Hello everyone. I am newly minted member here and a relative neophyte to collecting. I am excited to be here and continue to learn and will more than likely be asking a lot of obtuse questions...

With the same model watch (for example a 992B) is there a discernable difference in the quality of one produced in 1937 versus one produced in 1957? Other than the age, and potential 20 years of wear that is.

Welcome to the club Jim [we are all in this together]. We wait with bated breath for questions, some of which we can even answer

As to your very first question

The Hamilton 992B started production in 1940 and ended in the 70's. It was a very lucrative run for Hamilton as over 500,000 were made and sold. There are pros and cons on which ones may be better than others. However it is a known fact that one can disassemble 100 of these on your bench and "shuffle" the parts and then just pick a part and reassemble and all 100 will be up and running

That is quite remarkable and tells us that machining tolerances were extremely good. Some of us prefer the early ones with their high shouldered cases and enamel porcelain RWS dials. Everyone has a preference and will generally prefer one over the other.

With parts being so interchangeable in these, wear in the early ones vs. the newer ones is not a big problem.

regards,
bb

Thanks for the reply BB. (See, my very first question and I get the starting year wrong for the 992Bs sheesh! ) And now I can just try and get examples in each case and dial combination Not really, there are too many other ones that I want.

So, by inference, this is not necessarily true with other brands and models (e.g. Hamilton Balls before 1940, Illinois Bunn Specials, etc.)?

I have found myself with a reluctance to pull the trigger on some watches because "newer will be more reliable (I tend to see watches as usable art, and want the best (potential) performing instrument.)

Making logical decisions and buying the best of the best will pay dividends. A lot of people buy watches that have missing parts OR the wrong parts. That is not recommended unless you are adept and have a large inventory of parts and pieces. Soon one will be left with a bag of watches that all need something. That will take the fun out of collecting post haste !!

While same watches do have interchangeable parts, unless you are dealing with very early, say pre 1870 watches then same parts should work. But not nearly as well as the 992B line.

One can learn volumes by researching old topics right here. All one needs to do is to go to the "Discussion Site Main Page". Up at the top in darker blue, click on the tab, "find-or-search". A tab will drop down where you can pose your search or question by typing it in and then enter it. Anything that has been posted here will open for you and you can click on these discussions and hopefully find what you are looking for.

You will never go wrong by buying the best specimens that will meet your pocketbook. If you have a question about a particular watch on the "bay" or anywhere else, post your question under "Pitfalls" and someone will help you with it and give opinions to help you. All items that are currently on "live auctions" should be posted under Pitfalls so that there is no liability issues with the items or seller. Only members can access Pitfalls. Picture[s] and links to the item[s] in question are needed.

Buying the best specimens or ones without issues will make collecting fun and significant money will be saved in the long run as opposed to buying watches with missing or wrong parts. Also consider that 90% of the watches that you buy will require a COA [ clean/oil/adjust ]. That will generally cost anywhere from $65 to $150 if no additional parts are required.

Hopefully this will get you started and save you some headaches. We also have auctions and buy it now items on site. And if you are wanting a special item or watch there is a "wanted to buy" section also. Generally speaking, better deals will be found here as opposed to the bay. Some of our members also sell on the bay and you should fair well in dealing with these individuals over perfect bay strangers.

regards,
bb

Welcome aboard Jim, I can't add much to all of Buster's good advice. IHC185 is a rich source of information, both in the archives of past posts Buster mentioned and the replies you will get when you ask a question in one of our forums.

As far as 992B's go, the early ones had slightly fancier movement decoration, such as a highly polished gold center wheel and circle pattern damaskeening on the winding wheels.

Jim,
Great advice from Buster and Ed. I learned early from Lindell that condition-condition-condition was so important if you are going to collect watches. Good Luck,
Tony

Jim, welcome to our "bunch". Watches "wear" with use, and "use" is time in service which very often can be quite a contradiction from what you would presume by the date of manufacture.

Some of the very finest "low time" watches I have had the pleasure of restoring are very early and VERY well made watches that came in with a broken Mainspring that "sat" for the next 70 or 80 years and have less "wear" than a 1940-50's vintage RR watch.

Excellent points. When I think of condition I am assuming a functional movement (e.g. no broken staff). I have not gotten to the level of knowledge to be able to accurately determine wear or any host of other issues that may be part of a "working watch." That's why I am here - to get better - and also why I am still reluctant to buy from the Bay. I want to be able to handle a watch and get a "feel" for it. Again, hopefully with education my confidence will increase.

I know condition is not only the movement but the case, dial hands, etc. Should I weight my decisions more on the movement condition versus the rest?

As an aside, I am very glad to have found this group. The atmosphere here is very open and understanding to a neophyte like myself and I do not feel intimidated to ask questions. Thanks to everyone for that!

Jim

Welcome Jim
I am a relativity new collector myself, and I wish I would have found this site 6 months sooner than I did. The amount of information, friendliness, and help here is second to none.
I know I am not an expert, but the choice of weight is one I might answer. The movement is the heart of the watch, and some collectors even think of it as the watch itself. While hard to find in some cases, cases and hands are IMHO easier to replace than a scratched up or rusty movement plate. The plates will have matching serial numbers and will be impossible to replace.
I will point you to one of my early questions. Its a checklist, and while not exhaustive by any means it might be helpful to the person starting out.
The best advice is that if you are going to spend money, get the best possible example as you can, if you want post links in the avoiding the pitfalls section to watches you are thinking of buying if they are not on this site. You will most likely get a few people posting pointing out problems if they exist. Also you should know some of the members do sell on ebay. If you buy from a member here you can be assured that they are honest and will try to make any problems right. As apposed to some on line that are only out for a fast buck.
Lastly trust your instincts, if it looks like its to good to be true, its probably nether good nor true as the saying goes.