Southern News SWCS Watchmaker Supply Leaflets from 1960s History

[luiazazrambo]

This is from eBay covers May 1956 - April 1962 SWCS  leaflets. December 1959 is featuring @oldhippy as Santa.

[watchweasol]

A cracking good likeness, was he moonlighting from the proper ,  job   The secret is out now

[oldhippy]

Ha Ha Ha. When I started my apprenticeship that is who we used to deal with. There were loads of those leaflets about, used to get a new one each month. They were one of the bigger suppliers in the 70's and 80's  I think the address was  Orpington kent. 

[clockboy]

When parts were plentiful. If only !!!!

[luiazazrambo]

Even though these are "just" leaflets it is an extraordinary reading. As I mentioned i have the issues between May 1956 issue nr. 46 and April 1962 issue nr. 117, but I don't have them all I have gaps here and there, however these leaflets give you a chance to have a glimpse into a watch and clock parts supplier life in the 50s and 60s and trough them into a watchmaker life that time. They give you an endless source of information/observations and for those who lived it trough it is probably not so interesting, but for us who were born later and new to the watchmaking industry it describes a fascinating and probably in certain ways troublesome world prior to the internet and online ordering.

First of all these are the times before the decimal days introduced in 1971 when 1 pound was 20 shillings and 1 shilling was 12 pence, or 240 pence was 1 pound. The Southern Watch and Clock Supplies Ltd. started to operate just one year after WW2 because issue nr. 47 tells us that the team went for a holiday-study tour to Germany and Switzerland to celebrate the 10th anniversary a few months before the short lived Hungarian revolution:

2nd International Watch and Jewellery Trade Fair:

Rush order cards to ease the ordering in 1958:

The first time I can see "Southern Sam" appear:

Aceton vs Perspex and SWCS aquired DILGER and Son Ltd in London:

Customer complaints, DON'T BE LIKE "SOUTHERN SAM.":

4th International Watch and Jewellery Trade Fair and some advise as how to order mainspring:

IDENTIFICATION BOOKS (The Missus may stand the cost as Christmas present!)

 

Timex manual and price list out:

Southern SAMTA (note the M crossed)  , London Showroom is opening:

 

To ease the ordering and return process:

The best are the cheapest in the long run:

Nivaflex unbreakable mainsprings and Clerkenwell road, London is in the header:

Customers still dont understand how to order properly:

Cases and dials:

They still don't get it:

Gift ideas for missus:

Jolly good tools from SOUTHERN:

Kienzle:

1960 bargain list:

Clock materials Flume Clock identification book:

Silly customers still struggling:

Jewellers' materials:

Loyal customers:

"THE CRYSTAL CHANGER":

Silly Oscar:

6th International Watch and Jewellery Trade Fair:

Southern Sam says "I am on holiday!" and it seems he stayed there forever as I cannot see Southern Sam returning from this point on in the issues

The ONE HUNDREDTH NUMBER, new header:

7th International Watch and Jewellery Trade Fair:

Waterproof glasses with magnifying lens:

Books:

Elma filter:

Elma "RECORD":

VIBROGRAF B100:

And the last issue I have nr 117 with a Galvanofix miniature plating outfit.

It might be a long post, i just picked these pages for now as I found them interesting. I would love to have all of the issues, but it is probably a mission impossible. I zipped and attached the pics I scanned because the original copies are a bit more readable. Enjoy.

Issues I have: 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 54, 65, 66, 69, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 80, 2x81, 2x82, 83, 84, 85, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 97, 98, 99, 100, 101, 103, 105, 106, 107, 108, 109, 110, 111, 112, 114, 115, 116, 117

SWCS.zip

Edited March 14, 2021 by luiazazrambo

[luiazazrambo]

FILMS! FILMS! FILMS!

If I could watch them....

[luiazazrambo]

London showroom:

[luiazazrambo]

And a measuring and filing guide for perspex crystals:

 

[oldhippy]

luiazazrambo, thank you for the zip file. 

[luiazazrambo]

Your welcome here are the last 3 pages attached.

latest_3.zip

[watchweasol]

A Bit of nostalgia there. When I started I used T.G.Loader and Watchmakers supplies co. A.G.Thomas and often a supply company in Leeds and Bradford by the name of Rayman, all gone except Thomas's, a shame but time marches on.

[luiazazrambo]

I heard watchmaker club sessions were often disturbed by T-Rexes in your time, could you please share with us what caliber did they prefer to wear or eat and was the watchmaker detached from her/his watch before they got eaten?

[oldhippy]

I remember A G Thomas. Another one I used and they were very good was Mahoney Associates
58 Stapleton Road Bristol. I believe they are still operating.  

[watchweasol]

I think T.G.Loader was from Carterton in Oxford, and Watchmakers supply from London. Thomas's still operate from Bradford. I think the quartz revolution had an impact on the trade.

[luiazazrambo]

SWCS 1946-1971 25th Anniversary issue No 222 and 233?

"This year we are celebrating our 25th Anniversary. From modest beginnings in 1946, through a period of steady progress we have reached the top of the Trade, and we feel that our many customers who, through their loyalty and co-operation, have contributed so much to the success of our establishment would like to be reminded of some of the landmarks in our history "

A bunch of leaflets including SWCS and A.G. Thomas were generously donated to me by Niall, somebody where my first bunch of SWCS leaflets came from. I take the opportunity to publicly thank him for this.

Unfortunately I have not got a lot of time to spend with watchmaking lately and the little I got I spent with old Greiner timing machines and with their resurrection, however tonight I decided to scan two of the SWCS leaflets. These two are about the 25th anniversary. Issue No 222 and No 233? at the beginning of 1971 (it seems they made a typo here and the issue number became 233 not 223?). This was the time I still did not exist. 

Issue No 222 lists those landmarks mentioned above indeed, some of them are here:

- The first Southern News were published in 1952.

- When they went on that tour to France, Switzerland and Germany in 1956 celebrating the 10th anniversary they sent a postcard to their customers from there.  32 people participated. They also introduced the 'Rush Order Cards' in 1956.

- 'WE SERVE ON TIME' a 16mm sound film was made in 1957. (now it is going to be our mission to get our hands on it and watch it)

- 1970 the most successful trading year yet.

It's worth to read their full history and even though they were successful at this point of time it was not an easy ride.

Another interesting fact is the decimalisation which was introduced in this very year and some instructions were provided at the bottom of the front page of issue No 222. 

I also scanned the front page of issue No 233 or shall we say 223?

If time allows I scan the rest of the issues I got including A.G. Thomas and some other leaflets.

 

 

Edited October 3, 2022 by luiazazrambo

[KarlvonKoln]

Five Swiss tweezers and a tool stand for two-and-a-half pounds!  Back then, in the states, it would come to about $3.50 or $3.75 in US, I believe.  As a kid, I was making that much per day just cleaning gutters and doing other  odd jobs throughout the summer.  All this time, I could have been buying quality tools and entering more seriously into watch repair so much sooner!  Ah, if I had known!
But thank you for posting these.  It was a different time then, and one I am fond of.

 

[oldhippy]

I used to deal with them back in the 70's and 80's they were in Orpington Kent.  

[Neverenoughwatches]

4 hours ago, KarlvonKoln said:

Five Swiss tweezers and a tool stand for two-and-a-half pounds!  Back then, in the states, it would come to about $3.50 or $3.75 in US, I believe.  As a kid, I was making that much per day just cleaning gutters and doing other  odd jobs throughout the summer.  All this time, I could have been buying quality tools and entering more seriously into watch repair so much sooner!  Ah, if I had known!
But thank you for posting these.  It was a different time then, and one I am fond of.

 

Lol same nostalgic thoughts here Karl

[watchweasol]

Hind sight is an exact science.

[luiazazrambo]

12 minutes ago, watchweasol said:

Hind sight is an exact science.

We might be able to use the Greiner Record Time Machine to make this real once it is fixed.

Edited October 4, 2022 by luiazazrambo

[dadistic]

Ok, this is interesting. According to the leaflet, using the 4 rpm cyclotest, you can calculate power reserve "using a simple formula"

I checked the Horotec catalog, and it too claims that the 4 rpm machine can check power reserve. 

Does anyone know this formula or the procedure for checking power reserve on the 4 rpm machine?

Thanks!

[jdm]

3 hours ago, dadistic said:

I checked the Horotec catalog, and it too claims that the 4 rpm machine can check power reserve. 

Of course an auto winder can't check on anything. I think that what they are saying is that if you know that a full wind takes, e.g. 40 turns of the rotor, if you leave it on the mechanical arm for 20 minutes from a completey unwound state, you should get about one half of the power reserve stated by the manufacturer. And if you don't, something is wrong with the auto works. 

[dadistic]

There is a method or procedure for accomplishing this with a 4 rpm cyclotest.

  I just want to know what it is. 

Thanks!

[nickelsilver]

29 minutes ago, jdm said:

Of course an auto winder can't check on anything. I think that what they are saying is that if you know that a full wind takes, e.g. 40 turns of the rotor, if you leave it on the mechanical arm for 20 minutes from a completey unwound state, you should get about one half of the power reserve stated by the manufacturer. And if you don't, something is wrong with the auto works. 

When I was doing LeCoultre 101 movements this machine was the timing machine. They (the Big Client Watch Company) would set the time, put it on this, and check the time 24 h later. If it was pretty close, all good, haha. I would time it on a Witschi.

 

So it can check on something.

[jdm]

13 minutes ago, nickelsilver said:

So it can check on something.

Well, the human checks

But Mr. Swiss maker is right, a well adjusted watch must perform well on the cyclotest. Above I called it a winder, of course is more than that. 

As a kid I was fascinated by these at the watchmaker shop window. Now they cost a small fraction of what used to be, yet I don't have one myself...