# Vantage Electric Pocket Watch



## PDXWatchCollector (Nov 15, 2013)

So, by now, most of you who'll read this know that I collect electric/electronic watches, and that certainly includes Hamilton Electrics. For those who collect Hamilton Electrics, the Vantage electric watches, which were contemporaries of the Hamilton watches (produced by Hamilton's value line, Vantage) are usually of, if nothing else, associational interest, in that, while they used the Standard 555 E movement vs the Hamilton 50X series movement, the balance wheel in the Standard 555 E was identical to, and thus interchangeable with, the balance wheel in the Hamilton 505 movement (the most ubiquitous of the Hamilton Electric movements.) This means that a lot of Vantage Electrics are pillaged for their balance wheels in order to restore Hamilton Electrics (in my experience, the Standard movements are remarkably robust, and found to be in working condition much more frequently than the Hamiltons are ...)

Anyway, with that preface, I was on e-bay a couple of weeks ago, and stumbled on a BIN ($33 shipped!) for something I'd never seen before - an NOS Vantage Electric pocket watch! Within the Hamilton Electric line, the Nautilus 403, the only pocket watch produced in that line, is one of the rarest of the Hamilton Electrics, but at least I've seen examples of those ... (not that the Vantages are on par with the Hamiltons from a collectibility or quality POV at any rate.)

Here's a front and back view of what I received:





For those who are familiar with the Vantage Electric line, you'll be aware of the fact that they produced several models of women's pendant watches (I'm aware of 3 case variants, of which I have examples of two) - I can assure you that this is not one of those. The case is 40mm (without the crown) and the eyelet is at 12 vs 6 on the pendant watches. Here's a comparative shot:



Anyway, to the extent I thought that this was an unusual/interesting find, I thought I'd share!


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## Silver Hawk (Dec 2, 2003)

Nice find Van! :clap:

When I bought my Vantage Pocket Watch (below) about 10 years ago, I showed some photos to René....his comment was something along the lines of "Never seen one of those before. Had I seen that auction, you would have had some serious bidding competition!". Luckily, he didn't see it and I won it for a low price like yours.

I do need to correct you on your movement calibre numbers (sorry): The Vantage range of watches used the Standard Time Corp 130E while the Hamilton-Ricoh watches used the Ricoh 555E. These are identical movements apart from the wording on the bridge plate...and, as you say, both share the same balance as the Hamilton 505. So there is no "Standard 555E".

My Vantage Pocket Watch:










And alongside my "incorrect" Nautilus 403 --- I had a NOS case but not the correct dial or hands, so used the closest to the original as possible.










Did eventually get a genuine 403 --- on the left:


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## PDXWatchCollector (Nov 15, 2013)

Thanks for the correction on the calibers Paul! And good to have the validation that this was as unusual as I thought it was! :biggrin:


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