Anton Abrahamsen
March 4, 2012
I developed an interest in watches ever since I discovered my father’s mechanical chronograph from the 1970’s. While that watch is still very precious to me, I wanted to know what else was available and started looking around for a second watch that might complement my mood or dress better on a given day.
The information available on the innumerable web pages and forums are pretty overwhelming, and it gave me a good starting point, but I thought picking up a book on wristwatches from the library would give me a more focused overview on the subject. In THE WATCH the author, Gene Stone, recommended picking up a Hamilton as a beginner piece because they were well made and could be acquired relatively inexpensively. I liked their overall look and thought the brand had some interesting designs.
In particular, Hamilton’s art deco watches spoke to me and I knew I wanted one with a squarish case and numerals in luminescent green; thus I scoured ebay and eventually found this Cushion:
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| Hamilton Cushion |
I did not have a clue about the piece, but I loved it nonetheless because it was everything I wanted (and it even ran). The seller did not list the dimensions, so I started searching for any information possible on it. While doing so I stumbled upon this blog and with some additional sleuthing I sufficiently collected enough information for me to feel good about bidding. I even created a mock-up of the watch out of paper beforehand.
Based on the 987F movement , its serial number, and years the watch was in production, I estimated, more like a guess, that it dated from 1929. I was willing to spend about $150.00, but I won it for $90.99.
The day it arrived in the mail I brought it to the time master, Dimitrie Vicovanu, who I also learned about through this site, to see what needed to be done. There were a couple of people before me, but Dimitrie asked what I had with me so I took out the Hamilton and the whole experience felt like a watch “show and tell.” The woman before me had a Vacheron Constantin that had stopped running and the man behind me was there to talk about a repair on a 1925 Patek Philippe, high class watches for sure, but I could tell they appreciated and were interested in the Cushion.
Dimitrie said, “Oh, it’s running. That’s good!,” and he heard out my concerns. I voiced that it was a very old watch and I wanted to know how well it kept time and if it needed a cleaning. He put the watch in a device that summarized how much time would be lost/gained in a twenty-four hour period in both the horizontal position and vertical position.
The result was not good news. 8 minutes and 4 minutes slow in vertical and horizontal positions. He started outlining the rare parts that he may need to replace and the work would cost more than the watch was worth. I asked what could be done. He took out a tiny compass and waved it over the watch and the needle went haywire. He told me it was heavily magnetized – also not a good sign. Dimitrie then took out this device the size of an old-time radio and placed the watch in it and pushed a button, then rotated it 90 degrees and pushed the button again, and proceeded in this fashion until it was in the original position. Apparently this demagnetized the watch and he tested it again.
This time the watch read 3 minutes 1 minute slow, which really surprised him. He adjusted it a little and gave it back. I asked if it needed a COA and he said “bring it back in the late spring, I am very busy now, but it will be okay until then.” With that blessing I thanked Dimitrie and felt good walking away from his booth.
The last few days I have been using the watch exclusively and noticed that it has been running a little fast; perhaps the exercise has been doing it well. I look forward to taking it back in a few months to get it in tip top shape.
All images copyright Anton Abrahamsen
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