Swiss Emperor Watch - Any Good?

[ro63rto]

I went for a joblot of 9 watches yesterday mainly for one particular Breil watch but this Swiss Emperor looks quite interesting.

Is it worth searching for a new crystal?

[Geo]

It looks very Smiths Astral to me, so yes I like it!

[Blacklab]

Just what I was thinking Geo. Definitely stick a new crystal in it Rob, by the way what's the movement?

[ro63rto]

Just what I was thinking Geo. Definitely stick a new crystal in it Rob, by the way what's the movement?

Not here yet. Should be tomorrow or Thursday. I'll open it up for pics as soon as I get it.

Its also the only one of the nine he says works but the others are quartz so prob just batteries need changing.

[Marc]

As far as I remember all of the Swiss Emperor's (and Empress's) that I've worked on have had A. Schild  movements inside, including the alarm models.

[anilv]

17jewels.. incabloc... sounds good. Dial looks excellent so a new crystal should work wonders.

 

If the crystal has no cracks, I would try to polish the crystal first..

 

Get fine sandpaper.. polish until you have an even haze.. then use autosol to bring it back to life. When using autosol.. use a new part of the polishing rag with fresh autosol constantly.

 

Since this is a gold-plated case be careful not to sand metal part when you sand near the edges of the crystal.

 

Anil

[ro63rto]

Anil, is the crystal acrylic then?

If so I have Polywatch. Will that work as my tube of Autosol is so old its probably dried up.

Looking forward to getting this joblot now. Sounds like an even better bargain than I first thought.

[WillFly]

The Swiss Emperor chronos used Landeron 248 movements like mine (fettled by Mark):

 

[ro63rto]

Thats a nice watch Will.

Just looked at joblot again and noticed there's a Roamer in there too.

[Andyclient]

Swiss Emperor do some nice watches , as do Roamer reckon you have done ok 

I have a Swiss Emperor alarm in the collection at present

 

[anilv]

Most of the older watches have acrylic crystals.

 

Polywatch is ok for the final polish but you need to get rid of all the nicks and gouges first.. other wise you will end up will nicely polished nicks and gouges.

 

Dried Autosol can be used if mixed with a little light oil. Water will work but I find light oil is better.

 

No harm in trying, if you screw it up then you'll end up where you started.

 

Anil

[anilv]

found a link using... toothpaste!

 

http://forums.watchuseek.com/f11/how-diy-cheap-crystal-repair-scratch-removal-tutorial-420568.html

[bobm12]

Great Link Anil, Thanks I'm also into this task at the moment!

[ro63rto]

Great Link Anil, Thanks I'm also into this task at the moment!

I've read somewhere that for uv damaged acrylic crystals you can use DEET to "melt" the oxidised layer and thereby reveal fresh acrylic.

I would only try this on a scrap one first though before attacking a nice watch :lol:

[bobm12]

Hi ro63rto,

 

Is DEET the insect repellent? Thanks for the tip. Very helpful.

 

Bob

[ro63rto]

Hi ro63rto,

Is DEET the insect repellent? Thanks for the tip. Very helpful.

Bob

One and the same.

I'm dying to try this on something to see if it works [emoji1]

Maybe an old car headlight? Hmm.

[bobm12]

that's exactly what I was thinking about! A car headlight would be a good starter. They also use Turtle Wax on them here...

[ro63rto]

Package got here.

The Breil I wanted is mint but bracelet needs two extra links.

The Swiss Emperor is a lot smaller than I expected and will defo need a new strap as its original is crispy.

On a worse note the crystal actually looks cracked. The listing did say needed a new one but I thought it would only be extreme scuffs.

The Roamer is a non worker as there is no crown possibly no stem. Will open later.

The other 6 watches range from modern ish Quartz Sekondas to a Ben Sherman from which I will take the unusual strap.

[ro63rto]

Quick pic.

Swiss Emperor (Works. No quickdate set though)

Roamer (no crown. Can't figure out how to open. Case pops out from stretch bracelet.)

Breil Ducati Corse same as one I already own (bought mine in 2004 for €350)

Those and 6 other wortless quartz all for the princely sum of £31 delivered. [emoji1]

Edited November 14, 2014 by ro63rto

[anilv]

Roamer...

 

They had some unusual cases. One where you have to press on the crystal and the 'module' pops out the back.

 

The 'module' consists of the crystal which is fitted onto the caseback and comes off as one unit. Look at the crown tube..does it look like it can move downwards?

 

To complicate things further .. some have 2 piece stems.

 

Anil

[ro63rto]

Roamer...

They had some unusual cases. One where you have to press on the crystal and the 'module' pops out the back.

The 'module' consists of the crystal which is fitted onto the caseback and comes off as one unit. Look at the crown tube..does it look like it can move downwards?

To complicate things further .. some have 2 piece stems.

Anil

Hi Anil.

Yes I got that far but can't work out how to reveal the movement.

Don't want to force anything.

Even with a loupe I can't see a tab from where to pry off the caseback.

Gonna have to do a bit more research on this.

[ro63rto]

I've also noticed that the bezel is rotated 180° as you can see in the pic tge "pm" marker is at the 11 position instead of down to the right of the 6 position.

Edited November 15, 2014 by ro63rto

[bobm12]

Nice and the Breil is really something. I like its style! Congratulations!

[Geo]

Gonna have to do a bit more research on this.

I think it might just be a standard front loader. See if there is a break line between th bezel and the case. If there is you will probably have to remove the bezel complete with crystal, to allow the movement to come out the front.

[ro63rto]

I think it might just be a standard front loader. See if there is a break line between th bezel and the case. If there is you will probably have to remove the bezel complete with crystal, to allow the movement to come out the front.

Found something that says to flick off the crystal with your fingernail. I'll test that theory later after my morning espresso to calm the nerves.