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Hamilton Crystal Question

les13

By les13
in Watch Repairs Help & Advice

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les13 Member

les13

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I am a newbie. This is my first attempt at refurbishing a watch. I have finished Mark’s level 1 and 2 classes. Level 3 may answer some of my questions, but I have not started it yet.

 

See photos of the watch in question. A Hamilton front loader. Crystal measures 30.14 mm and case is 33.14 mm. I see lots of round crystals for Hamilton watches, but I am assuming there is a special designation for crystals for front loading watches. What should I be looking for?

 

Thanks in advance.

 

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jdm Distinguished Member

jdm

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9 hours ago, les13 said:

I am assuming there is a special designation for crystals for front loading watches. What should I be looking for?

There is not. Acrylic crystal of the right dia, height and profile on the lip that fits is. You may also need a tool to install it, personally I suggest a plier type over a claws one.

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les13 Member

les13

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Normally cases that require special crystals have a reference number. There appears to be a serial number but no case number? I don't suppose there's any marking on the back side of the case?
 

Nothing helpful on the back. Well, there is an inscription dated 1965. That is helpful I guess.

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After much reading, I have found similar Hamilton watches from the 1960s use a GS PA467-6 or -14. These appear too large - 31.11 mm vs my measurement of 30.80. However, my crystal was loose enough that I popped it out with my thumbnail. If The new crystal does not fit my case, I will at least have something to compare against.
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JohnR725 Distinguished Member

JohnR725

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I have a link below that has the GS catalog. Scroll down to page 100 and you get into the PA section if it is a specific crystal it should be found there someplace.Then on page 116 it shows the shapes of their generic crystals basically your Crystal may be a PHD.

For the second plank scroll down until you get the three cross-references the generic ones. Each one has Hamilton crystals some have a case number or name and others have apparently no such identification but you will see all the different crystals that they had.

https://gssupplies.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/G-S-Crystal-Catalog.pdf

https://gssupplies.com/plastic/

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Tudor Distinguished Member

Tudor

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Les, where are you located?

Cool to see a 25-year watch from P&W. I do a lot of work for them overhauling F100-229 compressor blades. They are down the road in East Hartford. Our shop is in Wast Hartford. 
 

And G-S is the best bet fur a crystal. Even if what you want isn’t in stock, once you know the number you can search eBay. I’ve gotten plenty of crystals there. Lots of old stock lying around. 

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les13 Member

les13

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Les, where are you located?
Cool to see a 25-year watch from P&W. I do a lot of work for them overhauling F100-229 compressor blades. They are down the road in East Hartford. Our shop is in Wast Hartford. 
 
And G-S is the best bet fur a crystal. Even if what you want isn’t in stock, once you know the number you can search eBay. I’ve gotten plenty of crystals there. Lots of old stock lying around. 

Tudor, I am in Baton Rouge, LA. I bought the watch from a jewelry store / pawn shop in Beaumont, TX. P&W had facilities all over the U.S., but I have no idea where the person who owned this watch worked. I really like watches with inscriptions on them.

I still am not 100% certain of the G-S number, but I bought a crystal off of eBay. I should have it in a week or so. If nothing else, I will eliminate crystals that do not fit my watch.
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Tudor Distinguished Member

Tudor

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GE has a plant in Beaumont. I spent a lot of time down there for a former employer writing robot programs for them. That plant is closed now. 
 

Anything other than pawn shops in Beaumont these days? I collected a bunch of nice Snap-On tools on each trip down there. Went to Space Center Houston a bunch of times too. That’s always fun!

I think Pratt had a shop in San Antonio. 

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