New member and new interest in watches

[Flagstaff]

Hello all - what a find this forum is with plenty of good threads to get stuck into. I've already digested a long thread on oils and greases which was very helpful. 

I only recently found that I've got an interest in watches, although I suppose it was only going to take time as I can't help taking things apart - I think it's a bit of a sickness!

I started off being given watches of members on both sides of the family who are no longer with us and now I'm keen to keep them going if possible.

As my first practice watch away from those of family members I've been messing with a Lorsa 238 installed in a ropey / fake case with fake Omega Seamaster dial given to me by a colleague who never used it as it never kept time - he thought it was a genuine Seamaster until the back was opened and I pointed out the Lorsa symbol. Having looked into it this watch is likely to be what is known as "Autobahngold", possibly sold unscrupulously in the 60's to a naive tourist. 

It only needed me to buy a new balance and spring worth more than the value of the watch to get it running on time! Happy to say that the job went without any major issues and is keeping very good time for a cheap fake! Not something I'd ever want anyone to be stung with but I quite like the story behind it so strangely I'm quite attached to it now. 

I'm looking forward to reading plenty more on here and slowly improving my knowledge and then subsequently emptying my wallet on new (hopefully not fake) projects!

Edited December 31, 2020 by Flagstaff

[Nucejoe]

Welcome to the forum.

[clockboy]

Welcome enjoy the forum.

[KarlvonKoln]

5 hours ago, Flagstaff said:

"...It only needed me to buy a new balance and spring worth more than the value of the watch to get it running on time! ..."

Welcome to the forum!  Yeah, watches are kind of like cars (and other devices) that way.  If you had an old Yugo or Trabant, and the sub-frame was cracked through and a ball joint gave out, you might just get a trumpet and begin playing "Taps".  But when it's a favorite car, regardless of collectability or rarity, we want to keep it running no matter what.  We want to save it.  You'll see guys here in the states  dumping over 100k into restoration work on an old Packard sedan from the '20s that may not sell on the open market for even 80k.  But they don't care.  They love the car and want it to run.
So I wouldn't sweat it with the watches too much.  If it's yours and you want it to run, it's your money and your watch, so who are we to question.  Likewise with working on the watches of others.  I'm doing commission work right now on some of my brother's pocket watch collection (which I have to get around to posting here) and with a few of them, if you added up all the regular services they've had along with sundry repairs, it would still likely be more than what the watch would sell for.  It's just like that: if you want to keep a watch, you have to service the watch.  Even with the old Elgin 241 that he has, the repairs it's going to need to get it running again are definitely going to cost more than the watch might sell for, maybe even at auction.  (Even with me secretly discounting a couple things for him.)  And my brother knows that.  But they are his, and this is what he wants.  So I'm doing all I can for them.
And then there are my daughters who bring me their cheapo Disney Princess watches, and slap-strap watches, with dead batteries and dirt inside and all signs of a hard life.  And they'll say in the sweetest voice, "Can you fix it, Daddy?".  So you just fix it.  The cost isn't a concern there.  The value of the watch is priceless to the child.  It could be some little quartz from a crane game.  They don't care.  It's theirs.  When you're a dad, or a brother, or a good friend, it's what you do; you fix things like they're yours.
Enjoy your time here.  There are brilliant folks in this forum.  Ask questions.  Have fun!

 

[watchweasol]

Hello and welcome to the forum       enjoy

[Tudor]

Welcome to the forum!

[Flagstaff]

17 hours ago, KarlvonKoln said:

Welcome to the forum!  Yeah, watches are kind of like cars (and other devices) that way.  If you had an old Yugo or Trabant, and the sub-frame was cracked through and a ball joint gave out, you might just get a trumpet and begin playing "Taps".  But when it's a favorite car, regardless of collectability or rarity, we want to keep it running no matter what.  We want to save it.  You'll see guys here in the states  dumping over 100k into restoration work on an old Packard sedan from the '20s that may not sell on the open market for even 80k.  But they don't care.  They love the car and want it to run.
So I wouldn't sweat it with the watches too much.  If it's yours and you want it to run, it's your money and your watch, so who are we to question.  Likewise with working on the watches of others.  I'm doing commission work right now on some of my brother's pocket watch collection (which I have to get around to posting here) and with a few of them, if you added up all the regular services they've had along with sundry repairs, it would still likely be more than what the watch would sell for.  It's just like that: if you want to keep a watch, you have to service the watch.  Even with the old Elgin 241 that he has, the repairs it's going to need to get it running again are definitely going to cost more than the watch might sell for, maybe even at auction.  (Even with me secretly discounting a couple things for him.)  And my brother knows that.  But they are his, and this is what he wants.  So I'm doing all I can for them.
And then there are my daughters who bring me their cheapo Disney Princess watches, and slap-strap watches, with dead batteries and dirt inside and all signs of a hard life.  And they'll say in the sweetest voice, "Can you fix it, Daddy?".  So you just fix it.  The cost isn't a concern there.  The value of the watch is priceless to the child.  It could be some little quartz from a crane game.  They don't care.  It's theirs.  When you're a dad, or a brother, or a good friend, it's what you do; you fix things like they're yours.
Enjoy your time here.  There are brilliant folks in this forum.  Ask questions.  Have fun!

 

Yes the pleasure is indeed fixing up that which just needs a little helping hand and that most people would jut throw away - we are too much of a throw-away society!

Glad I'm in good company with all the guys and girls on here. 

[Poljot]

23 hours ago, Flagstaff said:

It only needed me to buy a new balance and spring worth more than the value of the watch to get it running on time!

Been there done that!

[Flagstaff]

6 minutes ago, Poljot said:

Been there done that!

I think it took me 6 months to decide whether or not I should spend the £10 on the balance and spring!  

[Poljot]

1 minute ago, Flagstaff said:

I think it took me 6 months to decide whether or not I should spend the £10 on the balance and spring!  

You don't say! I do recall 3-4 weeks of hesitation before spending $$$ on Moebius oil "collection" thinking why do i need to spend that much if i only need it for a single watch?!

[Flagstaff]

1 minute ago, Poljot said:

You don't say! I do recall 3-4 weeks of hesitation before spending $$$ on Moebius oil "collection" thinking why do i need to spend that much if i only need it for a single watch?!

Sounds like there are very common themes here! I'm currently having that thought train too!

I should have started to introduce myself by saying say "Hi, my name's Flagstaff and I have a watch problem!" 

[KarlvonKoln]

I can't remember what I spent on my antique Jacot pivot lathe, but it was a pretty number of pennies, that I can tell you.  And here I was worried that I might never use it.  Hheheheh.  Yeah.
In two of my brother's pocket watches (there are five that I'm working on and will be posting here soon) I already found two that were sluggish and had rough patches, due to slight scoring from grime it seems.  The burnishing did the trick.  And I'm seeing that I will get use out of a staking set too, so that's on the horizon.  I was actually kind of busy this past year.  I only advertise by word-of-mouth among friends in social media and the like; imagine if I put money into advertising.  I don't think I'm ready yet though.
But when I'm ready to retire from my day job, this is what I'll be doing until I die.  And I'm more than perfectly fine with that.

[Flagstaff]

On 1/1/2021 at 2:57 PM, KarlvonKoln said:

I can't remember what I spent on my antique Jacot pivot lathe, but it was a pretty number of pennies, that I can tell you.  And here I was worried that I might never use it.  Hheheheh.  Yeah.
In two of my brother's pocket watches (there are five that I'm working on and will be posting here soon) I already found two that were sluggish and had rough patches, due to slight scoring from grime it seems.  The burnishing did the trick.  And I'm seeing that I will get use out of a staking set too, so that's on the horizon.  I was actually kind of busy this past year.  I only advertise by word-of-mouth among friends in social media and the like; imagine if I put money into advertising.  I don't think I'm ready yet though.
But when I'm ready to retire from my day job, this is what I'll be doing until I die.  And I'm more than perfectly fine with that.

Good to hear that you'll keep doing it as the skills need to be kept alive. It's also a good way of the keeping the brain ticking as well as watches!