Reassembly: Hamilton Fontainebleau B64048-4 / ETA 2452

Constantine’s Hamilton Fontainebleau  has been sitting on the bench for a bit, as I was waiting for a new shockspring. Now it’s there, no more reasons not to put this watch back together.

The rather grotty looking barrel has cleaned up nicely!

As I go along, I oil the jewels – here with Moebius 9010.

The shockspring (here a KIF 6-2), flew off when I took the jewels out for cleaning. I ordered two, as they are very easy to break or lose.

Top plate complete, movement ticking.

Now it’s time for the bottom plate and the date changer.

The pawl spring is a bit fiddly to put in, but I get there in the end.

Dial and hands back on, into the case, and the split crown is pushed onto the winding shaft.

And we’re back in business. All you need now is sideburns, lots of hair, a tight-fitting shirt with the top 4 buttons open, and a hairy chest!

4 thoughts on “Reassembly: Hamilton Fontainebleau B64048-4 / ETA 2452

  1. How hard (or easy) is it to remove the date wheel on these 24xx movements? Which plates need to be removed if any? I could not find any info on the web.

    Any help is appreciated.

    Thank you!

  2. I don’t like square and rectangular cases or dials, especially ones this sharply edged. This is the only “square” (in more ways than one) watch in my collection, I believe. But I bought it very cheaply and am fond of Hamiltons. Even square/rectangular ones. At least the movement is fairly attractive.

    I can manage the sideburns, the tight-fitting shirt with the top 4 buttons open, and the hairy chest….but not the hair. Too little left on top for that. So unless I let the sides grow and style the mess with a massive, humongous comb over…it’s no dice.

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