LONG POST-
I picked up a late(1968) 992b a few months ago in what I thought was a nice #16 case. The engraving design matched, but several folks at the Gboro regional picked it up and said - the bow's been changed. The whole watch including case had little to no wear on it ... changing the bow didn't make sense. Things started to heat up when I saw the "Gold Filled" marking. Terry wasn't sure what it was, but advised not to sell it until we could find out.

The case is marked Hamilton Watch Company Lancaster PA, Star watch case company, 10 KT. Gold filled 8913317

I got out the Ham catalog reprints 1928 - 1969 and started staring & comparing. Note: Not all the cats showed the year, so I interpolated on some and they may be off. My research showed :

1928-29 the Traffic Spl was offered in white & yellow gold filled. The bow was different than succeeding T.S. or #16.

1934-39 T.S. shown with engraving design, bow and crown that is a dead ringer for the later #16, but yellow gold filled ( #16 cases are marked Roll gold plate).

1941 TS case is dropped for the war effort.

1953 Enter the #16 case marked Roll Gold Plate.

1955 TS is back as TS I and TS II along with #16. TS I is shown as Stainless Steel - TS II in "yellow". Each has its own engraving pattern, bows, crowns and pendant and all differing from #16 case.

1958 Same cases as 1955 but the pics & desc are reversed for TS I & TS II. This remains in later cat, so looks like 1955 was reversed.

1966-67 TS 1 becomes TS 3 and TS 2 becomes TS 4. I see no reason for the designation changes. There is no apparent change in the cases or materials.


As I stared and compared my example with the catalogs, I noted the case in hand had in common: - Engraving design of the 1934 TS and the later #16 ; the bow of the TS II and the crown of the TS I. The gold filled matched only the 1934 TS.

There was not a match for the pendant (where the bow attaches). See pic attached, where the pendant is pinched on each side.

As I started to compilate all this data, Wham, I saw it. The Model 12. It is a dead ringer for this case - engraving design, bow, crown, with the pinched pendant. Only problem is the model 12 was only shown in the 1948-49 cat and only in BASE METAL.

I have since found another gold filled case with the pinched pendant on ebay. The bow has been changed (WGF), but everything else hooks up and the serial # is 8913337 only 20 away from mine. It is on a 992b #C221286. Although both examples were found with a 992b inside, Terry's serial # data base puts these 89133xx cases in the mid 1930's. The case is in exceptional condition to be 70 yrs old.

So what do we have here?

An uncataloged Ham marked case ?

A GF Model #12 (prior to the model #12 introduction) ???

A TS variant ?

The missing b or c case ?

All of the above... special run ... put up for years in inventory to be pulled out and use 30 yrs later ?

I welcome any and all input. If you have a case like this, please let me know.

link to ebay example http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISA...Item&item=4935798019

case markings

Shows area of the pinched pendant, common only with the model 12 case. The black line points to the pinched area.

stare & compare to model 12 cat pic. Pic taken from what I interpret to be the 1946-47 catalog.

For what it is worth, my brother has an identical Star gold-filled case, #8913190. It has a presentation date of December 21, 1948. The case was separated from its movement many years ago.

Charlie had sent me pics of this case...

but we finally got together at our last Chapter 17 meeting for a comparison..

I brought a boxed and labeled model 12 that I had found.... along with traffic special cases I have in collection....

The case shares many features with the base metal model 12 case... pendant, bezel pattern, etc... but it is 10K gold filled.......

there is one difference.... base metal 12 i have is not marked hamilton in the back... but the box label and everything else matches up...

this is why i suggested it may be one of the 'undocumented' model B or C cases. We know the model B exists because of a label on at least two flip top boxes.....

maybe one day the puzzle will come together...

thanks for sharing Charlie!

Jerry,

Interesting that your case presentation date coincides with the ebay example movement #221286, which dates to 1948. This also coincides with the 1946-47 catalog introducing the model #12 case.

If you get a chance, it would be nice to know if the screw marks on the case line up with the 992 or 992B.

Thanks again

Charlie

The case-screw marks in my brother's case match a 992B.

Here is another 10 K gold-filled example on eBay:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=4947894251&indexURL=0#ebayphotohosting

The 992B is a type 2 signature, S/N C52322 and the case number is 4741296.