100 JEWELS WALTHAM

[markr]

I was able to find quite a few watches yesterday at yard sales including 4 10k gold ones including this $5 Waltham 100 jewels.  I thought I would be more impressed when I opened the back. I had to go through a box of trash to rescue a 10k Hamilton masterpiece that had its booklet case and outer box and just needed a battery. They threw it away because it had no strap.  After finding it in the trash box they charged me $1 for it.  

[spectre6000]

Sounds like some 404 entrants! More pics!

Edited June 28, 2020 by spectre6000

[markr]

This is the $1 Hamilton I pulled out of the trash box.

[KarlvonKoln]

Wow, a 100 jewel Waltham incabloc.  I'd love a closer look inside of there (past the auto-winder anyway).  I'm astounded; it only tells hours, minutes, & seconds, so how can it have that many shafts and arbors and pallets to put jewels on?  Wonderful piece there.

And the Hamilton's understated, yet elegant, design will make almost any watch strap look good. I don't generally go for quartz (because I so old fashioned I still have a land line phone) but I would wear that.You've got some nice finds here.

[markr]

From what I hear only 83 are functional.  They must double up on everything.  This weekend I found a Vulcan Cricket alarm for $2

[Marc]

4 hours ago, markr said:

From what I hear only 83 are functional.

I think that you may find it's 83 that are non-functional.

It's an AS movement, probably a 1700 as these were a favourite for over-jewelling for marketing purposes. It has no more staffs, arbors and pallets than a 17 jewel AS1700. As you go over 17 jewels the justification (on the grounds of time keeping) for extra jewels becomes increasingly more difficult, and past about 21 almost impossible in a standard h:m:s type movement.

That's not to say that additional jewels beyond 21 are completely pointless. Jewelled bearings throughout the auto-wind mechanism have a value in so much as they tend to have lower frictional losses compared to metal on metal bearings and so increase winding efficiency and prolong component life, but their contribution to more consistent time keeping can be a difficult point to argue.

Once you have jewelled and end capped every single axial bearing in the watch though you are going to struggle to justify a single extra rock on the grounds of functionality, which means that even with the most complex auto-wind system you're going to top out somewhere between 35 and 40 functional jewels and that's probably being generous, beyond that is almost always nothing more than marketing hype.

There's an interesting article on the subject here.

[markr]

Well I'm glad that I don't have to oil 100 jewels. I don't think that I could afford the oil.