Here is a very nice example of the Hamilton Bagley this one is in great condition .

pic. 2

Nice Two tone dial in original condition

The back still has some of the original bulter finish,,a few small scratches but no brass showing anywhere on the case..

I thought about buffing the back but would hate to remove any of the original finish.

987a movemnt

You call this Nice???


This is MAGNIFICENT!

Look how the dial has the original dial number at the bottom of the 6:00. An original dial in a 1939 watch....isn't that nice!

Look at the lack of brassing or wear on the high points of the bezel!

Look at the factory applied brush marks on the back of the watch!

Look at that ultra-clean movement!

Samie, Where did you find this Beauty?

Bill i got this one on ebay the pictures were really bad but after a few emails i tought i would take a change ,,i was surpized at the condition when it arrived today all i have done to the watch is whiped it off with a polshing cloth..there was years of dust on the case but my what a nice case
I will service the movement sometime soon and that will be all i have to do to this one..

Sometimes it pays off to take a risk on bad pictures this was one of those times/

Bill,
Please tell me more about the dial number below the six. Did all hamilton wrists dials come with a dial number below the six? Any info from Bill or any of you experts would be appreciated.
Samie- great, great pics and a nice watch.

Hi Tony:

Very few Hamilton's had the dial reference number printed on the face of the dial. It was not a common practice by Hamilton and in fact, I can only think of two other examples pre-1938 - the Medwick (no. 0146) Applied Gold Numeral Dial and the Medwick (no. 0147) Black Transfer Numeral Dial.

I have posted a Bagley applied gold numeral (no. 0148) blueprint below for review. As you can see, the number "0148" is posted on the bottom of the dial just as it is with Samie's (no. 0149) Black Transfer Numeral Dial. Interestingly, the Endicott Dials which contain earlier reference numbers than the Medwick and the Bagley (beginning with no. 0143 and going to no. 0145 [and yet another Endicott reference no. 0152 Gold Inlaid Roman Numeral Dial] ) do not contain the reference number on the dial face. The lack of dial reference numbers printed on the face of Hamilton dials pre-Medwick and there being none post-Bagley indicates to me that the practice was short lived indeed - only two model examples.

I hope this has been helpful.

I agree with Bill - this is a beautiful specimen and Samie was very fortunate to have purchased such a fine example of such great watch.

Wear it in health.

Regards,

Will

That is probably the nicest Bagley I've ever seen. It's especially exciting to see it with a perfect enamel dial. Although this was original a less expensive option that the applied-numeral dial, most people seem to have opted to pay more and it is hard to find enamel versions today.

The Otis and Boulton also had reference numbers on the dial. This seems to have been limited to 1930s watches.

I have an example of the Otis with a reference number on the dial. I haven't seen too many others with the number.

Guys,
Have now put the bagley with a nice dial on my wish list. Thanks for the great info.

Thanks everone for the nice comments and for the info. on the dial#,,

i have 2 Boultons and i noticed that the one i have on ebay does not have a dial# but the other one has the number d90 at the bottom of the dial

Hi Bill and Rene:

That's interesting that the Otis and the Boulton would have reference numbers on the dial face. I have the original blueprints and they do not include printed reference numbers as the Medford and Bagley do.

Do you know the reference number for the particular dials you are referring too and if they are transfer, enamel or applied gold numerals? I would be very interested in seeing them.

Thanks a bunch,

Will

Is the dial metal or enamel? I can't think of an enamel dial I have seen on a Hamilton wristwatch.

When Will refers to "enamel" in this sense, he is referencing the paint used to decorate the dial... i.e. enamel paint. The dial is actually metal, silver in most cases.

The practice of placing identification numbers is quite prevalent on Hamilton wristwatches from the late 1930s through the 1940s. I have a Dodson with a ID number, and have recently had a Linwood, Ross, and Eaton with the numbers, and have seen many more over the years.

Probably the similarity between dial shapes on numerous models from this period made it necessary to give each dial a unique number to make sure the correct dial was placed on the watch when it was assembled.

Michael Bryan is right about the dial it is metal with a enamel paint of some kind ,it makes for a beautiful dial and as you can see from the picture it has stayed in good conditon for a watch made in 1939 ..

Will here is a picture of a Boulton dial i have with the number d90 at the bottom ,,this one is in bad shape but is a example you can take a look at..

Thanks Samie:

My collecting experience only spans from 1917 to 1936 so it's great to see dial examples outside that range. I've not seen any dial reference numbers on faces from the period that interests me so this was a treat as well as great Hamilton learning session.

I suspect that as usual, Bryan is correct - "the similarity between dial shapes models from this period made it necessary to give each dial a unique number to make sure the correct dial was placed on the watch when it was assembled."

Thanks,

Will