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Whatever you choose, get one that's working properly in the first place. Faults in chronographs are very hard to diagnose, even for a pro. I would actually recommend a Seiko 6139, they're well made and priced reasonable (for a chrono!). Anil

you must be just a bit unlucky since i started this hobby i must have sold in excess of 100 items on ebay with very little problem, from non runners i couldn't fix, quartz store return job lots and watches that i have repaired some go for more than expected some for less but it evens our in the end, the ones i have most difficulty selling are small ladies i only repair these now lf they dont cost me anything, look at your ebay settings and adjust the filters so anyone with negative feedback or below a certain score cant bid but carry on i find its a good cheap way to sell things even if its not perfect, steve

Hi All , the postman delivered a couple of packages today that I really have been waiting for....it made a beautiful Hawaiian Day even better . I received a Marathon GSAR . Manufactured in Jan. 2007 , it doesn't look a day over Jan. 2014 . http://watchreport.com/review-of-the-marathon-gsar/ I received the watch with no band connected . Someone had colored the bezel red . In that package I also received a new bezel insert and a nylon Nato strap . In the other package I received a very Nice , well made , heavy duty Shark mesh strap . It came in a very large size but is adjustable with removable link sections joined with machined screws and posts . The whole bracelet is made well . After installing the new bezel insert , [thick aluminum ] , and installing and adjusting the new bracelet , we have this... Voila....

At first the movement looks well done, but... Holes for the four stones on bridge left of balance are not bevelled. Same for the two screw siding first auto winding wheel (gold) Balance anti-shock should be a sophisticated hinged affair, not some sort of Novodiac Figures on the rotor weight are kind of.. goofy. Fantastic picture here which I'm not posting as it surely copyrighted. http://professionalwatches.com/upload/2014/01/audemars_piguet_ceramic_diver_/Audemars-Piguet-Royal-Oak-Offshore-Ceramic-Diver-caliber-3120.jpg

Yes they were common on old chronographs. In the past telephone calls were charged in intervals of three minutes and the markers made it easier to time phone calls and get value for money. By that I mean if you went over three minutes by a second or two you were just as well talking for another two and a half minutes as you were going to pay for the next release minutes anyway.

Found the problem? It was the hacking lever that moved when i leaned the movement to that side. Stopping the balance to move. Working fine when the keyless work is assemble again.

Welcome Dutch!

Hi All, International Dial contacted me 2 weeks ago to say the dial was done and they would post after payment (Paypal).It arrived today and looks good (see attached). I chose to have a "generic" finish similar to the original but not an exact copy, but with the ORATOR name, 17 Rubis, swiss made and antimagnetic printed. The hands are the elegant originals, a bit pitted. I finished the chrono hands in orange as I found them a bit confusing, as are the pushers, the start is at 1400, stop at 1600 and return at 1600, slightly non intuitive. The watch has a Landeron 48 movement and is keeping good time, its gone from a basket case to nice watch, happy ending I think.

It takes many, many unpaid items to get an Ebay account closed. Ebay just as anybody else can't record IPs for the purpose of banning, because these are assigned dynamically, and even if they weren't, that would prevent access from anyone in the same household or working place. I think the OP's problem is with the kind of watches which he's selling. Low value quartz are really of little interest to pretty much anyone, perhaps one buys in an impulse and then the next day decides that he doesn't need another insignificant watch. The games changes dramatically with mechanical watches and brand watches. These are sought by enthusiasts which are much more serious about it, and honest in almost 100% of the cases. I do a little trading of Seiko mechanical watches, and I don't have a problem whatsoever selling no matter the channel. Just today I've sold 2 easily.

Welcome to the forum Dutch, you should enjoy it here. After a few years you will have picked up so many watches she will never know what is new and what isn't. I'm speaking from experience!

Ebay is pretty fair with both buyers and sellers who don't do the right thing. They will ban people who don't pay up. Yes...they can then go on and open a new account but (I think) Ebay records their IP number these days so they can't just jump back on. In any case, I hate this sort of flim flam. If you bid for something and win it you should buy it. And if you are a seller you should do your utmost to make sure that the buyer gets their goods as described.

Well done you! Looks great. Unless you told me otherwise I'd never be able to pick where the water was.

First off , I used a retractable razor knife to get under the bezel , careful not to scratch the watch . After it started to lift , i used my case knife , which is not as sharp , to carefully go around the bezel to pry it off . Often times , looking from the inside of the bezel , if the insert overhangs the bezel I will try to pry it off using my crystal press if I have a disk of the right size . For this watch , that was not the case . First I tried to use thumb pressure to rotate the insert to loosen the adhesive , and when that didn't work , I used a small beater screwdriver to slowly work a hole in the insert so I could get under it to start lifting it . that worked and I removed the old insert . The insert is embossed , not printed , Aluminum , so taking my time to make the little hole just took patience . Maybe you can put the bezel with the old insert in some hot water to loosen the adhesive first . When installing the new insert , put the bezel on first and give it a few clicks to make sure it's on properly . It's uni-directional so it won't turn clockwise . Make sure it's in a set position so there's no movement clockwise and install the zero arrow at 12 o"clock . I believe there should be a paper ring you have to remove to expose the adhesive on the insert . Only remove the top half where the arrow is so you can lightly lay the insert on the bezel to make sure you are satisfied with the placement of the arrow at 12 . If it's good , hold the arrow at 12 and peel off the rest of the paper . Check it again before you press the insert fully to adhere to the bezel . You may choose not to remove your bezel to make the small hole in the aluminum , but the rest of the procedure is the same . I removed it to clean around the glass and case .

Haha...I kept in the back of my mind that if I stuff it up I will have an excuse to get an LE dial. :D

Only parts lists, I don't think they did service manuals back then. The 6105 is based on the 6106. Hope these help. Seiko 6106A.pdf Seiko 6105B.pdf

My God! Just brilliant! Brilliant! And the watch now looks brand new. Why or why can't you be Australian? I'd be at your shop door tomorrow with a couple of watches I'd love for you to restore!

The fruits of my labour... The keyless cover for a (clapped-out) rolex was made from a bit of mainspring: The setting lever spring for a 40's movado was made from a hacksaw blade: A pleasant evening's work.

I've often wondered if old clock main springs could be a suitable source of material, suitably annealed for working and then hardened and tempered before finishing.

For a source of flat steel, I've seen hacksaw blades being used to good effect...used ones are usually plentiful around a shop. I've been tempted to try this out .. the added thickness of a sawblade is an asset as you can get the shape correct and thin it down as the final step. Better than trying to shape a thin plate. Anil

One of my other hobbies is furniture making, and it's supposed to be all fine furniture, as in no compromises on quality and the "look". I have now completed the desktop extension that is at the heart of this thread and I can state that it is probably the most utilitarian, aka, ugly, piece of furniture I've ever built, as you can see in the attached photo, with nary a dovetail joint anywhere. But, at least so far, it works, though whether it will survive the test of time remains to be seen. The height seems right, and I can comfortably rest my elbows on it, and I can spread them out also. The 2 drawers will accumulate lots of junk in short order as they're roomy. And I do have a gas lift chair so should I need to adjust my height for some reason, it'll be easy. Thanks to you all for the great advice you gave me. Now I need to do something constructive with it I suppose! Like fix watches perhaps?

+1 for photographing everything, and giving them a receipt. Also, never write "rolex" or "omega" on your receipt - always write something like "watch labelled rolex" or something similar!