Vintage Hamilton Advice...

[2005rivers]

Hello all,

I am wanting a vintage Hamilton, I don't know why I have just had it in my head for a while that I "need" one. I am interested in something like a tank or even a GS tropical. I am curious of what models you would recomend, time erra, etc. Also, what price range should I be looking to spend? Is there a good place to find vintage Hamiltons?

Any help would be apprieciated

[jrwerner57]

Vintage Hamilton’s are great watches. They are considered to have been the premier American made wristwatches from the 1920s-1950s. There are a lot of good models, and I can’t think of a bad movement they made. A good reference for different models is "the complete price guide to watches". I would look on eBay, to get an idea of what is out there and a price. True Hamilton’s are American made only, and either manual wind or electric (not quartz). In later years, Hamilton started using Swiss made movements, most were automatics, and some were manual wind. They will be marked "Swiss" on the dial and movement. Swiss Hamilton’s are not considered to be true Hamiltons, most are not collectible. They are not bad watches, but they are not as well made as the American made ones. 980,982,982m, 987,979,747,748,753,754 and 770 are the more common American made calibers. I hope this gives you a start, and if you have any questions about Hamilton I will gladly try my best to give you a answer.
Joe