I've been looking for one of these for sometime and was finally able to get one in amazing condition. It's manual wind, 980 movement, 14K gold filled.

The Hamilton Otis was made for only a few years in the late 1930s. Very similar mechanism to the Reverso. Lots has been written about these and posted elsewhere here so don't want to duplicate. Enough to say they are beautiful watches, though. Now need to get one with a silver dial!

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Please do write about it! I for one would like to know about your search and why you bought it...damn the critics!

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Needless to say I love vintage watches and always have liked the Reverso. A bit back someone at a local watch club event told me about this watch and showed me some photos. That was it-had to get one. Love the story behind it.

They're not very common, at least not in great condition. I've seen both black and silver dial versions pop up here and there and the silver ones esp usually have pretty bad dials. When one did pop up, usually quickly snatched up. Most I've seen also are usually engraved.

Finally found this one from a seller in France and got lucky. Even have the original box and tag! It's keeping great time and I think it wears well (but I have small wrists). Def want a silver dial one now.

Really enjoying the way it looks-would love to get a proper Reverso or a Cartier Basculante (manual movement ones)...the search continues!

 

Your collection of hen's teeth got too big, so you went looking for an Otis?

Absolutely stunning!

p.s. That applied numeral font looks familiar...

 

Your collection of hen's teeth got too big, so you went looking for an Otis?

Absolutely stunning!

p.s. That applied numeral font looks familiar...

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Hehe! Love the chase! And yes, very similar and stunning Bulova there!

 

Congrats on an amazing piece, wear it in good health.

An auction actually just finished last night on ebay for a white/silver dial, lots of patina. I thought this post was for that recently closed auction. Yours appears to be in much much better shape, I'm fond of the black dial myself.

I saw one in person at an estate/jewelry store. It spoke to me, but I couldn't get past the engraved case back, became a non-starter. Congrats on finding a clean version.

 

Yes I was following that auction as well. There's a black dial one now on Chrono24 too but has engraved back and dial not as clean so I feel fortunate.

 

Silver Hamilton dials from that time period were wonderful things, you do not need to worry about redials. I've even made a video on that:

Now black dial used a very different process. Redials is an issue, a big one. That's why I was always scared of the black ones. Does anybody understand how to spot a re-dial in black Hamilton watches? I saw a black Dunkirk with an unbelievable quality redial, I bet nobody would be able to tell.

 

Does anybody understand how to spot a re-dial in black Hamilton watches?

I'm reasonable sure that the OP's Otis is a redial, but you are correct. Redials are not a big deal in the Hamilton collecting world if the overall look is the same as the original. I would say that this one is close enough.

The tell for me is that the numeral "5" is a bit squished. That means it was likely removed from the original dial and somehow was slightly damaged when replaced. These 18K gold numerals are hollow and very easily damaged.

Here is my recently acquired example, a silver dial:

For full disclosure, I'm not sure if this one is an original dial or not. I lean toward redial on mine also. The fact is that the cases did little to keep out moisture, and there are very few surviving Otises with original dials.

For a long time it was presumed that Hamilton "stole" or violated Jaeger-LeCoultre's Reverso patent. If you search this forum, you can probably see some of these false accusations. In fact, the case manufacturer Schwab & Wuischpard (S&W) paid JLC a license fee for each case manufactured. You can see the original documents here:

https://vintagewatchforums.com/viewtopic.php?f=49&t=3596&start=50

Hope this helps,
gatorcpa

 

gatorcpa, you haven't seen my video. You're seriously missing out. You will learn things about your silver dial that will blow your mind.

 

I watched your video. You are 100% correct regarding the dials that have enamel numerals and tracks. However, not all older Hamilton dials have this feature.

Here is a website with blueprints of most of the Hamilton dials made from the 1920's through the 1940's.

https://vintagewatchforums.com/viewforum.php?f=22&sid=1b24a9674223c9df42563b6a79fe4bfb

Here is the blueprint for the Otis dial. It has the engraved name and tracks:

Here is an example of a "transfer track" dial, which is another way of saying "printed":

Also, many of the dials had what was known as a "Baker" finish, which was a baked-on type of paint that was unique to Hamilton dials. This was done on both engraved and transfer printed dials.

Until recently, International Dial of Ohio was the only redialler that used a modern version of the Baker finish. International Dial was sold and is moving. I don't know if they are going to continue to use this method for Hamilton dials.

I hope so,
gatorcpa

 

Zombie thread.

Was this the one that was on eBay early last year? I was following a black dial, unengraved, Otis and when I decided to pull the trigger and make an offer it was gone. Womp womp.

 

I just purchased a beautiful condition silver/white face Otis on eBay. It is engraved and I found the original owner and his children via Google. It's nice to know who owned the watch. From what I read, the estate attorney was stealing and likely took this watch around 2004. That is when the seller on eBay purchased it. Now I have it. What a find!

 

Gorgeous watch!


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Thank you! I wore it the first time yesterday. I'll be bringing it to my watchmaker on Saturday for a full service. It winds smoothly but it is minus 3 minutes in 24 hours. I understand that the silver dials are more rare, at least in this condition.