Need help with ID and other Questions (mid 1950's Hamilton)

[Mecal]

Alright, so I have my gradfathers watch here, which he purchased in 1954.

So I would like to know a couple things:
1) on the back it says "10K Filled D&A" -- whats D&A?
2) what model is it? (I have attached pictures)
3) is it worth anything? I imagine so, but to what extent?

Thanks very much :)

Oh yeah, and it still works :)

http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g150/MG1100/Wach3.jpg

http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g150/MG1100/Watch1.jpg

http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g150/MG1100/Watch2.jpg

[Eeeb]

D&A represents the company that made the case... others may know the exact name. It was normal for a different company to make the case than made the watch... it's still done by almost everyone except Rolex.

I'm not a Hammy expert... but there are a whole raft of folks who are really into Hamiltons and their websites should be able to tell you a lot about the model, especially since you know the year.

As to value, I'd pay a small fortune for my father's watch... but I wouldn't expect others to. You are in the same situation.... check eBay for comparables. WUS doesn't do evaluations.

Looks to be in pretty good shape. I wonder if that is the original bracelet?

[Mecal]

I didnt find any Hamilton that was similar on Ebay.

OK, so DA is the case maker. so Gold Filled is what then? What is filled with gold, the case, the internals? :-)

The bracelet is not original unfortunately. He said he got a new one twice. And this is the most recent one, from the early 80's or so.

Thanks for your help :-!

[Ray MacDonald]

Gold filled refers to the case and it means that there is a thin layer of gold making a sandwich with a base metal like copper. Normal gold filling is about 5% gold, 95% base metal.
Looks a bit like a Hamilton "Windsor" but I am not sure. There are better experts who may know more.

[Hartmut Richter]

Although it may not sound equivalent, "gold filled" is the same as "gold plated", i.e. only the surface is gold. On top of that (no pun intended!), it's only 10 carat (10K) gold, i.e. about 40% - you can find 18K gold filled watches. So, no particular value on that count. Still, the rest of the watch is fairly high grade and the thing looks in good condition, so it's worth a little more than just a cup of coffee!

Hartmut Richter

[JimH]

Gold-filled is, indeed, a gold layer but it is much thicker than any normal gold plating whose thickness is usually only 5-10 microns (one micron = one millionth of a meter). Gold filled material is also produced in a different way than plating. The bass metal is not "plated" with gold but rather a sheet of gold of a specified purity (10k, 14K, etc.) is compressed/welded to the base metal. A gold-filled watch might typically have a gold thickness of 80-120 microns.

[Mecal]

ah ok.
Thanks all.

yeah too bad its only 10K gold.

[Ray MacDonald]

@JimH,
Any idea on the Hamilton model name? I couldn't find it in my texts.

[JimH]

@JimH,
Any idea on the Hamilton model name? I couldn't find it in my texts.

Hi Ray,

It's a Hamilton "Townsend" model from 1954. This model has the 19 jewel 753 caliber. It's included in Rene Rondeau's book. "Hamilton Wristwatches - A Collector's Guide".

Jim

[Mecal]

oh great, thanks a lot!

[Ray MacDonald]

Thanks. Knew we could rely on you for this. :-!

[pacifichrono]

The use of the term "gold filled" was defined by law requiring the gold plate or "overlay" to equal at least 1/20 of the total weight of the item. This usually means that gold filled cases consist of a gold layer that is many times thicker than ordinary gold plating like rolled gold plate ("RGP") or heavy gold electroplate ("HGE"). I have read that for watch cases, gold filled generally means 80 microns or more of gold plating thickness. The 1/20 requirement can mean different thicknesses based on case designs, type of base metal used, thickness of the base metal, etc.