I would like to share with others what I know about the Open Face 12 size 17j Adjusted Hampden Grade 320 and ask if anyone else has any 320 serial numbers they would be willing to share.

BACKGROUND
In Ehrhardts and Meggars 1982 Volume One American Pocket Watch and Price Guide they included several 12 size Hampden numbered grades including Grade 320.

When Hernick and Arnolds 1997 Hampden Watch Co book came out in 1997 no listing for a Grade 320 was to be found among the 10,000 serial numbers they had collected. Based on this information I assumed that the Grade 320 probably did not exist

SCARCITIY OF THE 320
In the past several years I have been fortunate enough to purchase three (3) Grade 320s from three (3) different runs that were previously unknown.

Estimated 320 runs
3235081-3235200 - 120
3235501-3235700 - 200
3235851-3236000 –150
TOTAL 470

My most recent 320 purchase was from an Ebay Seller GaWatch aka Robert V Jones for $128.50 I mention the price as what would a RR watch of this scarcity go for and what would a watch in a previously undiscovered run go for?

FINAL THOUGHTS
I am sharing this information (even though it drives up the price of what I collect) because I think it is important to share what one knows. With the exception of the stars for the 12 size thin model Hamptons, Shugarts Price Guide contains an up to date listing supplied by me of the all of the Hampden 12 size known and their estimated scarcity.

Bob

Here is the dial--I have always felt that Hampden produced some of the nicest metal dials .

Bob,

I too am a huge fan of the Hampden 12 size metal dials. They seem to have been made to last better also to my eye. I have several 12 size Hampdens with perfect metal dials, unlike Illinois and Hamilton where it is very difficult to find a metal dial without considerable spotting. Can you tell me more about those hands on your 320? I have never seen hands like that in any Hampden literature or on any watch.

Thanks and congradulations of your find,

John

John
The other two Grade 320s I own have the exact same Hour and Minute hands. Since each set of hands came from a separate production run I can only conclude that they are original and not replacements.

I also own a private label Hampden 17j OF "O.E. Co.,Special." #3148435 that has the same set of hands.

Thus it appears these hands are 12 size Hampden hands and were used with some of their 17j Model 5 movements.

Bob

PS I totally concur about the Hampden metal dials--they hold up much better than the other American metal dials.

An update.

I went to the my bank vault and found that I had another Hampden Grade 320. The serial number is

3,235,263.

What is interesting about this watch is that it extends the possible size of the first run.It has a magnificient gold colored dial that does not show any corrosion just like the watch shown above.

At this point it appears that at least 570 serial numbers were reserved for the Grade 320. How many were actually produced is another mystery.

Only time will tell if any additional Grade 320 production runs were interspersed between the grade 307 runs.

Bob