Franklin mint watch help

[Darrel22]

found this watch in a house clearance -  on the watch case is says the Franklin mint c 1989,  I think some of the watch could be gold but not sure ,  As you can see it looks in very bad shape and I am not sure if it is repairable  .  from what I can see there is Rust on some parts from possible water getting in - the front glass is missing from the watch  -     At the moment I have been learning on a cheap  ETA 6498  watch  so I have limited experience in watch repair,  so I might keep this watch  until I have  gain more knowledge of watch repairs .  As for the back case I think its a pop off  type but it feels stuck on and so far I cant get the case off,  so any advise on this watch and what I should do with it  will be very appreciated , if its just scrap I might just use it to learn on now  or for parts .

[Tmuir]

From the little I know about Franklin mint is from the 'collectors coins' they sell.

Usually for very high prices, but they have very little resell value, the same is probably the case for their watches, but either way with the amount of rust showing for what it would be worth I'm not sure it would be worth fixing.

Although a quick search did turn up that Franklin mint did make some gold cased watches so it is probably worth a look at the case atleast to see if its solid gold or just plated.

If solid it should have a hallmark somewhere.

[AndyHull]

From the position of the balance etc., It looks like a variant of the skeletonized "Chinese Standard movement", and as such is not really worth much.

There are several different versions of these movements, but they tend to have a similar layout, but different bridge configurations.

Does the movement have any numbers stamped anywhere on it perhaps under the balance, or on the bridges that might help to identify it?

Does it claim anywhere on the watch that it is Swiss Made?

Franklin Mint -> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Franklin_Mint

In my limited experience of their stuff,  I would tactfully describe as perhaps slightly higher quality than Gerald Ratner might have been selling... maybe. Check for hallmarks, if there are none, then treat it as a good piece to improve your watch cleaning skills on, but little more.

Edited February 19, 2020 by AndyHull

[wls1971]

Not all Franklin mint stuff was tat, they have sold some very nice clocks, by makers such as Imhof, Lepee, and Thwaites and Reed  Their Royal Geographic world time clock and inclined plane clock where very good quality and fetch good prices.

[Darrel22]

Managed to get the back off there is a gold hallmark on the case but cant see anything on the movement, no stamp or numbers , If anyone can help I am not sure how to get the crown out of this watch ?

[Tmuir]

15 hours ago, wls1971 said:

Not all Franklin mint stuff was tat, they have sold some very nice clocks, by makers such as Imhof, Lepee, and Thwaites and Reed  Their Royal Geographic world time clock and inclined plane clock where very good quality and fetch good prices.

Thats interesting to know.

I really only know them from the adverts they used to put on the back of the TV guides selling overpriced pewter items.

 

I think if you unscrew the screw a few turns to the right of the winding stem in the photo that would release the stem, but looking at your previous photos the other side looks looks pretty rusted so it might be seized.