I have 3 Hamilton 990's and no 992 and 2 992B's. I have picked all the 990s' up for less than a typical 992 in the same condition go for. This one is a private label and the movement is excellent to near mint and the case is very nice but probably not time period correct (shot stem) but still very nice. All three of the 990's I picked up for in the 150-230 range and these are lower volume, higher grade movements than the 992 but for the world of me I cannot understand why people overlook these grades, to me this is like passing up a 360 Veritas for a 454 Father Time.

I've never understood that either, Claude. I picked my 990 for less than my 2nd pattern 992.

And compared to the 990, my 992 is pretty boring.

So, faced with market logic like that, I switched to Seth Thomas.

There are two styles of the 990, the 2 screw and the one screw, I have 2 of the first style (2 screws) and one of the 2nd style (one screw) but I have still wondered why it is less chased after than the 992's. I guess that is why I stick with Elgins, but I will not pass up a nice 990 when everyone else does, makes my collecting life easier.

The second one that Eric posted is a later 992, I will have to check if the click is different. Eric's picture does show the different on the hold down on the small wind wheels. If you look at the specs of the 990, it was a better grade and more expensive

Specs and pricing for the 990

990 specs and pricing


Specs for the 992

992 Specs and pricing

I'm moving this topic to where it belongs, in the Hamilton forum.

From the back-in-the-day pricing, it makes sense that the 992 was cheaper than the 990, with the 996 right in between.

Claude, I think what it is, is that more people "know" the 992 as the kind of railroad standard, and the more beautiful 990 may be not as well known to some.I know what you mean though, 992's are a nice watch, but nowhere near as nice a 990 or 996.But, they still go for crazy prices, even though there are thousands of them out there, not many 990's, and even less 996's.I have 2 992's, one in a crossbar case, and the other in a model 6 WGF case.I like them, but I like my 996 much more.The thing that really gets me, is why the 992B is such a hot item, any regular 992 is a way nicer watch.By the time 992B's came out, the fire was out as far as the finish went, I know mechanically, they are better, but look like a dollar watch compared to the 992.Add to that, many of them had those melamine dials that didn't hold up at all.They obviously no longer cared about the appearance of the movement by then.

The Movement

The dial

Nice on Claude, you said that was a private label, what is the name on the dial?...Ted.

Oops, you were posting that at the same time.That is a good looking 990 all around!

As best I can tell it is Mase Kuner from Seattle and so far it is keeping good time. There is a repair around the 40 min area but it is a very good repair job.

Hi Claude,
I agree with you and many others that the 990's movement was a fancier looking movement and a lower production should bring more money verses the 992, but 90% of the time that doesn't happen.

I think the 992's were the most popular watch sold by far selling well over 500,000 and developed a "legendary air" about them, if that makes any sense. It is just something about those strips whether they be narrow or wide, they look nice!! I guess it's like any history lesson "legends" never die.

Best Regards,
Tim

'

Hi Claude - Could it be Max Kuner ?

Could be, sometimes with this fancy script I am guessing but it could as easily be a X vs an SE, so I think Max is a possibility. I did a search on the web and the watch I purchased showed up as being "Max Kuner" along with a lot of other clocks and watches. It appears Max was well known for clocks and watches in the Seattle area.

Decided to put this one into a nice green gold case to spiff it up a bit

The case is a 14K Keystone JBoss case with no warranty so that means the case is 1924 or later so technically it is a mis-match but it looks good for the moment, much better than the base metal case it was in.