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At last I have an Astral, model T351 from 1959/60. Condition as bought: Open her up and we have a 17 jewel calibre 400 made in Cheltenham: Running very well apart from a slight beat error. So leave the movement service for the time being, clean case, dial & hands, replace cracked crystal, dab of silicone on the very supple case & crown gaskets, new tan strap & this is what we've got: Meet the wife: A model U303 with a 15 jewel calibre 300 movement made between 1960-5. All she required was a good clean & new black lizard strap.

Cousins have selection of crowns pushers and tube assembly's , about £20 for the crown plus the usual postage &vat.

Just finished refurbing a tired Smiths TY believed to be from 1965: Before: After: Case, dial & hands cleaned. Crystal polished. Movement serviced & broken click spring replaced (thanks to John at Obsolete Clock & Watch Parts). New strap. The timegrapher readings were a little variable, however it kept good time all weekend. I am getting a bit of a thing for Smiths (the watches, not the designer-misery band from the 1980's) and have got myself a 1960 Astral to do after the next Seiko.

I finaly managed to get a Connie to complement my Omega collection, it is a Gold Cap model from 1966 with a 561 movement. I went against recommended practice of " get high definition pictures and ask to see the movement". The pictures were not at all good, and the seller said that he had no means of opening the back. I'm sure this put off a few folk, but luckily my offer was accepted and it turned out well. I did know that the crown was incorrect when I bought it. After a couple of small adjustments it is holding 0 to +2 seconds on the timegrapher. :) Here are some pictures I've just taken. A service should smooth out the graph a bit.

I really like that era of watch design and you've got a looker there Geo! :thumbsu:

I looked on Ofrei they where a bit more expensive . Just for him to find the right crown then .

Just finished the marzipan and the boss is still out so I thought I would post my efforts. I would never manage a bake off as I am just too slow. The first is the centres of the Cala lilies drying out, the pollen effect is from corn meal stuck on with edible glue. The second is the two cakes nice and flat and level so the china topper does not fall off hopefully. Once Marzipan dries out that is the base for the Fondant Icing and then decorations go on. Right time for a coors light (on a diet until I get to Dublin (:-)) Cheers, Vic

Nice and clean watch. Are you going to add some numbers or text later? Or are you going to keep it "mean and clean"..? :devil: I really like the casing, had one of those earlier. A fake sadly, but a really well made fake... I really want a real officine panerai sometime..!!!

Hi Zenon, No real way out of this one.. I assume the front is OK? In that case I would just use it as it is...not so much a daily wearer but more of an 'evening out' watch. You can replate a watch but the resulting finish is no way comparable to how a 'gold-filled' or 'rolled gold' (same thing) looks almost like the real thing! As for the movement... it could be a) from a different factory or b)from a different period. The Russian were not too bothered about copyright and they production was based on capacity. In your example with the extra word/numbers.. the figures inside the Pentagram would be for the 1st Moscow Watch factory. The ones from Minsk had a more rounded cartouche. Since there is no cartouche it could be from either factory (or even a totally different one!). This movement was made for around 20 years so anything goes! One thought.. since they used the word 'jewel' instead of the Cyrillic equivalent could it have been an export model? The example with the russian wording also has bevelled edges on the bridges whereas yours has a stepped edge. The bevelled edge is cosmetically nicer but this should not affect the running of the watch. The 2209 movement is one of the nicer movements from the former USSR, most of them come in gold filled cases and I believe they were at the top of the food-chain back in the day! It was originally made in the 1st Moscow Watch Factory at Kirova. Production was later transferred to the Minsk, Belarus. Personally I love this watch, especially how silky smooth it winds!..Only two things bug me, firstly I wish it had a Breguet overcoil..most Russian one have these, even the cheap ones, but I believe it was left out here in the pursuit of slimness. Secondly, on most of the watches I've seen, the second hand is too short! I believe this was due to the low dome crystal originally fitted but it doesn't look 'right'. Anil

Have a good one Vic.........or 2 or 3 or .............just go for it! :)

Going to the Stag party in Dublin in a couple of days. One day at the races and another visiting St James Gate. Been there a few times already but never tire of drinking Guinness from the actual font. They have an observation tower a bit like a mini GPO tower at the Guinness factory now. One of my favourite videos at the factory is an old guy making a barrel from scratch, the workmanship is breathtaking and all done by eye with pure unadulterated skill that must be in his very bones, God given talent with something that looks a bit like a spoke shave to get all the wood to fit in a circle, and it is watertight ! awesome. I admit to drinking the Nitroginated Guinness from the beer gas (nitrogen plus CO2 which gives the beer its "thickness"), which I suppose, is not real ale but its still referred to as Stout. My Camra buddies are always pointing out that as the fizz is not produced by the fermentation process alone it aint proper, but I like to think of myself as open to the new modern ideas (ok - pushing it a bit there as I will not touch that Jaergerbum stuff) - especially when it tastes like the Guinness does when purchased from St James Gate. Hope I survive amongst all these young bucks but the grooms father is there and only about 5 or 8 years younger than me I think, and we have been out before - we will probably last the distance, at least I have a new pacemaker with a fully charged battery now. Cheers bonny lads, Vic

Well Bob, I worked in IT for decades, remember using the old green monitors and must have been subject to every sort of vibration (resist George) and a fair range of radiations available having had numerous x rays. For me another 10 to 15 years is improbable but I will take whatever the Good Lord gives and as Clockboy and myself admitted in a previous thread the equipment is now safe (unlike George who is still firing on both cylinders) I am already using two hearing aids and there are loads of delicious drinks yet to try, which brings me to Moronism - looks like a full house. However, I like fiddling with watches and really intend to enjoy whatever time I have left even using my three ultrasonics until they fail - hopefully before me. :cool: Cheers, Vic

Ebay Item number121452400747

Bob: I haven't begun any advanced service of my citizen. The answer is no, I don't have access to old citizen movements I'm afraid. But you seem to have som really interesting projects going, so thats why I'm asking. I really like all these projects in this forum, so much ingenuity in everyone. Yesterday I got really hooked in the tread "diy water pressure tester". That's something i just gotta build for myself. A really nice thing to know that your watch at least is water resistant.. :thumbsu:

It should still pull out just by playing in the force either way, correct?

Hm... Miamium it sound like roasted pork belly with horseradish and icy cold vodka! Screw the Californium then I am all the way for Miamium . :)

The 4 second ticks is the 955 EOL (End Of Life) indicator. The seconds hand jumps every 4 seconds to indicate a low power state. You need a new battery.

Great video, can't wait to see the whole series. Soon the mods will have to stop recommending the TimeZone courses and just link people to a playlist of your best videos.