modern example would be Tonneau putting a Rolex movement in their own case and selling it as covered under the Rolex warranty.

 

Jobber cased movement. Pretty common back in the 50s. hamiltonchronicles.com talks about it a few times. Watchmakers would put high quality Hamilton movements into aftermarket precious metal cases (and sometimes "upgraded" dials [diamonds etc] so they could be sold at higher prices.

 

Thank you both for the information! Even if mine isn't technically a factory original Hamilton, I like its uniqueness. I've emailed Hamilton to see if they have any further information.