Hello,

I recently bought this watch. I believe that it is a Brock, but I am not sure. Can someone help me on this? Also, I may re-sell it in the future; looking at the face, would a re-dial be suggested? Can the current, original, face be cleaned up somewhat?
Many thanks.

Tony

Second image.

I am not sure if it is a Brock or not, but I would not touch the dial. A lightly tarnished original dial is much more desireable than a redial.
Just my opinion.
Phil

From what I've seen, an original, aged, unrestored dial is desirable to serious collectors. Many casual buyers prefer a neat old vintage watch that looks pristine. I've sold them both ways and restored gets more money from non-collectors.

By the way, it is a Brock.

I agree with Tom. THis is a Brock. I can't tell if it is yellow, white or pink gold. Most are yellow gold. The White examples get a much better price. The pink ones: Still better. As for the dial, I'd pay the $25 to refinish the dial. My limited experience says that a refinished dial will bring upwards of $50 to $100 more than an ugly dial....original or not. Search Ebay and look at the prices for the Brock. Better dial = much better prices.

My two cents... It's definitely a Brock, appears to be yellow, and I would do the dial. Eagle or International can do very well with this dial. Even though, as Tom said, serious collectors would prefer an aged original, most serious collectors are far beyond the Brock, as it's one of the most common, and plainest of the solid gold rectangle Hamilton's, and there are plenty of good ones around for not that much more money.

If it were a Spur or a Meadowbrook, I'd probably leave the dial alone.

And as both Tom and Bill said, you're going to get a better price for a finished product. Casual watch buyers will pay more for a serviced, polished and "restored" example. A marginal dial, a scuffed crystal, or visible tarnish or dirt can cost hundreds in the realized price of a watch, even at this level. Even though it may seem like it's silly, such is the world of eBay.

Regards,

Cary

Since the subject is the Hamilton Brock, does anyone have any idea how many white gold and coral gold Brocks were made? A seller has a white one listed on Ebay, claiming only about ten were ever made. However, five of them have sold on Ebay in the last five years, so I can't believe that half the known quantity have miraculously appeared on Ebay in such a short time. So the quantity must be much higher. In comparison, I am lucky to own one of the 209 1931 yellow Hamilton Cambridge models and I've never seen another listed on Ebay.

To get back to the subject of Brocks, I would love to find a coral one with the two-tone roman numeral gilt dial like this one that Bryan G. recently sold. Outstanding photo Bryan!

Thank you all very much for the thoughtful and interesting responses. I appreciate it.

The rose gold Brock is one of my all-time favorite watches. Out of the 200 or so watches in my collection, it is one of my most frequent choices to wear. According to Will Roseman's research, as well as my own experience, it's remarkably rare. It's also gorgeous.

The white Brock is also very rare. I've had two in my career, one enamel dial and one applied-numeral dial. I don't have any indication of production figures but it has to be even rarer than the rose -- but I'd be hard-pressed to believe only 10 were made!

Brocks were available over several years. The earliest ones had dials with the markings engraved into the silver and filled with hard black enamel. When these are refinished they look new-old-stock since the original markings are not removed in the process. I would definitely refinish the dial in the watch in this thread, it should end up looking so perfect that the only way to tell it's not original is to remove it from the movement and look for a refinisher's code on the back.

René, you only had 150 watches when I visited you a few years ago!

I'm still kicking myself for non buying a Rose Brock I saw on eBay a year or 2 ago. It was a beauty AND it had my initials (REV) already engraved on the back. If you own it, I know a good customer for it in the future!!

Here is the Brock in the 1941 Catalog.

Don