Hi- I recently bought a very misused Ham. 974 P.W.
My question,since I've never had one before,is:Is there supposed to be a cap jewel. If there is it's missing on this one. Thank you.

Any photos?

Hi Chris - Sorry but no pictures. I'm not very computer literate and I have no idea how to do it.

Hi Robert, Correct me if I am wrong, but there is a cap jewels on the balance. I took some pictures from a ebay auction to show. The first picture shows a clear cap jewel, the second is the same movement.

here is the second picture more of the balance.

The only cap jewels on that nice 974 are on the balance cock, and the later 992 was mainly changed to a "21 Jewel" for the fact that Hamilton added 2 MORE pairs (4 more jewels) of cap jewels. (lower two white arrows)

Thank to everybody for the information. It looks to me like this watch was used as a practice watch for someone trying to learn how. It's a mess of screwdriver scratches,teriffic overoiling and no balance cap jewel.
Again, thank to all for the help.

Robert, A 974 is a nice timepiece, and worse things have happened to a still restorable watch. Cap jewels can be found, but we can only help to restore this to at least "carry watch" condition if we can see or learn more of its general demeanor. Some questions;
1. Is it Cased?

2. Is the Dial usable? Hairlines will clean up but gaping holes through the porcelain with copper showing underneath are more difficult.

3. Does the Balance wheel "swing" when you hold the watch and twist it (not the wheel but the whole watch) gently from side to side?

4. Is there resistance to "winding" the crown wheel? (It may be fully wound, but can you feel a slight "spring" when trying to wind it?)

If 3 of these four questions are "yes", you should have a salvageable watch that we can try helping you get back into shape.

As for pictures, I am ALSO computer illiterate, and luckily through the help IHC 185, I found a way to do camera work that helps speed the process of communication. Do you have any friends or contacts who could walk you through the process of taking pictures and downloading them?

Otherwise one of us could look at this piece, but would need to have it "in hand" to better figure it out.

Hi Dave- Yes the watch is cased. Fairly ok case.
The watch winds a little hard but will start to run if held "pendant down". After it has "warmed up", it'll run in any position for about 24 hours but gains rapidly with the regulator set to slow.
All in all it is not a basket case. I'm going to clean it , replace the mainspring and reoil. Then we'll see what happens.
Thanks for the reply.