I started to post this in the Harrison theater thread but didn't want to clutter that marvelous thread with this observation. I love that thread!

This time, I looked closely at that Hamilton on the 16 sz 21 J Ball Dial over the ORRS trademark logo.

It didn't seem to me to be a factory job! The Hamilton just didn't align the way I would have expected.

The H in Hamilton is further away from official than the letter n in Hamilton is from standard! Note also the ton in hamilton is closer to the word mark than ham in hamilton is to the word trade! I think a factory job would not look like that.

What do you think?

Bill,
I don't know about it being original or not. If not, someone went through an awful lot of trouble to take off the manufactures name to replace it with Hamilton. It just seams like a complicated task and would leave tell-tale signs.

Edward,

I don't usualy pay much attention to the 16 sz, but I noticed both the 23 and 21 J examples in the video had "Hamilton" on the dial! I always thought these earlier Hamilton Ball non box car dials were unmarked as to manufacturer. I wouldn't expect to have seen either Ball or Hamilton on the dial just the Trade mark and Logo.

Thus I suspected the Hamilton is an addition, not a replacement.

But as I said, not my field and I thought others might clarify.

happy hunting,

I don't know if this helps, but here is an overlay of the markings Bill mentioned with the markings from the Canadian dial also in the show.

This one is both of them on top of each other, with the Canadian one made so you can see through it.

They seem to line up the same.

Not that this proves anything.

Tom,

Thanks for the magic. I think it shows they were done by the same entity! I wonder if they were both in one collection?

So who did it? Ball, Hamilton, the collector or the Canadians?

Can't imagine Ball doing it and it doesn't look professional enough for Hamilton!


happy hunting,

Bill

I wouldn't even be able to make a guess, I know so little about these expensive Ball's.

I would think it strange two different dials having the exact placement of the word Hamilton being done by more than one person. So it would lead me to believe whoever did it did them both.

It would be interesting to compare other examples to see if they are all the same.

Here is my Ball dial 24hr marked “Hamilton” I've seen other examples with red and blue 24-hour inner tracts. On closer examination they look like they have been painted on, and I'm sure they wouldn't survive in an ultrasonic cleaner.

Larry

Larry,

Your Hamilton is much better done than the two examples above it.

What do you think? Are these done only on the Canadian dials and who do you think is responsible?

happy hunting

I agree Larry's does look better. The others have a little clockwise twist to the Hamilton.

Tom

This is just a guess, these dials might have been made up for the "Canadian Ball Watch Company" out of Winnipeg, Manitoba. I bought my example from a dealer in Florida many years ago, but the other examples with the red and blue inner 24-hour tracts, were being sold from an antique dealer based in Winnipeg.

Larry