I wrote the book on Hamilton Electrics -- "The Watch of the Future" -- and had a very long career as a watchmaker restoring these watches. I know them intimately. They weren't as short-lived as you might think. The 500 and nearly identical 500A movements were sold up to 1961, when the 505 was introduced. That movement eliminated the delicate trip spring and contact wire so it was far easier to service. The 505 was produced up to 1969. Approximately 340,000 Hamilton Electrics were sold in that time -- pretty substantial production. Your watch is a Titan. It has the same case shape as the Van Horn, but the Titan is gold-filled while the Van Horn is 14K gold. The dial designs were different as well.
@Butters-s4i22 сағат бұрын
I have a Hamilton Uranus with the 500 movement. Love that watch.
@Butters-s4i22 сағат бұрын
And have also read your book. Thanks for the insights.
@richardkent220021 сағат бұрын
God I just love this stuff simply fascinating and reminds me how long these coin style batteries have been around Thank you for the great piece of information
@davidcrandall495820 сағат бұрын
Timex took this technology and ran with it but How do you get the batteries?
@johnnyarsenault912419 сағат бұрын
Way glad you commented for even more info., way cool! 😎
@boydsargeant74962 сағат бұрын
Thanks Kalle, great bit of watch history!
@geoffdunstan856722 сағат бұрын
Thank you Kalle for this most interested video, and thanks to Rene.Rondeau for more insight into this fascinating watch. regards, Geoff from Merimbula Australia
@Erwinhooi10 сағат бұрын
Fantastic unique piece! I like that alternative inventions :) with that clumsy seconds hand movement because there is no spring tension on the gears, awesome!
@PapaC-o9b10 сағат бұрын
i think for a bat driven watch it is elegant but a lass my grandfather made me mech lover watching him for years build. thanks.
@ArkadiuszGawlik-j8x21 сағат бұрын
That's such a coincidence - I just got more into electric watches and bought few days ago a Timex M40 (cannot really compare to Hamilton 500 in terms of finnishing, since M40 was a cheap movement but still using the same working principle). World of electric watches (as of all watches) is super fascinating :) I"m impressed of how much engineering challenges were taken to develop them. Thank you Kalle for this video! :)
@mreb772419 сағат бұрын
I'm so happy you made this video. My favorite type of watches. Also among them from japan the citizen cosmotron x8 and seiko elnix. The citizen cosmotron 7806A is amazing.
@archie15545 сағат бұрын
It's still cool and collectable to me, especially the early models.
@antondolgopolov2 сағат бұрын
Your are just in time with this video, Kalle! Now I'm trying to restore a Russian version of Hamilton 500 watch. It called Слава Электрические from early 60s.
@johnnyarsenault912419 сағат бұрын
Thanks Kalle for opening up our eyes to old (new for us) tech.! 👌❤️👍
@wildernessofzinn17Күн бұрын
Good one, K!. I have one of these, and I wear it occasionally. I got lucky and found the repair manual for this particular watch.
@StephanJPPLКүн бұрын
Interesting watch. Thought I had seen most escapement types but then another came.😊Thanks for sharing👍
@waldoroeg960423 сағат бұрын
Wonderful to learn about this it’s amazing. Wonderful to see your passion and ability to tell its story. Still the best watch site on KZbin keep it up 👍🏼
@ElderPinto254Күн бұрын
heel erg cool om te zien !!! makes me smile .. bedankt kalle.
@tomg611717 сағат бұрын
Clever, these Earthlings!
@dodabartman12322 сағат бұрын
Nice one! And let's forget the Hamilton Ventura from that same period. I consider it the most classy dress watch.
@davidcrandall495821 сағат бұрын
I liked the Hamilton Flight!
@dodabartman12320 сағат бұрын
@@davidcrandall4958 huh, i never saw one of those David, they are cool looking.
@MrRoundelКүн бұрын
These electric Hamiltons are very cool. I especially like the Hamilton case designs. They were so different, and very aesthetically beautiful. The book, "Time for America", by Don Sauers, says the style of this case is called a "Van Horn". And it does show from 1957, FWIW. Cheers.
@alleckssadler73793 сағат бұрын
According to Rene and Jarett (Rene’s protege), the battery will last one year with use everyday, if you pull out the crown and hack the movement it prolongs battery life as well as contact life.
@thecleaner497114 сағат бұрын
Beautiful 😍
@j1d7s23 сағат бұрын
Wow, really interesting, I never have heard about that kind of movement. The wires indeed look very delicate and as an owner I would have been afraid of them breaking, I assume they are very fiddly to replace.
@mrmagoo.3678Күн бұрын
OoOoOoh....DIFFERENT!!!??...This is interesting, not sure I've seen this one before!....Thank You.
@davidcrandall495821 сағат бұрын
How old are you?
@richardkent220020 сағат бұрын
God I love all this stuff!
@pshores7 сағат бұрын
It is interesting as an engineering problem and perhaps as art. But it seems a free sprung balance with good isochronism would have solved the problem of the rate of the watch changing with power fluctuations.
@CromoXtheConqueror13 сағат бұрын
How do you make a custom see through case back like that? Thanks for this awesome video!
@eeo.e23 сағат бұрын
American 'elegancy' often means pragmatic utilitarianism, however in this case shows something else, what H. Read explained long time ago. Before object cristalizes into artpiece, it must first became perfectly useful. Then it reaches ability to cristalize into art form. Battery conductor was likely at the begining of it's journey, that is why it's shape looks raw.
@CKshouta11 сағат бұрын
Asking for a watchmaker friend who is working on Seiko Elnix, another electrobalance watch: How does one minimize positional error with such a heavy imbalanced magnet on the balance?
@edwardmanukyan45421 сағат бұрын
Balance wheel oscillates because of magnetic field, but what does push the gear train?
@pancakerizerКүн бұрын
Was there any benefit of this kind of movement in real life? Was it more accurate than contemporary mechanical watches?
@amazingchess2136Күн бұрын
constant force thing in the pocket ty
@davidcrandall495821 сағат бұрын
where do you get the Batteries?
@jonfallaize777623 сағат бұрын
Balance spring has a issue
@shaunmiller4054Күн бұрын
What battery size is installed
@wildernessofzinn17Күн бұрын
Energizer 387S can be had off of Amazon
@mrmagoo.3678Күн бұрын
I got one in My drawer if You want?
@mrmagoo.3678Күн бұрын
I swear I'm not stalking You...Just You're the only other commenter so.......stalked :D
@amphibiousone797218 сағат бұрын
I'm not a fan of this particular Electric design. I like the stator coil designs best. With the coil on the balance wheel you need to deal with a commutator connection to the insulated pivot. With a stationary coil you only need the trigger connection and that can be done the same way. This Hamilton 500 has too many design flaws. IMHO
@emmettrcraven554413 сағат бұрын
I absolutely dislike electric watches they are not the same. The quarts watch is a different machine than the mechanical watch and they shouldn’t be put in the same category.
@shaunmiller4054Күн бұрын
Please
@mrmagoo.3678Күн бұрын
Yes
@mrmagoo.3678Күн бұрын
Ooooh I see now!...I thought We were just whacking random words down....