Sometimes I can hardly believe what some people do to watches. The case is the Hastings and the dial is from a Meadowbrook.

The really sad part is to think about what happened to the Meadowbrook... likely melted down for scrap.

Regards,

Cary

I love when I see these obvious ones on Ebay... and the seller INSISTS they are all original.

The seller probably thinks, "Well, they're all original Hamilton parts.... so it must be an original watch!". That's, of course, if he knows what he's selling.

Wow, someone paid $85 for that monstrocity. Must've needed the dial or case. I'd hate to think it would actually be worn as is.

The buyer emailed me yesterday to inquire about having me restore it. When I opened the link he sent and saw the watch I found myself dreading writing a reply. I told him the situation in great detail. It turns out he collects some watches, mostly Elgin, and didn't realize this wasn't just a matter of a poorly refinished dial. He's sanguine about it, chalking it up to the cost of experience. As I told him, it's not a total loss -- an exploding numeral Meadowbrook dial would add value to an applied-numeral Meadowbrook. Not a bad part to have in the drawer, if rather an expensive one.