"Sonora De Luxe"

[UnHommeQuiDort]

I picked this up at an op shop (charity shop for non-aussies) recently and I've been unable to find anything about this "brand" at all, though searching for "17 jewel incabloc" turned up a lot of very similar looking watches with different brand names on the dial. I assume it's some sort of cheap knock-off or something. However, I'm quite taken with it. I removed the movement to have a look at it and without the knackered crystal, the dial is quite lovely and the movement is running very well. I'm tempted to get a new crystal and get it serviced (i don't have the equipment to do that myself, nor do i want to make a mistake and spoil the watch) - but I'm not crazy bout the case. how easy is it to transfer a movement to a different case, in general? The movement doesn't appear to have any branding beyond "seventeen jewel swiss made", so beyond measuring it and hoping for the best - are there any tips or pitfalls to avoid when shopping around for a potential new case? or would it not be worth the hassle? cheers in advance for any info or advice!

[Nucejoe]

Old pin pallet I suppose. 

Not worth the hassle.

Regards

 

[Marc]

There's not a lot of information on Sonora out there but it was a brand name registered by Complication S.A. in 1953 in Switzerland. I would say that your watch is more 1970's in design.

If it has Incabloc shock protection then it is unlikely to be a pin pallet movement inside. More likely to be a fully jewelled movement, possibly something like an AS1950/51 or similar, however a pic of the movement would help, and better still a close look at the main plate under the balance wheel.

As for re-casing it you have two options.

1. Find any case that appeals and is physically large enough to accommodate it, and then make up what ever spacers are needed to make it actually fit.

2. Find a donor watch that has a case you like and uses the same movement and dial size as yours and swap it out. But for that a positive movement ID would help.

[UnHommeQuiDort]

18 minutes ago, Marc said:

There's not a lot of information on Sonora out there but it was a brand name registered by Complication S.A. in 1953 in Switzerland. I would say that your watch is more 1970's in design.

If it has Incabloc shock protection then it is unlikely to be a pin pallet movement inside. More likely to be a fully jewelled movement, possibly something like an AS1950/51 or similar, however a pic of the movement would help, and better still a close look at the main plate under the balance wheel.

As for re-casing it you have two options.

1. Find any case that appeals and is physically large enough to accommodate it, and then make up what ever spacers are needed to make it actually fit.

2. Find a donor watch that has a case you like and uses the same movement and dial size as yours and swap it out. But for that a positive movement ID would help.

Hey Marc, cheers for replying. I forgot to photograph the movement, helpfully, but I'll take one when I get home. 

[UnHommeQuiDort]

 

I can see an "AS" under the balance wheel, (impossible to photograph) and there's some other figures that I can't quite read but I'm hesitant to remove it since I'm still very much a n00b at this.

Edited August 11, 2020 by UnHommeQuiDort

[Marc]

That's an AS/ST, probably a 974 since it has a calendar. I would also have said 96 except that I can't find a calendar version of that. A closer look under the bridge where you spotted the AS should show a number.

The exact same movement could also be labelled FHF or FHF/ST, or just ST.

It's a good work horse movement which was used by many brands in the '60's through to the '80's in one variant or another so you should be able to find plenty of donors that could furnish a case.

If you look here you may even be able to find a new case to fit as the TimeZone.com watch school used to use the ST96/7 as one of their learning movements.

[UnHommeQuiDort]

1 hour ago, Marc said:

That's an AS/ST, probably a 974 since it has a calendar. I would also have said 96 except that I can't find a calendar version of that. A closer look under the bridge where you spotted the AS should show a number.

The exact same movement could also be labelled FHF or FHF/ST, or just ST.

It's a good work horse movement which was used by many brands in the '60's through to the '80's in one variant or another so you should be able to find plenty of donors that could furnish a case.

If you look here you may even be able to find a new case to fit as the TimeZone.com watch school used to use the ST96/7 as one of their learning movements.

okay, so I decided to remove the balance wheel to get a look properly. Clearly I needed my glasses on as it now clearly says FHF ST 96. but either, sounds like the same thing. That's great though that I can get one of those cases for it thank so much for your help!