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Production
Date: Late 1907
Price When New: Prototype (not
sold to the public)
Case: Uncased
Case Manufacturer: Not
applicable
Production for this Variation:
This is one of only two known prototype examples of the Hamilton 0-sized
movement which was utilized in Hamilton's first wristwatch for men.
Movement: 0-Sized Prototype -
983 17-movement
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Comments:
The movement photographed above is the prototype for the 983 Hamilton 0-sized wristwatch. The 983 movement was
introduced in 1909 and initially designed for usage in women's
chatelaine, cord and lapel watches but was ultimately destined to become
Hamilton’s first men’s wristwatch movement. It was
“patterned” after the Swiss made Meylan 0-sized movement sometime
during late 1907 or early 1908 and the first 297 chatelaine examples
were shipped to wholesalers in May and June, 1909.
In April of 1917, Hamilton decided to
use two of its existing movements for what it termed the “Gent’s
Wrist Watch” – a factory cased men’s wristwatch with 17-jewel grade
983 0-size movements and 19-jewel grade 985 0-size movements
providing the power.
Both the 983 and the 985 offered
Hamilton a distinct advantage in the creation of a men’s wristwatch,
as both were standard 0-size movements and could be fit into any
standard 0-size case. This allowed Hamilton to eliminate the need
for any new case tooling and subsequently, Hamilton was able to
quickly and economically produce a men’s wristwatch in a relatively
short period of time – just two months. Most importantly, the 983
and 985 were known to be quality movements that could withstand the
more rigorous service to which wristwatches were subjected.
The 983 and 985 “Gents Wrist Watch”
models were cased at the Hamilton factory in Lancaster, Pennsylvania
in sterling silver 0-size cases. Hamilton produced a total of 306
examples of the 17-jewel grade 983 “Gents Wrist Watch” and 204
examples of the 19-jewel grade 985 “Gents Wrist Watch” in 1917 and
production continued until 1919. A total of 1,749 examples were
produced in their three year production span. These watches were
originally only offered in wire-lug round sterling silver cases
fitted with a leather strap and sterling silver buckle, priced to
the consumer at $35.00. Interestingly, the grade 985 model was
priced the same as the grade 983 model, despite having two
additional jewels.
The grade 983 and 985 0-sized
wristwatch was Hamilton's first "wrist watch for men" and each
example is a rare and historically significant timepiece.
The above example is the first
operational 0-sized Hamilton movement completed, and subsequently
can be considered Hamilton's very first wristwatch movement made.
This movement has served as forerunner and witness to the long and
prestigious history for which Hamilton would stake its well deserved
claim as "America's finest watch".
