Searching for perfection: Hamilton 500 Electric (1957)

[@Rene.Rondeau]

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-s4i]

I have a Hamilton Uranus with the 500 movement. Love that watch.

[@Butters-s4i]

And have also read your book. Thanks for the insights.

[@richardkent2200]

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

[@davidcrandall4958]

Timex took this technology and ran with it but How do you get the batteries?

[@johnnyarsenault9124]

Way glad you commented for even more info., way cool! 😎

[@boydsargeant7496]

Thanks Kalle, great bit of watch history!

[@geoffdunstan8567]

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

[@Erwinhooi]

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-o9b]

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-j8x]

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! :)

[@mreb7724]

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.

[@archie1554]

It's still cool and collectable to me, especially the early models.

[@antondolgopolov]

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.

[@johnnyarsenault9124]

Thanks Kalle for opening up our eyes to old (new for us) tech.! 👌❤️👍

[@wildernessofzinn17]

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.

[@StephanJPPL]

Interesting watch. Thought I had seen most escapement types but then another came.😊Thanks for sharing👍

[@waldoroeg9604]

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 👍🏼

[@ElderPinto254]

heel erg cool om te zien !!! makes me smile .. bedankt kalle.

[@tomg6117]

Clever, these Earthlings!

[@dodabartman123]

Nice one! And let's forget the Hamilton Ventura from that same period. I consider it the most classy dress watch.

[@davidcrandall4958]

I liked the Hamilton Flight!

[@dodabartman123]

@@davidcrandall4958 huh, i never saw one of those David, they are cool looking.

[@MrRoundel]

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.

[@alleckssadler7379]

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.

[@thecleaner4971]

Beautiful 😍

[@j1d7s]

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.3678]

OoOoOoh....DIFFERENT!!!??...This is interesting, not sure I've seen this one before!....Thank You.

[@davidcrandall4958]

How old are you?

[@richardkent2200]

God I love all this stuff!

[@pshores]

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.

[@CromoXtheConqueror]

How do you make a custom see through case back like that? Thanks for this awesome video!

[@eeo.e]

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.

[@CKshouta]

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?

[@edwardmanukyan454]

Balance wheel oscillates because of magnetic field, but what does push the gear train?

[@pancakerizer]

Was there any benefit of this kind of movement in real life? Was it more accurate than contemporary mechanical watches?

[@amazingchess2136]

constant force thing in the pocket ty

[@davidcrandall4958]

where do you get the Batteries?

[@jonfallaize7776]

Balance spring has a issue

[@shaunmiller4054]

What battery size is installed

[@wildernessofzinn17]

Energizer 387S can be had off of Amazon

[@mrmagoo.3678]

I got one in My drawer if You want?

[@mrmagoo.3678]

I swear I'm not stalking You...Just You're the only other commenter so.......stalked :D

[@amphibiousone7972]

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

[@emmettrcraven5544]

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.

[@shaunmiller4054]

Please

[@mrmagoo.3678]

Yes

[@mrmagoo.3678]

Ooooh I see now!...I thought We were just whacking random words down....

[@mrmagoo.3678]

Discombobulated