Hamilton MIL watch crown - need help

[xpatUSA]

Hi Y'all (as they say round here)

I hope to be restoring a GG-W-113 spec. Hamilton field watch soon. The crown is missing and maybe the stem. Anybody know where I could get replacements, S/H, NOS or whatever?

The movt. is a ETA 2750 - currently disfunctional. Since I'll probably break it while trying to fix it, I might end up with a new movt. from Otto Frei which would come with a stem, but I would still need a crown.

(I'll be out of town and off-line 'til Saturday eve - I'll check for posts then)

Thanks,

[Crusader]

I had my Hamilton GG-W-113 restored by IWW, and Jack found a new generic crown for it.

[xpatUSA]

I had my Hamilton GG-W-113 restored by IWW, and Jack found a new generic crown for it.

Thanks Crusader.

Well, here it is, all $26 worth. (Not sure that the hands are original!!)







TTFN,

[Crusader]

The dial does not look in too bad a condition, but the hands are definitely not original.

On the other hand, the standard hands for the GG-W-113, like for the 46374 milwatches, must be easy to find - there are thousands of them around.

[xpatUSA]

The dial does not look in too bad a condition, but the hands are definitely not original.

On the other hand, the standard hands for the GG-W-113, like for the 46374 milwatches, must be easy to find - there are thousands of them around.

Hi folks,

Here's an update on this somewhat recalcitrant watch. The movement was beyond my fixin' abilities. No stem, trashed up keyless works, broken center wheel and a bent (!) hour post.

So, a new ETA 2750 arrived from Otto Frei - it turned out to be from Titoni and had 21 jewels. Also received some "sports" hands and actually managed to broach the 25/100 mm seconds hand to fit the 26/100 mm post. I found a generic crown to fit in one my boxes. This watch is turning into an unsaleable mutt, so I'll probably keep it as the only 21-jewel GG-W-113 watch on the planet!

The plan now is to get the dial re-lumed with Super-Luminova blobs (green, but with an orange one at the top a la Marathon). The new hands are regular Luminova.

Heard from Jack @ IWW - bad news, they are not accepting new orders until September. Bummer!

TTFN,

[JP (Europe)]

Well, here it is, all $26 worth. (Not sure that the hands are original!!)




TTFN,

Surely hands are not original. BTW I have similar watch made on June -78 and number is about 2300 lower. Almost family :wink:

JP

[xpatUSA]

Surely hands are not original. BTW I have similar watch made on June -78 and number is about 2300 lower. Almost family :wink:
JP

Cool, JP! No, the hands are most certainly not original. I'll post a pic when it's re-assembled.

Feeling good today, actually got an Altus mil watch movement (ETA 2801-2) cleaned, oiled and running with a new escape wheel.

TTFN,

[xpatUSA]

Cool, JP! No, the hands are most certainly not original. I'll post a pic when it's re-assembled.

Here's a pic with the Otto Frei hands trial-fitted. :?

They're a bit too long. Can't say that I like 'em that much. Intention was to have the dial re-lumed the same color green :pukeright:

Anybody agree/disagree?



TTFN,

[Guntram]

Anybody agree/disagree?

Hi xpat,

First off, congrats on the watch!

I actually like the length of the minute hand - I've always felt they should clearly indicate which minute is actually covered.

I'd disagree on re-luming the dial to match the hands, though. Somehow the yellow tritium glow constitutes the appeal of this watch to me, so I'd try to possibly re-do the dial to bring back the lume - but definitely re-lume the hands to match the dial.

I'm actually having the same issue with a military watch myself. A NOS tritium dial was put into my Tutima Flieger - and the greenish luminova hands drive me crazy now. It's hardly noticeable in daylight, but it really stands out in the darkness.

Would anyone know who to send the watch to, to have the hands re-done? Either tritium-ized, or luminova'ed in a color that matches the tritium glow?

Thanks in advance for any lead - greatly appreciated!

Guntram

[Crusader]

I have never heard of a place that does re-lume in tritium, only ever Super-Luminova, although the latter can easily be done in a color to match aged tritium.

Jack@IWW http://www.angelfire.com/blues/andcamey ... tpage.html and Kent Parks at Everest Watchworks http://www.everestwatchworks.com/ are the people you are looking for. Jack has a summer moratorium, though, and will not accept new work until September.

[Guntram]

That was quick! Thanks, Crusader, and have a nice weekend!

Guntram

[xpatUSA]

I actually like the length of the minute hand - I've always felt they should clearly indicate which minute is actually covered.

I'd disagree on re-luming the dial to match the hands, though. Somehow the yellow tritium glow constitutes the appeal of this watch to me, so I'd try to possibly re-do the dial to bring back the lume - but definitely re-lume the hands to match the dial.
Guntram

Guntram is a mind-reader! I'm keeping the hands and having the markers and the hands re-lumed in Super Luminova white shade #C1. Still going for the orange marker at 12, slightly enlarged.

Crusader is correct about providers. I am going to Kent Parks, who is really excellent on the communications front and says he'll take about a week to turn it around. Highly recommended, and the finished product will be posted when received.

Of three other dial refinishers, two did not reply to my enquiries and the third actually has all enquiries going into his spam folder - you get an auto-reply e-mail where you have to ask this guy for a special code so that it doesn't. The really sad part is that AOL puts auto-replies into YOUR spam folder and I only caught it by accident.

TTFN,

[xpatUSA]

This just in from Kent Parks at the Everest Watch Co. Dial is done and in the mail. The man is good. Can't wait.



TTFN,

[Crusader]

That looks, in one word, stunning! Good choice, Ted! :D

[xpatUSA]

That looks, in one word, stunning! Good choice, Ted!

Thanks, Crusader! Kent went beyond the call of duty on this one. He even cleaned up the dial without being asked. I'll post a pic when the thing is assembled - hmmm, must learn how to do these light/dark show-off photos with our uncontrollable Kodak.

TTFN,

[xpatUSA]

I'll post a pic when the thing is assembled - hmmm, must learn how to do these light/dark show-off photos with our uncontrollable Kodak.

Well, here's the best dark pic out of several failures! It does no justice at all to Kent Parks' luminizing, but it does give an idea of how it looks in the dark. The blob below the 3 is the seconds hand tip.



And here's the end result:



All we have to do now is re-install the crystal without breaking it, and throw on a black nylon MIL strap from BroadArrow.net. No more pics unless by popular demand. Thanks for the encouragement and advice from Forum members, highly appreciated, and a special thanks to Kent Parks for a super (luminova :lol: ) job!!

[Duarte]

"This watch is turning into an unsaleable mutt, so I'll probably keep it as the only 21-jewel GG-W-113 watch on the planet!"



Not the only one... I have one with a Titoni signed 2750 too! (also from ofrei.com) I wonder if the signed part can be easily swapped for the original?

Why bother..? 8)

Nice job by Kent Parks. Looks great!

[xpatUSA]

Not the only one... I have one with a Titoni signed 2750 too! (also from ofrei.com)

Darn! I did move the hacking lever over though, so this watch still hacks!

I wonder if the signed part can be easily swapped for the original)?

Yes it could, I intended to put the old bridge on - but the jewel for the center wheel was broken. Plus, the number of jewels would be off - I think it would then be like 20 (one cap missing on the escape wheel?).

That Super Luminova certainly gets bright after a few seconds under the Texas sun. I still prefer Tritium vials though, for their constant brightness.

TTFN,

[Dynamo]

May be that hand are more close to the original :



http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...ory=31387&rd=1

PS : I have no link with seller

[xpatUSA]

May be that hand are more close to the original :


PS : I have no link with seller

Yes, they are very close to the original in shape. I asked the Seller, but I found that the mounting hole sizes were incorrect for the ETA 2750 and 2801-2 movements. (merd!)

If anybody finds a good source for NOS hands for MIL watches GG-W-113 or MIL-W-46374 I would be very interested. As Crusader said, there must be thousands of them out there - but I have yet to find them. Yet, we see lots of nice, collectable MIL watches on eBay with missing or really bad hands.

TTFN,

[Dynamo]

Hand Hole Size for ETA 28XX and ISA 1198 (Quartz)

? Minute Hand =>90
? Hour Hand =>150
? Second Hand (White & Red) =>25



BTW, why you do hask for the hands of moderne Hamilton khaki => that have an ETA 28XX insde or some version in 33 mm with quartz. you need to know the movement use by Hamilton




ETA 963.111/6 =>90/150/25
ETA 963.121/6 =>90/150/25
ISA 1198/42 =>90/150/25
ISA 1198/32 =>90/150/25
ESA 944.111 =>90/150/25
ESA 955.112/4 =>90/150/25
ESA 947.111 =>90/150/25
ESA 955.112/4 =>90/150/25
ETA 450.101 =>90/150/25
ETA 450.111 =>90/150/25
ETA 450.121 =>90/150/25

[xpatUSA]

May be that hand are more close to the original :

Yes, they are very close to the original in shape. I asked the Seller

Hi Dynamo,

What I meant to say was that I e-mailed the eBay seller of these hands and asked if he had any 150/90/25 sets. He told me he didn't.

BTW, why you do hask for the hands of moderne Hamilton khaki => that have an ETA 28XX

A gentleman, that I sold an ETA 2750 to, told me that he had been in contact with Hamilton but they could not sell him any "khaki" hands. He did not say why.

So, still looking for a supplier, if anybody knows of one.

Cheers.

[Dynamo]

may be the hands of seiko military, but you need to broch the seond hand