by Bob Tascione » Sat Jul 22, 2017 12:21 pm
Hi Hank,
Yes you can 'usually' put either an American OF movement into a Hunter-case or a Hunter-Movement into an open-face American case. There are some exceptions such as when dealing with Howard movements and or cases. etc.
One thing to mention here though is that not having them in their intended cases normally devalues the piece as they are looked at as a 'married' non-original combo even though I believe if desired, they could be ordered with this config. when purchased back in the day.
You are most likely already aware but for those reading this that may not be one other important thing to note is that with open-face watches the winding stem is at the 12 o-clock mark on the dial whereas with the Hunter the winding stem is shifted 90 degrees clockwise from the 12 o-clock dial mark. So with the HC the 12 o-clock mark on the dial is at the top, the winding stem is at 3 o-clock and the second hand is at the 6 o-clock mark. The train design is actually different from the open-face movement resulting in a shift of 90 degree counterclockwise of the 4th wheel which carries the second hand. I normally hold a hunter-case watch in my hand (right hand) so that the winding stem is at 3 o-clock and the lid of the watch swings open horizontally whereas when an open-face movement is installed in the hunter-case the case would be turned in the hand counter-clockwise 90 degrees so that the stem (and 12 o-clock mark on the dial) is now at the top (up) and the lid swings out and down vertically. Not a big deal really but does feel a bit strange and a little less secure in the hand, at least to me.
Hope this helps Hank and my explanation isn't too confusing.
Bob