I thought I'd share this with the group: I finally found the perfect hunter case to house the Hamilton 993 that my dad found in the mud on the cart path alongside the Erie Canal some 30 years ago. It was in an OF base-metal case with a broken crystal when he found it.
On a whim while passing through Amish country I stopped at a local watchmaker and spent an hour talking to the owner. Trusting me enough to show off his machine shop, cabinetry shop, and workshop, he demonstrated his skills in making movements and cases for tall clocks, banjo clocks, and mantle clocks. After the conversation turned to pocket watches, he offered me this case - a Wadsworth 25yr - at a fairly cheap price (quite a different economic scale in Amish country). Following the replacement of the broken mainspring, bent balance staff, and missing minute hand, he oiled and timed it, and had it ready in a matter of days. I couldn't have been happier with the result:
Posts: 2962 | Location: Western New York in the USA | Registered: March 24, 2008
That is an amazing story, would you happen to have any berfore photos? Any idea how long it had been on the ground when you found it? I would say it is a keeper!
Tom
Posts: 5107 | Location: New Mexico in the USA | Registered: January 27, 2007
