Hi all, I have a Hamilton, 940, adjusted 5 position, double roller, 21 jewel, serial no. 978575 with 4 hands on the front, and Jas H Bartlett, Souris, Manitoba on the front. I looked, but can’t see another dial the same at all.

Does anyone have any information on this? Have added photos below.

Thanks all in advance for your help
Lynn

Hi Lynn, you have an 18 size Hamilton circa 1914.
-there are two hour hands, one would be to indicate a different time zone
and was most likely painted red.
-the dial is referred to as a Private Label- the name of the jeweler and location
where it was sold. Souris is a small town in the Province of Manitoba, Canada
- the dial is a Canadian Pacific Railroad dial, a 24 hour time system as indicated
by the red numbers around the inner dial. The 24 marking was not used in the US
The style of the dial is called a Montgomery dial.

The Hamilton 940 was popular and a workhorse in those railroad days.

Rick

Hi Rick, THANK YOU SO MUCH! It’s really interesting what you’ve written - I was a bit confused as we have no connections in Canada

HiLynn: Nice find. In addition to Rick's information;
My copy of"Clock & Watchmakers in Canada, 1700 to 1900" Tells me J. H. S Bartlett was working in Granby, Quebec in 1871 but by 1895 he was in Souris, Man. I suspect he followed the CPR there as the line to Souris was completed about 1881. He would see a big change in watches fron 1871 t0 1895.
If you google "Souris Railway Museum, Inc" you will find more info. on where your watch came from. I suspect there are not a lot of Montgomery 24 Hr. dials with jewellers names on them around, John

Hi Lynn: Any chance we could see the movement? I am interested in seeing if his name is on it as well. I know a fellow that collects Jewelers dial watches if you intend to sell it. It deserves to be restored. This one was produced in 1914 which would indicate Mr. Bartlett was still working in Souris at that time. John

Hi John, so sorry not got back to you earlier, thought I’d posted something bAck, but seems it failed.
Anyway, picture attached - please let me know if you need a different angle.
Re selling - would need to talk to my brothers as it’s part of my dad’s estate - what sort of value do you think it would have?
Thanks again John,
Lynn

Another pic

Hi Lynn: Boy, thats a hard one. I can't tell much about it, ie does it run, condition of case etc. Big negative is condition of dial which could be restored but expensive.. My gut tells me in 150US +/_ but that is a real shot in the dark. Maybe if you were to put in on this site as an auction with a reserve it would be best. Perhaps if you contact Dr. Debbie she could help with that. (providing you want to sell). I would be interested in it but a lot of unknowns here. John

Hi Lynn, looks like that dial could POSSIBLY be saved with a new monty outer chapter....and you'll need a specialized repairman to do the job properly. If the dial were nice it would raise the value as much as several hundred dollars. Like it sits, I'm afraid I have to concur with John on the $150 value.

Nice watch. However it does need some work which can easily be done by a competent watchmaker. The biggest obstacle of course as others have said is the dial. The hands are mismatched also. My experience with these Canadian Hamilton RR watches is the the hour and minute hands are of the same style as your minute hand. The dual hour hands should be positioned 1 one hour apart or maybe more depending on how many time zones the train passed through.