Could any of our Hamilton WW experts identify this nicely restored piece. I've looked through my limited resources without success. Mystery Hamilton
Mike

Michael don,t know the answer to your question but my what a nice Hamilton..

Ditto, I don't know anything about it, but it sure is a looker! Great looking Hamilton.

This design is not in Rondeau's book - but does look authentic from the back markings. That makes it probably a very rare watch indeed, a prototype, a trial case design, or it was introduced - was a sales failure - and withdrawn.

Someone needs to do more research on this. This is the first "new" model to be uncovered since the discovery of the Vancott ! I have not seen another like it in 15 years of collecting.

Dan

Appears to be a grade 754, a 12/0 size movement made about 1954.

Final bid price was $1250 (someone should probably say this given that the auction results will only be accessible for a number of months).

Adam

After looking through several Hamilton Watch Catalogs (thanks Lindell) I was still unable to nail this Mystery Hamilton down. I looked through the 1953 and 1955 catalog but didn't have a 1954 available. Does anyone have a 1954 catalog they could search for a possible match??

What I did find is that there is a striking resemblance to the Hamilton Donavan all except for the lugs. Could Hamilton have modified the lugs due to the sharp high points that would wear quickly and then introduced this as the Donavan in 1955?

Mike

What do others think:

Hey Michael,
That was my call I had emailed you through the listing when you first put it up.
Frank

I'm inclined to doubt the Donovan theory simply because the dial is totally different. If Hamilton were to make a case modification for any reason it seems logical that they would keep most of the watch the same.

Whether or not the designs shared inspiration, I believe they're two separate items.

This watch doesn't appear in the 1954 catalog, nor any other I've seen. It's a fascinating mystery. I have to assume it was simply a style that fell through the cracks -- introduced after one annual catalog was published and discontinued before the next year's. This did happen occasionally, although not usually as late as the 1950s. (It was more common in the 1930s.) These uncatalogued watches generally show up in brochures or ads that were put out between catalogs. Presumably this lovely watch was marketed in that manner but it isn't in any of the hundreds of flyers and ads that I have in my files. There's no doubt it's a factory product and not an aftermarket recase, but it will require more digging to figure out what it was called.

I checked all the catalogs through 1960 and found nothing.

Don

Thanks everyone for all the research!

If anybody has easy access to Hamilton brochures from the 50's it would be really great to put a name to this super looking watch.

Does anyone recognize the Bee trademark on the inside of the case?

Mike

I have many dozens of Hamilton brochures from the 1920s to the 1960s but unfortunately that one doesn't appear in any of those I have in my collection.

The case mark is the logo of Biggs Watch Case Co. of Stamford, CT. Hamilton bought out the company in August 1951 and ran it as a subsidiary, primarily for ladies' diamond-set cases but they also made a number of other cases, including the Spectra and Everest Electrics.