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Dad's watch


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Santa came through this year with my first real tools. I replaced the movement in my dad's watch, the one I broke when I was about 5 by winding it all of the time. I found a used movement, the exact same one that was in it to begin with. It cost me $15 including shipping all the way from England. It started ticking again on Christmas Day for the first time in 38 years. I wish dad was still around. He would be tickled pink. He loved this watch. Nothing fancy to most, but it was to him. I've been wearing it for 5 days now. It keeps perfect time, and it turns out I still like to wind watches. I'll be more careful now though. 

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18 hours ago, Aric said:

Santa came through this year with my first real tools. I replaced the movement in my dad's watch, the one I broke when I was about 5 by winding it all of the time. I found a used movement, the exact same one that was in it to begin with. It cost me $15 including shipping all the way from England. It started ticking again on Christmas Day for the first time in 38 years. I wish dad was still around. He would be tickled pink. He loved this watch. Nothing fancy to most, but it was to him. I've been wearing it for 5 days now. It keeps perfect time, and it turns out I still like to wind watches. I'll be more careful now though. 

_ 20161230_220205.jpg

A man's watch is his only jewelry and it is irrelevant how much it cost or what brand it is.

It's personal and there's only one like your fathers and that makes it unique.

Its a bond to the past that cannot be replaced or completely understood.

Well done and enjoy ! 

PS. Please be kind and don't over-wind ;-)

   

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14 hours ago, atimegoneby said:

Well done !  it must have been quite a moment to see it running after all that time,

are you going to repair the original movement ?

The original, for now anyways, will be something to practice on. I took it most of the way apart today. I'm having some trouble getting it back together right now. The escapement wheel and the (can't remember whatcha call it little forked thing that stops the escapement wheel) are both tricky to get it right it seems. Its like a puzzle. I'm sure it will come along eventually.

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5 hours ago, rogart63 said:

Great done. Fantastic work.you done.  What  movement? Never seen that brand before? There is a newer watch brand called Helberg but never heard of Helzberg? 

Its a UT 29c movement. I don't think they make it anymore. I bought this one used, but it works fine. The original had a broken mainspring, which I ended up misplacing, so I can't measure it to get a new one. The replacement was cheap anyways. 

Helzberg is a chain of jewelry stores over here. There used to be one in Duluth, which is probably where this one was purchased originally. I'm not sure it my dad bought it, or if my grandpa did. My aunt seems to thing this was my grandpa's watch and my dad inherited it after he died. That would explain why he liked it so much.

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6 hours ago, Aric said:

Its a UT 29c movement. I don't think they make it anymore. I bought this one used, but it works fine. The original had a broken mainspring, which I ended up misplacing, so I can't measure it to get a new one. The replacement was cheap anyways. 

Helzberg is a chain of jewelry stores over here. There used to be one in Duluth, which is probably where this one was purchased originally. I'm not sure it my dad bought it, or if my grandpa did. My aunt seems to thing this was my grandpa's watch and my dad inherited it after he died. That would explain why he liked it so much.

That explains why  only jewelry comes up when i google the name :) .  

I checked ranfft.de  and according to them a seiko mainspring should work? From a 66 A movement. Not that difficult to find? 

The movement actually looks very much like a Seiko clone? 

http://www.ranfft.de/cgi-bin/bidfun-db.cgi?10&ranfft&&2uswk&UTC_29

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