Jump to content

Recommended Posts

Posted (edited)

@AndyHull and I have been chatting, and we think it's time to formalize the 404 Club. 404 is the HTTP standard response code returned when a file (page) is requested and not found. You've probably seen the "404 Not Found" page a few times in your internetting adventures. Turns out though, watches can be found for such a tiny sum! Some surprisingly nice ones even!

Every currency doesn't have the same buying power though. Fortunately, the Dollar to Pound conversion at the moment works out to about $5.00, and the 500 response code means there's an internal server error... Not quite poetic, but at least it's on theme. Similarly, Euro to Pound works out to €4.50. 450 is specific to Microsoft and means "Blocked by Windows Parental Controls" ... So you guys behave!

So the way this works is you buy a watch for your currency/error code plus reasonable shipping (I've been saying $10 max unless I really like the watch, in which case I'll stretch to $15; the point is to avoid those $1 buy $200 shipping scams), fix it up for as little as possible, then add it to your personal collection, sell it off to pay for the next one, gift it to a friend, hang it around your neck as a tribute to Flavor Flav, or whatever else strikes your fancy! Somewhere in there though, post a picture of it here!

Edited by spectre6000
  • Like 5
Posted (edited)

My first 404 Club member to arrive:

IMG_1836.thumb.JPG.8827f515c7e4cd7d509267c29f898b19.JPGIMG_1835.thumb.JPG.4257a351fbd768c9b3a8adb6f3df858f.JPG

Purchase price: $3.93 out of the Czech Republic. I haven't put it on the timegrapher yet, and the amplitude is obviously low, but it runs! Fully jeweled Swiss movement!

I have 7 watches in transit that collectively came in under the 500 limit. All NOS, silver plated (I assume), and with fully jeweled French movements. I also won auctions for two watches out of Germany well under the limit, but Coronavirus craziness surprised the seller and I with shipping that was NOT OK, so they were cancelled. Bummer.

Edited by spectre6000
  • Like 2
Posted

Think this should just about qualify?.. this job lot of 6 'dead' Accurist movements + 1 case was £12.85 including postage (so less than £4.04 with $10 postage for the whole 6), 4 of them were ETA 2390s, 3 of which I have killed now... but one I have got running well enough that I built it back into the case that was also in the lot and it has been running with reasonable accuracy (within +30s/day dial up, better than that if worn) for a couple of weeks now. I used the most patina'd of the dials as I kind of like it and jazzed it up with a bright orange second hand. Since it is my first 'saved' watch since starting this hobby I intend to keep it! I haven't done anything yet with the 2 other movements, but since I don't have another case it will be tough to rescue them fully!

AccuristB.jpg

IMG_20200607_205658.jpg

IMG_20200607_212219.jpg

Watches.jpg

  • Like 6
Posted (edited)

OK... I was feeling pretty proud of my Valory... You guys both took that to school... Patina for the win! Hardcore character bombs!

But come on Andy... You've got more! Don't hold out on us!

Edited by spectre6000
Posted
42 minutes ago, spectre6000 said:

But come on Andy... You've got more! Don't hold out on us!

Quite a lot of them have already been posted on WRT at some stage, but I have no shame, so I'll post them again. :D

  • Haha 1
Posted (edited)

RIMG0247.JPG

RIMG0198.JPG

RIMG0195.JPG

RIMG0950.JPG

RIMG0329.JPG

RIMG0299.JPG

RIMG0277.JPG

RIMG0248.JPG

RIMG0259.JPG

RIMG0220.JPG

RIMG0175.JPG

RIMG0032.JPG

RIMG0001.JPG

RIMG0007.JPG

RIMG0694.JPG

There are many more, but its getting late here. I'll post another batch of honourable members of the 404 club soon.

Edited by AndyHull
  • Like 2
Posted (edited)

Hopefully this little lot will provide a bit of inspiration. Quite a few of them required some work, most needed a thorough cleaning,  and almost all of them needed servicing, but this shouldn't be a bar to looking through the penny lots on ebay. A good number of them needed little more than a new crystal, a new strap, or even just a new battery. There are some unique and interesting pieces to be had for 404 or less, or to put it another way, less than a rather ordinary cup of coffee in the local coffee shop.

RIMG0534.JPG

RIMG0619.JPG

RIMG0615.JPG

RIMG0627.JPG

RIMG0632.JPG

RIMG0643.JPG

RIMG0657.JPG

RIMG0665.JPG

RIMG0677.JPG

RIMG0201.JPG

RIMG0260.JPG

RIMG0340.JPG

Edited by AndyHull
  • Like 3
Posted

Inspiring stuff Andy! Hope to pick up some more to have a go at, I'm on the look out on ebay constantly, but don't see very much going sub £5, most stuff has a starting price higher than that :(. Hopefully post lockdown I'll be able to get out to some flea markets and fairs again.

Posted

I've got quite a lot as well..;)

I'll start off with this Timex quartz diver, which cost £1.99.....

Before....

JxyTZWQ.jpg

And after.....

2yMLye7.jpg

  • Like 5
Posted
On 7/6/2020 at 3:57 PM, spectre6000 said:

@AndyHull and I have been chatting, and we think it's time to formalize the 404 Club. 404 is the HTTP standard response code returned when a file (page) is requested and not found. You've probably seen the "404 Not Found" page a few times in your internetting adventures. Turns out though, watches can be found for such a tiny sum! Some surprisingly nice ones even!

Every currency doesn't have the same buying power though. Fortunately, the Dollar to Pound conversion at the moment works out to about $5.00, and the 500 response code means there's an internal server error... Not quite poetic, but at least it's on theme. Similarly, Euro to Pound works out to €4.50. 450 is specific to Microsoft and means "Blocked by Windows Parental Controls" ... So you guys behave!

So the way this works is you buy a watch for your currency/error code plus reasonable shipping (I've been saying $10 max unless I really like the watch, in which case I'll stretch to $15; the point is to avoid those $1 buy $200 shipping scams), fix it up for as little as possible, then add it to your personal collection, sell it off to pay for the next one, gift it to a friend, hang it around your neck as a tribute to Flavor Flav, or whatever else strikes your fancy! Somewhere in there though, post a picture of it here!

So basically buy the nastiest rat rod basket case you can find for the cheapest, get it running and post on the 404? Is that how I understand it?

Posted
On 7/6/2020 at 4:55 PM, Pauly said:

Think this should just about qualify?.. this job lot of 6 'dead' Accurist movements + 1 case was £12.85 including postage (so less than £4.04 with $10 postage for the whole 6), 4 of them were ETA 2390s, 3 of which I have killed now... but one I have got running well enough that I built it back into the case that was also in the lot and it has been running with reasonable accuracy (within +30s/day dial up, better than that if worn) for a couple of weeks now. I used the most patina'd of the dials as I kind of like it and jazzed it up with a bright orange second hand. Since it is my first 'saved' watch since starting this hobby I intend to keep it! I haven't done anything yet with the 2 other movements, but since I don't have another case it will be tough to rescue them fully!

AccuristB.jpg

IMG_20200607_205658.jpg

IMG_20200607_212219.jpg

Watches.jpg

"The Dead Accurist Society."

Posted
4 hours ago, MechanicMike said:

So basically buy the nastiest rat rod basket case you can find for the cheapest, get it running and post on the 404? Is that how I understand it?

So long as it comes in within the fiscal constraints, you can post whatever you like.

If you are luck enough to score a pristine watch for that money, then you have literally "won a watch", but yes, the majority of stuff in this price bracket needs a little TLC, so the transformation from ratty old clunker to shiny new ticker is certainly a major part of  the "reward" for this particular strange obsession.

I have picked up a couple of brand new in box items that just needed a battery (a sad inditement of our throw away culture), so not all of the 404 club crew needed the full fumigate and lubricate treatment.

Posted
9 hours ago, MechanicMike said:

So basically buy the nastiest rat rod basket case you can find for the cheapest, get it running and post on the 404? Is that how I understand it?

That's hilarious! When I saw Pauly's Accurist (BadAccurist?) and Andy's Voyager (clever nickname not found), "rat rod" is exactly what came to mind. I even went so far as to write up a brief explainer for the non-American niche car enthusiast population (which I imagine is the vast majority), and then stopped because it got too nerdy in the wrong realm and I was afraid it might come across as insulting (NOT an insult). I had to CMD+F the page to make sure I didn't misremember not posting it. Those two watches are liquid inspiration! Possibly the coolest watches I've seen on this forum so far.

  • Haha 1
Posted

Well, damn! So far, I've scored 10 watches on eBay in the 404 bracket. Two ended up being cancelled before they shipped because of extreme pandemic shipping costs, and 7 have been lost in the mail! My biggest issue playing the 404 game isn't finding watches that qualify, it's getting them here once they're bought and paid for! What the hell????

Posted (edited)
17 minutes ago, spectre6000 said:

Well, damn! So far, I've scored 10 watches on eBay in the 404 bracket. Two ended up being cancelled before they shipped because of extreme pandemic shipping costs, and 7 have been lost in the mail! My biggest issue playing the 404 game isn't finding watches that qualify, it's getting them here once they're bought and paid for! What the hell????

I've never had a 'no show'. Not sure why you are having such bad luck. :wacko:

Edited by AndyHull
Posted
22 minutes ago, spectre6000 said:

To be fair, the seven were a lot, but still.

I've had a few lots that took a while to arrive. The black dialled Cyrillic Slava came from Kramatorsk, Ukraine, and took about a month. Other items have come from France, Germany and Belgium. The postage on these items is fairly modest, but that is reflected in the delivery times I guess.

Posted

The auction was won back in May, and the tracking number has expired in both countries. The eBay expected arrival date window opened over a month ago, and will be a month expired sometime in the next few days. I contacted the seller once the origin post tracking number went dark to see if he could poke anyone on that side for information, and refunded the purchase rather than mess with it (can't say I blame him for $8 or whatever). Prior to him doing that, I opened an inquiry with the USPS, and I have so far received two "we're working on it" automated emails. 

Posted
On 7/13/2020 at 10:48 AM, spectre6000 said:

Well, damn! So far, I've scored 10 watches on eBay in the 404 bracket. Two ended up being cancelled before they shipped because of extreme pandemic shipping costs, and 7 have been lost in the mail! My biggest issue playing the 404 game isn't finding watches that qualify, it's getting them here once they're bought and paid for! What the hell????

Yeah been having a bit-o-trouble with getting stuff here also.  The flu still acting as opposing force to everything still?

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.


  • Recently Browsing

    • No registered users viewing this page.
  • Topics

  • Posts

    • just a reminder about this test is it's not a perfect test it's a quick test. In other words you can adjust the banking pins that are both the same and visually this test will pass everything looks the same but both banking pins can be in the wrong place. although the majority of time when people are playing with banking pins I don't put them in the same place. one of things have to be careful of is I believe some of the pallet fork measuring tools that actually give you the roller jewel size are actually size so that I get confused? What I mean by this is if you inserted a whatever size in and are always told to go a slightly smaller I thought that the gauge itself its number corresponded to give you the exact number. So a lot of it depends upon the gauge itself I think you do want the roller jewel slightly smaller because it does have to fit in the slot and it does have a little bit a play. But if it's too small you will lose energy so does have to be sized right. Oh other things to check is? I'm attaching an Elgin sheet on checking the escapement I've seen references in the past to making sure that the slot in the four corn is nice and smooth and apparently you can end up with a rough slot and then the recommendation is to polisher clean that up. Not sure how well that's really going to work even if it has been the recommendation of other reference materials. yes art full plate watches fun when they don't work. This is where it's nice to have another set of eyes sometimes as maybe they'll find something you didn't  although that can add other issues. The owner of the shop provides himself on his skills of so now two of my watches have relocated to his bench to solve problems both real and imaginary I'm sure that will get fixed eventually hopefully. But still sometimes another set of eyes might see something that you're not. yes this sort of thing can be quite frustrating. Also makes for an interesting problem unless of course you're the one trying to solve the problem that it's a Escapement Elgin setting up the escapement.PDF
    • I’m not to sure mate! I’ve sent a picture! The crown is off a Tissot 1853 automatic limited edition T115427 A GP19 moto go watch!   
    • For years and I'm still using it I've been using something called SeaMonkey? It's a Mozilla product Basically outscore its Firefox plus an integrated email program. But not the same problems here a lot of times when things are upgraded they tend to be now aimed at very specific browsers like Firefox so I've had to switch to Firefox to respond to any of the messages on the group. So yes they do seem to be getting more browser specific and that may be a reason for others having complications especially if whatever you using hasn't been updated. So yes the world is getting more browser specific perhaps for security reasons. Even though I use a product that is updated on a regular basis is still has problems. So whatever you using for browser should be up to date and if is not recognized it's going to be a problem.
    • I did remember to ask at work and minor complication? Well I suppose technically two separate complications. First off glass mineral glass versus Seiko's Hardlex Glass. Don't know if other companies have their own class or not and a basic class for crystals is probably not the same as window glass it would be more transparent. It becomes obvious if you're looking at a sheet of flat crystal glass versus window glass it's definitely more transparent you can see it when you look at the edges of it window glass looks green. No idea how that changes physical characteristics other than optical. Then we also have thickness like the Seiko five's there crystals are really sick compared to other things and I'm guessing that makes things different. In the first link it talks about Sapphire versus mineral glass. One other thing is bothering me though when I'm reading this is where is the source material? What I mean by this is could we end up with multiple generations of salespeople quoting the same sales tactic or information and we don't actually know because you don't have a source reference? Let me quote something off the website it's brittle oh dear I was sad? Except it's not immune to damage it can crack where shatter under extreme force or impact. So what is the definition of extreme force or impact? Then is that more or less extreme then mineral glass?  Then regarding the price difference while back I had asked the owner where the Sapphire came from and basically wherever he can get the cheapest. So typically ordered from a variety of online supply watch parts in the US and  aliexpress China.. Then yes it does make a difference because we go through a lot of glass crystals and sapphire https://thehorologylab.com/sapphire-crystal-vs-mineral-glass-which-is-best-for-your-watch#google_vignette Then I guess one is glass not glass when it goes by another name? Hardlex Looks like it's purely a Seiko product but now I wonder if other watch companies have their own special glass? I didn't remember from past experience my favorite was people exposed to welding you can find little blobs a metal stuck to the watch case the crystal still intact but there's little burnt holes were bits of metal had actually burnt into the crystal but it was still there. Okay website below starts off with Sapphire sounds good but Apparently it can shatter easier then Hardlex. https://theslenderwrist.com/hardlex-crystal/ One other thing is what I'm reading to websites would be back to I want to see the test results? Often times weren't looking for a subject will find websites where I basically called them these are better than that by the way but sometimes I'll find websites that I will call book review websites were basically the review other websites other material and don't really introduce anything new to the subject. As I said these websites look quite nice which is why I'm giving you a link but where's the test results the definition of extreme how extreme to break a sapphire versus a glass or Hardlex?  
    • What browser are you using Rich? Fine for me using Chrome 
×
×
  • Create New...