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tomvox1
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Up for sale is this rare and iconic early 1960s Hamilton "Ventura" in solid 14 karat yellow gold. This is one of the archetypal Hamilton Electric models, so much so that it has been re-issued a million times in the modern era, and the originals were only manufactured for a few years in the late 1950s through early 60s by the legendary American marque from Lancaster, Pennsylvania. This great delta shaped watch is a classic of mid century design and features its original, unrestored silver dial. It is in Excellent vintage condition overall. Better yet, it is not a quartz conversion as so many are these days but has its original and well-maintained cal. 505 engine humming away under the hood, a landmark of innovative battery powered design in its day. And as a nice bonus, I am including a genuine vintage 14k Hamilton tang buckle and an extra modern repro "Elvis" strap.
The asking price for this wonderful original example of Hamilton Ventura is now further DROPPED to just $2050 USD OBRO including fully insured worldwide FedEx shipping. Bank Wire preferred. Paypal is also OK with split fees (+2%). Other payment options upon application. Payment must be made in US DOLLARS. Watch will ship upon full clearance of the funds, as well as any necessary bank vetting.
CASE & CASEBACK: Fantastically cool and unique delta shaped case with chevron lugs in solid 14k yellow gold measures a large approximately 49mm long x 32mm wide (not including crown) and about 11mm at full crystal height. Although there are some minor scratches/swirlies to the case and back and it has probably been polished lightly in the past, the edges are still quite crisp. By my strict standards, I rate this case as solidly Excellent+. The snap-in caseback is correctly hallmarked for 14k solid gold, and has sharp Hamilton and S&W signatures inside & out, the latter being the case manufacturer Schwab & Wuischpard, I believe.
DIAL & HANDS: Original factory-printed silver dial with hand-riveted asymmetrically placed 18k gold dot hour markers is Very Good with some flecks to the finish and one larger spot on the edge by "4" but all factory print is still intact. Certainly not a perfect dial but preferable to a redial, IMO, which most surviving examples seem to be. The gold sword & dagger hands are Near Mint, as is the correct red arrow-tipped sweep seconds hand, which beats along similarly to a modern quartz watch.
CROWN: Correct Hamilton-signed small knurled crown pulls out to the hacking time-setting position as it should and sits flush to the side of the case.
CRYSTAL: Unique curved delta shaped acrylic crystal has a few small marks but is Excellent+ and sits in the bezel nice & tightly.
MOVEMENT: This Ventura features the cult classic caliber 505 movement, essentially the 3rd and best iteration of Hamilton's Electric movements with several improvements over the previous 500 and 500A versions. This movement was overhauled by my watchmaker about 3 years ago and it is running strong and keeping reasonably good time--these Electric movements are actually not the best timekeepers in the watch world but this one is pretty decent and could probably be dialed in even better with a little patience (it currently runs a bit fast). I had a new battery installed early last year and I've always tried to be conscientious about keeping the stem pulled out when stored so as to save wear on the contact, the Electric's weak point. So this Ventura is absolutely guaranteed to be working properly upon shipment, no ifs, ands or buts.
BANDS & BUCKLE: This great Ventura comes on an elegant full-length black genuine lizard strap that is just at the break in phase and easily Excellent. The buckle is an original vintage Hamilton 14 solid gold tang, a valuable commodity in its own right. I am also including a modern Hamilton Electric-signed two-tone black & gold "Elvis" strap for when you want to feel like The King. This Ventura takes straps with 18mm ends.
I make NO guarantees for the water resistance of this watch in any way, shape or form, as this watch was never guaranteed water resistant by Hamilton from new and certainly isn't any more so now. 馃槈
This great Vintage Hamilton is offered with a 3-day inspection period from the date of receipt and may be returned for a full refund less any shipping costs incurred by the buyer. This refund is unconditional and once I get the watch back in exactly the same condition as it was sent to you, your money will be refunded. Of course, once the 3 days are over the sale will be considered FINAL.
Thanks for looking,
T.
[email protected]
