If you had a choice between these two Hamiltons which would you chose. Choice 1- Hamilton 935 18s 17j hunter in well worn silveroid case with cheap replacement no sunk metal dial and replacement hands or Choice 2 - Hamilton 936 18s 17j OF in a nice coin silver case, correct dial and hands. Price would be the same or nearly the same? I am just a bit curious if I made the correct choice.

Claude,
Since you took the watch behind Door #2, It was a great choice

Condition Condition Condition

regards,
bb

Yes, Door #2 was my choice, although I struggled a bit on it since I had been looking for a private label watch from the upper Ohio area Norwalk /Fremont /Lorain /Mansfield area. I didn't have an 18s Hamilton so I figured the 936 would be a decent choice to start with.

Hi Claude, If this is your first Hamilton I would agree. The choice #2 is the better condition watch. If you are looking at value!!!

Now, here's the but... In the price guide a Hamilton 935 hunting case will start at $275 (if you replace the case dial and hands) Where a Hamilton 936 open face starts at $100

As we say in Tennessee you cant turn a pinto into a Porsche

I looked at that aspect that is why I struggled deciding. Prices seem to be running close to what they were listed in my 2000 Shugart's price guide. The 936 was listed from $100-$200 and the 935 was listed from $275-$400. I paid just a bit over mid-price for the 936, so figure the 935 around the same (closing bids for both witin $10) So what does a good 18s gold filled hunter case cost, not beat out, no sprung hinges, $75-$125?, a good 18s porcelain dial cost? I think the 935 would have been a SS dial so maybe $50-$100 for a period correct dial? Correct hands for a 935, $25-50? In the end I figured at the low end I would have to add at least $150 to the price of the watch or as much as $275. Not even mentioning that most private labels have a dial lettering and movement lettering that match, or at least a private label dial, not always the case but it would be a chink on the top price. So I took the best value for the money route.

I had to look were Livingston was in Tenn, looks to be about 30-40 miles east (as the crow flies) from where I was born (Oneida, TN)

I was mistaken the case is not a coin silver case but sterling 925 fine silver.