It gets so old...visiting pawn shops, flea markets, garage sales, etc. 98% of the time I find nothing. Then....this happens. I visited a local pawn shop instead of eating lunch, and he had a very curious item he called a "Hamilton Bird". It was so fortunate that I was wearing brown pants! About 260 of these were made in 14K yellow Gold. It is part of the "explorer series" that Hamilton did, just after buying the Illinois Watch Co. They bought Illinois in part because they needed their rectangular movement. The 401 is the most rare of all the Hamilton Movements, and this Hamilton Byrd is among the most rare of all Hamiltons. I thought the Hamilton & wrist watch fans would enjoy this one. All the Best


BTW: I failed to mention RR, who provided the information for this post.

Doc, did you know what it was Before you bought it?

Mike Nardick
NAWCC # 144409
IHC 185 Charter Member 26
Allegheny Chapter 37
mikena32@comcast.net

I knew it was a rare one, but I didn't know which one, or how rare. THe 401 movement got me really excited, and the fact that it was gold and big made me think that it really was a byrd. I didn't have access to the internet. If I did I would have looked at the following site: www.vintagehamilton.com This is the site of a great Hamilton Collector, Mark C.

Dr, Hansen,

Thats a great find! Thanks for providing the Vintage Hamilton link, great images! I was pleased to find a link to the museum and sales pages of the modern-day Hamilton Watch Company as well...

http://www.hamiltonwatch.com/

Anyone wanting a rugged, reliable and super-cool retro-design or an up-to-the-minute new style need look no further. Hamilton will always be a great watch.

Lindell

Yes, thank you for the Hamilton link. They have an online order form for their catalog, which I just filled out. I can't see their models to well on this laptop screen, so may as well get a paper copy. (grins) Regards. Mark