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1929 Catalog Description
The Barrel - Engraved
Man's Strap Model
A model much favored by sportsmen due
to its stocky, compact appearance. Fitted with 17 jewel movement in
green or white filled gold, engraved $57.00; plain, $55.00. In 14K
gold engraved, $87.00;
plain $85.00
Production Info |
Comments
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Production
Date: 1927 - 1930
Price when new: $87.00
Case: White and Green 14K Gold
Case Manufacturer: Fahys
Production: There are currently five known
"Two-tone" examples of the Barrel Engraved
Movement:
987 - 17-jewel Movement
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Comments: The Barrel was a fairly common style
with Illinois, Elgin and Waltham selling similar models. Hamilton
sought to distinguish the Barrel from the competition by emphasizing
the quality of the movement. As with all Hamilton watches, only
17-jewel movements were utilized, unlike the competition which
utilized 7 or 15-jewel movements.
The Fahys Barrel Engraved was issued with two different styles of
engraving - the
"Wreath" engraving and the "Motif" engraving. The
example above is the "Motif" example and is the later of the two
variations.
The Barrel was one of six
geometrically shaped models that were popular during the mid to late
1920's - the others being the Cushion, Square, Tonneau, Rectangular and Oval.
This particular Barrel Engraved is a
"two-tone" version - the bezel and case back are 14K white gold
while the center case is 14K green gold.
Two-tone Hamiltons are extremely rare
and Hamilton did not maintain production numbers for them. It is
believed that they were either "special orders" or were distributed
amongst several jewelers in extremely limited quantities. The
two-tone Barrel Engraved pictured above is the only one of its kind
known to exist.
All known Hamilton
two-tone models, which include the Square Plain and
Engraved, the Barrel Plain and Engraved, the Oval Plain
and Engraved and the Barrel "B" Engraved were
manufactured by the Fahys Watch Case Company and all are
solid 14K gold.
This model was one of six
geometrically shaped wristwatches that were popular up
until the late 1920's. Hamilton's
"Geometric" offerings
spanned ten years - beginning in 1917 with the
0-sized Cushion and ending in 1927 with the Oval.
Included in the geometric models are the Cushion
(0-sized, Cushion Round and Cushion Form Opening), the
Square, Barrel, Tonneau, Rectangular, and Oval.
