I have had this chronometer for a few years now and I would like to know if any of y'all could tell me anything about it? It has U.S. army / N 6358-1942 on the back. I assume it was built in 42?

It appears that you have one of the many Hamilton Model 22 Deck Watch chronometers that would have been originally issued to the Navy during the war and been in either of two styles of boxes (one a double box with the inner one with gimbals, or the other a simpler single box) but then after the war was over the Navy gave a large number of these to the Army in 1948. The Army milled off the Navy markings and applied Army markings and transfered many of these to the Army to use for thier peace time operations. The ones without the defacing of the Navy markings and still in their original Navy wooden cases seem to get the highest interest and prices these days.

Thanks for the info. I wondered why there was that goofy machining on the back. I did not want use any cleaner on it to see what it was. I guess they rubbed black die over the machining. Mine came in the single wooden case. The case is in average shape but the front plastic cover has broken into a thousand pieces. I'm sure I could buy some thin polycarbonate and replace it.

Should I bother with replacing the plastic cover or just leave it out? Who would I send this too for a function check and inspection if I wanted to do this?

My grandmother gave this to me a few years back and told me that my grandfather had some how obtained this while working on a ship. Now I know my grandfather to have been a very honest man so I don't believe that it just fell into his hands. I'm not a " watch guy" I don't have the money to be one since I'm self employed and going back to college but I would like to take care of this piece because of the history of why it was created and the remarkable American craftsmanship. I definetly want to pass this down.

The Army had many small boats and these were used on some of them in the late 1940s and into the 1950s. I am sure your grandfather was very honest, but these would not have just fallen into someone's hands. They were relatively valuable back then and were tightly controlled as they were important pieces of Army equipment. They were not like the A-11 or A-17 wristwatches that were issued to individuals. The only two ways an individual could have come by one is someone would have stolen it and then somehow it came into your grandfather's hands, or your grandfather could have purchased it many years later as the Army surplussed these at some point.

They are complicated and delicate mechanisms and you would not want an ordinary jewelry store that charges $50 to 'clean' a watch to put their mitts on it. Those operations are just short of a scam in that they simply dunk a watch mechanism into a sonic cleaner for a bit and then spray it with watch oil. That is not cleaning. What you need to find is a skilled watchmaker who knows how to correctly disassemble a chronometer and clean each individual part, replace any parts that are worn or broken and then reassemble everything and adjust the timing to make it fully accurate. You would be looking at a couple of hundred dollars at a minimum, and possibly much more depending on the condition. Until you have this done you really do not want to be running the watch. There will be a lot of old congealed oil and embedded dust and dirt and running the watch now will be like having fine sand in the mechanism in terms of creating a lot of excessive wear and eventual damage.

Also someday when you have the back of the case removed and the serial number from the movement documented a better date of manufacture can be determined. If you do not feel comfortable opening the case than when you have it serviced you could ask the watchmaker to record the number for you & then post it here.

As to the lens on the wood case, it would improve the appearance and add a little protection to the crystal on the watch. I have owned several of the boxes and the ones I owned the original lens on the boxes had yellowed over time due to the material it was made from. Just my opinion but if it were mine I would attempt to replace it.

Nice to see you have a memento of your grandfathers.

Thanks guys for the information. Y'all are definitely right about old grease. I have taken apart a few phoropters that were built in the 50s and 60s and the grease has solidified. It does bad stuff to the insides. I'll attemp to pull off the back cover today. They're are any threads right? It's just a tight machined fit?

I try hot glueing it to the window and twist it off.

the back is screwed on-threaded!!!!

Thanks on the info. Gosh I just read my previous post. I promise that I am American. That's what I get for adding posts from my phone. It seriously sounds like I am from south of the border. Sorry.

Just a picture of the front. It's in good shape. The crystal only has a few small scratches.