I have the four signatures of the 992B and I just noticed the crown and ratchet wheel on the sig.1&2 have circles on the wheels.Whereas,the sig.3&4 do not,they are plain.Is this correct? I do see others where some will have one of the wheels with circles and the other wheel will be plain.Am I to assume that the watches with the mixed wheels not to be correct?
Regards
Roger

No circles

Yes, the Signature Types 1 and 2 have the circular damascening on the winding wheels. Later plain winding wheels were introduced, presumably as a cost saving measure.

The plain wheels were phased in, so you may find early Signature Type 3 watches that also have the circular pattern on one or both of the winding wheels.

On later Signature Type 3 and Type 4 watches, both wheels should be plain.

Here are some additional facts that Ed posted back in April 2011;

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Just from my memory and personal observations, I can give you a ROUGH GUIDE as follows:

Signature types (see picture) represent different periods of 992B production, starting with the Type I in 1940 up to about C35000 in 1941-1942, then Type II ran up to around C62000 in 1943 which indicates Type II is the least common variant. Type III continued from there until about C410000 in the 1953-1954 time frame. Type IV was then used through the end of production.

Dials -- By 1950 the dials were all melamine.

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The Four 992B Movement Signatures

Top Left: Type I ------- Top Right : Type II

Bottom Left: Type III ------- Bottom Right: Type IV

Another interesting thing about the Type IV, is the damaskeening that was put on the pallet bridge.

Regards,
Larry

Thanks everyone.That is not what I wanted to hear.Now I have to find a sig.3 with one wheel circled or both circled.Will it ever end!!

Just curious Ed, is there any chance of knowing about the serial number range of the Type III's with the circular wheel design?

Regards,
Larry

No Larry, that's just a personal observation from memory. It would take some research in the form of a database to quantify it exactly, but I'm sure the supply of circular-damascened wheels ran out fairly early in Signature Type 3 production.

I've been meaning to set up such a database, to pin changes in movement-related things down more precisely, including the signature changes, the winding wheel changes, the center wheel changes, etc.

Thanks Ed & Buster, I have pilfered a screenshot.
Buster, what do I owe you for copyright infringement?

Just did a quick scan of eBay listings and found 2 examples with circular wheel damskeening on either side of the divide between Signature Type 2 and 3.

C62335 -- Type 2 -- Circular Wheel Damaskeening

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C93030 -- Type 3 -- Circular Wheel Damaskeening

The database has been created, it's at the top of the Hamilton Research Forum.

https://ihc185.infopop.cc/eve/f...4108073/m/3103922777

Wow Ed, that is really great. I know it will answer a lot of questions, and is a really good reference point on these 992B movements.

Thank you so much for all of your hard work and a great job!!

Regards,
Larry