Jump to content

TIMEX watch "crystals" - from Scotland - hidden treasure found :)


Recommended Posts

I managed to buy a few boxes of Timex watch crystals, they once belonged to someone who worked for Timex for all his life and sadly is not with us anymore. They came from Aberdeen and the gentleman worked for the Dundee Timex factory in the sixties. They have different sizes and shapes and it seems they were actually samples for quality control. I cannot take out the writing on the "TIMEX inspection report"s as it is faded away but the smaller sized "Final Inspection: is dated as 1978 and I can read/take out the same year on the TIMEX  inspection reports too as far as I can see it. I found it very interesting so I thought I would share with you. I know there are Timex fans out there.

An interesting BBC documentary: The Rise And Fall Of Timex Dundee - Full BBC Broadcast - October 2019 There is some glitch with the voice at the end, unfortunately you cannot watch it on the BBC at the moment.

IMG_20201127_111247.jpg

IMG_20201127_111249.jpg

IMG_20201127_111252.jpg

IMG_20201127_111305.jpg

IMG_20201127_111413.jpg

IMG_20201127_111442.jpg

IMG_20201127_111825.jpg

IMG_20201127_111946.jpg

IMG_20201127_112154.jpg

IMG_20201127_112422.jpg

IMG_20201127_112748.jpg

IMG_20201127_112855.jpg

IMG_20201127_112956.jpg

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I watched the Documentary twice and found it a stark reminder of the methodology of the management at the time and the bull neck approach of the unions Indicative of the British Auto industry and the Railways, hopefully never to be repeated.   Dundee was a good factory with skilled workers its demise was a great pity.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

@AndyHull Could you please go there and check if you could pick these jigs up? ? Are all of the buildings completely gone? I would want to see both sites, where the tools were made and also the assembly line. Maybe there are some tools in garages just like these watch crystals were.

Edited by luiazazrambo
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, AndyHull said:

Believe me if there were still bits of old Timex lying in the bins there I'd have grabbed them.

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@56.4847228,-3.0190493,3a,75y,279.18h,92.19t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sfYBm3nTCOUG_q2y0xATfXg!2e0!7i16384!8i8192

 

Seems the fence was made for eternity.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I got them today, some of them are damaged as they were put into the same plastic bag and the sharp legs scratched the faces. I was kind of expecting that when I saw them in the same bag on aBay and the royal mail also helped with the damage, most of them are ok though. If you still would like to trade i am going to pick those where there is no damage.IMG_20201203_175903.thumb.jpg.86560bdf6745bae7bddfd99a9c8766c6.jpg

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

taking a closer look at those Snoopy dials I see the movement number is 100.  That means they are for the smaller version of the watch made for children or ladies. The dial code starts left to right. the first grouping indicates the model and features. the second grouping is the movement number followed by year of production. so in this example movement 100 and year made 1981.

 

Capture3.JPG

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 The bigger question is what to do with all these dials? To try and build complete watches from them will take a bit of luck to come across the missing parts. Case, crystal, movement, hands, stem, case back. Or as I once saw them reused as the front decoration on draw pull knobs!  Think of having a Snoopy collector see those as "I've got have them"...:0

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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

    • I've remained silent on this thread, and at the risk of upsetting everyone, the thing that worries me the most the the apparent absence of Mark. The moderators do a great job and the members also pitch in, and the site seems to run itself, but it is a concern for the future of this forum when the owner is absent for all intents and purposes. Like many of the comments above I would hate to log in one day and things be closed down as I rely on this site for ideas and knowledge and also cheer me up. maybe the Moderators could reach out to him, assuming he does not read this thread, and express our concerns and let us know the plans going forward? some kind of WRT ark
    • That was the exact reason for me starting this thread watchie. Still we haven't worked out how the regulars are going to hook up if it goes tits up. I honestly think something should be arranged to stay in contact, we all help each other so much. 
    • Yeah ive watched that a few times before,  i couldnt find my old school dividers to scribe it up 😅 Yep thats the guy i bought a roll from . Thanks Nicklesilver that answers that perfectly and more or less what i thought an experiment over time would prove . The jumper arm is quite thick along its length, i left it that way intentionally, i thought the original was probably very thin, i didnt see that it was already missing. Setting isn't particularly stiff as such just positive, i still need to take it out and polish where it mates with the stem release. 
    • Yes, "Sold out" is difficult to understand. There doesn't seem to be a lot going on. It's been nine months since any new video was published on the Watch Repair Channel. The Level 4 course on watchfix.com has been in progress for what feels like forever (several years!?). Maybe Mark's enterprises aren't doing well or perhaps already so profitable there's nothing much to motivate him for more material. Or, perhaps these days he's more into crochet. The real reason is probably something entirely different but it would be nice/interesting to know. I don't mean to sound gloomy or pessimistic, but I wouldn't be surprised to be met by an HTTP 404. Every day feels like a gift. Speaking of watchfix.com I've been postponing the "Level 5: Servicing Chronograph Watches" course for a very, very long time. Anyway, I just enrolled on it so it's going to be very interesting to see the videos. I must say, IMO there's nothing really that can compete with Mark's courses when it comes to presentation and video quality. It's simply world-class and makes me associate with some really expensive BBC productions.
    • Steel has some funny properties, or at least counterintuitive. The modulus of elasticity is effectively (not exactly, but close enough) the same for steel that is annealed and hardened. What changes is the point of plastic deformation* . If the movement of your spring doesn't pass that, it should work fine. It looks a little thick, I would thin it a bit maybe from the main body out about halfway, maybe 10-20% thinner (not in thickness, along its form). But if it works it works!   *So- if you have two bars of the same steel, one annealed, one at 600 Vickers (general hardness watch arbors might be), clamp them to a table so the same length is hanging out, and put a weight on the ends, they will bend the same amount. But if you continue to add weight, then remove it, at a point the annealed bar won't return to its original straightness. That's the point of plastic deformation. But up to that point, as springs, they are the same. However- their wear characteristics will be very very different. And getting the hardened bar past its point of plastic deformation takes a lot more effort.
×
×
  • Create New...