# An Uncommon Hamilton



## Sisyphus (Jun 3, 2009)

Pictured below is my recently acquired Hamilton "Lexington" from 1941. It was made only in that year, before Hamilton committed all of its production to the war effort, and was the company's first wristwatch with a stainless steel case. The Lexington was also a rather stark stylistic departure for Hamilton, as can be seen in the page from the company's 1941 catalog below the photo of the watch. It is in above-average condition, and I was fortunate to find it at a bargain price.


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## bridgeman (Dec 9, 2008)

fantastic sub seconds dial!


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## Thian (Nov 23, 2008)

such a beauty! all crystal and in such great condition! size? 33mm? a piece of history! Love it! will you wear it or just a collection piece?


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## markffw (Mar 30, 2010)

Nice watch .


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## Sisyphus (Jun 3, 2009)

Thian said:


> such a beauty! all crystal and in such great condition! size? 33mm? a piece of history! Love it! will you wear it or just a collection piece?


Thanks for the compliments. The watch is rather small in size, as was the style back then: only about 29mm across, including the crown, and 36mm from lug tip to lug tip. I plan to wear it occasionally, as I do the other vintage Hamiltons in my small collection.


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## pg tips (May 16, 2003)

That is lovely, I'd love a homage of that


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## Paul H. (Nov 18, 2008)

That is a very nice looking Hamilton!!

"Happy Canada Day"


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## watch4me (Jul 4, 2010)

Superb watch, now to try and find one for myself :dwarf:


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## Stan (Aug 7, 2003)

Any idea of the movement grade?


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## watch4me (Jul 4, 2010)

After viewing this thread I did a google search and found this web site which has a picture of the movement.

http://www.cronovintage.es/epages/61854727.sf/en_GB/?ObjectPath=/Shops/61854727/Products/15


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## watch4me (Jul 4, 2010)

Oh, you have to click on the first picture at the top to see the movement.


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## Sisyphus (Jun 3, 2009)

watch4me said:


> After viewing this thread I did a google search and found this web site which has a picture of the movement.
> 
> http://www.cronovint...727/Products/15


It is interesting that the seller of the Lexington shown at this link described it as a military watch. I've seen other sellers do the same, probably to boost the price because military watches seem to be all the rage at the moment. But the Lexington was a civilian watch not made for military use, as its inclusion in Hamilton's 1941 catalog plainly indicates.

As the linked page shows, the Lexington is powered by Hamilton's 17-jewel grade 980 movement, which the company used for several years in different watches. (An upgraded version, the 19-jewel grade 982, is almost identical.) What seems odd is that Hamilton used the rectangular 980 movement in a round watch when it had round movements available, notably the 987A. That was the movement for many Hamilton military watches produced during World War II.


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