September 06, 2018, 21:00
Tom DunnEarly Postwar 992Bs ... A ??
I have a 1946 992B #C150190 correct 537 dial and black hands cased in a Model 10 Case from 1944-45?
H676771
Could it be possible this could have been an original case to this watch as Hamilton may have used what it had to keep postwar production moving?
I know the dial was available until 1947 or so and the Model 10 case was phased out in 1948. There is only one set of case screw marks for a 992B in it.
September 07, 2018, 02:35
Bila WirriganwaltersAre you talking a #576 or a #537 Tom???? As the #576 would be incorrect for that manufacture in my opinion.
September 07, 2018, 11:07
Tom DunnTypo, Bila. It is a 537 dial
September 07, 2018, 20:07
Lindell V. Riddle
Tom,
Dial is beautiful and correct.*****
Case is in wonderful condition, appears to fit tightly, no apparent issues.*****
What you have is one of the very first post-war production 992B movements. *****
Your concern is with the case numbers... they began producing cases as soon as the government permitted.
The way Hamilton operated is important to understand. There are two ways to handle merchandise in business. One is called "FIFO" for First-In-First-Out which is how perishables are handled. Butter, eggs, bread, anything that is time-sensitive. The other is "LIFO" for Last-In-First-Out which is the way many parts and material are handled.
Research, including my interviews with former employees has proven that Hamilton used closed shelves some might call bins. As watch cases arrived, individually wrapped and in a box they were unloaded and put into the bins. The ones from a week or a month ago or even longer periods were in the back. As new cases arrived they would be placed in front of the older items. When an order came from the production line the ones in front were hurriedly pulled, that is "LIFO" or Last-In-First-Out, wherein the stock is not rotated but rather handled in the fastest, easiest way.
In the immediate post-war period they were gearing up for production as fast as they could, it was a hectic environment. As cases were pulled from the front they would eventually get into the earlier ones in the back, for that reason a movement just finished at a given time could end up in a case produced a little earlier. (We normally like everything to line-up but should expect as much as an eighteen month difference between our numbers to be acceptable.) As the war wound-down production of Gold-Filled Cases, made primarily of brass began a little earlier than movements which were primarily of nickel which was considered a strategic metal, it is used even in nickel-stainless steel.
Often I have quipped that all these things we so obsess about today as collectors meant nothing to the people that put them together, they were just building, selling and shipping out watches, with a big emphasis on that "shipping them out" part. Watches were not after all, butter, eggs, bread or even apples or tomatoes, they did not tend to get stale.
Your watch looks good, I am about the same age 
and it has held up a lot better than I have!
Be well my friend,
Lindell
September 07, 2018, 21:27
Tom DunnLin, that makes perfect sense, and was kind of what I thought took place. The post war 992Bs are not often seen cased in a model 10 case but as you said they were around until at least 1948.
This Model 10 is most associated with the 1937-38 992 Elinvars as you know, and many were sold in this Model 10 case. But, like this one, there were other watches over an 11 year period or so that got cased just like this one.
Thanks for "clearing the air" on this question. Appreciate it!