Just Restored! Hamilton Masterpiece 14K solid green gold Grade 923 watch

Description: WANT THE BEST?! If a wealthy gentleman went into a high-end jeweler in 1940 and said: "Give me the best watch you have; cost is no object", THIS is the watch he may have left with. . . Hamilton led the world in metallurgy and other key watchmaking technologies at this time. In addition to manufacturing many of the most important timepieces in the world for military, railroad and aviation purposes, Hamilton also made many of the most desirable watches for the civilian market - and so-called "prestige" watches sat near or at the top of the pricing pyramid. This beautiful dress watch - in an unusual 14K solid "green" gold case - is just such a watch. In addition to the usual state-of-the-art technology all Hamiltons were made with at the time, including the world-famous "Elinvar" mono-metallic balance and hairspring with Breguet overcoil, this watch had the highest level of finish available from Hamilton. The entire geartrain was fully-jewelled, with cap-jewels in solid gold settings on the escape wheel and pallet fork. The mainspring barrel is of the so-called "motor barrel" type - expensive to manufacture, but utterly safe in the event of a mainspring breakage and highly efficient, running in large ruby jewels, making a total count of 23 jewels in all. This watch is received the full compliment of 5 Positions for accuracy - just as their famous railroad watches did. Pocket Watch Database adds a "Research Note" that this was a "Masterpiece" grade. The finish is exquisite: Like the cap jewels, all train gears that would normally be brass on a regular watch are made of solid rose gold and beautifully polished (see photos). The movement plates are beautifully damasceened and finished in a platinum-group metal (I believe rhodium). How rare is this watch? Pocket Watch Database lists the "share of production" on this watch as only 0.032%! This watch's serial number also gives us a clue: Although Hamilton made millions of watches, this watch's serial number is simply "R665"! The market for a watch at this level was very thin in 1940. In October of 2024, this watch was the subject of a thorough restoration. One jewel was found to have a very slight flaw, and was replaced with a factory-original part. The 80-year-old mainspring was also replaced with a correct, new old stock Hamilton mainspring. Rebuilding encompassed the highest-quality Swiss lubricants, and the watch was electronically timed and field tested for accuracy and reliability. Negatives: There is a dent on the side of the case (see photo). The crystal has a scratch in it (near the 5:00) and smaller ones in other places, but we chose to retain the older (possibly original?) crystal, giving it a light polish rather than replacing it. Unfortunately, someone very unskilled with a case opener struggled with opening the inner cover, creating a number of scratches in that area (see photo); fortunately, none seem to have damaged the gorgeous movement inside! Rather than remove precious gold, we've just left these scratches there. This watch has a presentation engraving on the inner dust cover, and initials on the outer case back. Note: The stand in the photo does not come with the watch. Also, if you wish to have this watch "Authenticated" by eBay, please let me know (I think that we just raise the price to over $2,000; correct me if I'm wrong please). You must have a feedback rating of 5 or more to participate in this auction. If you have any questions about this beautiful piece, please feel free to ask me BEFORE you bid. Returns accepted within 15 days - but the watch must be in the exact same condition it was in when it was shipped. Free shipping in the contiguous USA. Good luck!

Price: 1850 USD

Location: Mountain Home, Idaho

End Time: 2025-01-28T19:32:31.000Z

Shipping Cost: N/A USD