Which Watch Have You Got Coming In The Mail ? Show Us !!!

[AndyHull]

A 17 Jewel Fr. Ebauche "Limit International" destined hopefully for the 404 club.

 

[AndyHull]

 

A blue dialled early Citizen Crystron quartz is on its way.
I love the look of the Crystron watches from this period, although this one is a little beaten up, and will need  a crystal and a strap at the very least. 

If anybody sees the "blinker" version of this one, be sure to let me know.

 

Edited December 4, 2022 by AndyHull

[AndyHull]

 

The postal strikes mean that the Citizen has yet to arrive, but in the meantime, I've picked up another potential 404 club candidate in the form of a USSR era 2414HA based Poljot/Sekonda.

[AndyHull]

Something  a little different today. This is a German Osco 400 (aka Dugena 1155) based "Ankra".

The movement is a little quirky, with the ratchet on the dial side.

Clearly its in need of a little TLC, but I'm hopeful it will spruce up very nicely.
Maybe we wont see a genuine Dugena in the 404 club, but this is its pretty close cousin.

Edited December 15, 2022 by AndyHull

[Nucejoe]

On 12/15/2022 at 1:58 AM, AndyHull said:

 

Boy that Ankra watch is sure ugly.

One wonders how Swiss managed to sell them.

[watchweasol]

Its a bit heavy on the dial batons/markers   right in your face, not a lot of charm.

[AndyHull]

12 hours ago, Nucejoe said:

Boy that Ankra watch is sure ugly.

One wonders how Swiss managed to sell them.

Its a face only a mother could love.
Actually, arguably, its not that unusual for the period. I'm pretty sure its from the early 1970s, and you know what they say.... "the 1970s, the decade that style forgot".
I could be the uber pedant here and point out that it was almost certainly the Germans that sold it, not the Swiss.
I'm not sure, will I need to dig out my bell bottom pants, platform shoes and wide collared tartan shirt and  bleach my beard blond, before I start working on it?

[RickTock]

5 minutes ago, AndyHull said:

... will I need to dig out my bell bottom pants, platform shoes and wide collared tartan shirt and  bleach my beard blond, before I start working on it?

Perhaps. If so, we will require photographic evidence.

[JohnFrum]

Incoming is an eBay find (project watch): a Seikomatic Lady model 27004 from the early 1960s. Not working but I hope to correct that.

 

This has the 2101 movement which is probably the first automatic movement for Ladies watches ever made by Seiko (photos by the seller).

 

https://17jewels.info/movements/s/seiko/seiko-2101/

As the following photos from 17jewels.info show, the 2101, based on the 21a, itself an evolution of the 11a, has the typical construction of  a manual wind ladies watch of that era (6 3/4 x 8 lignes Tiny Form):

 

with the addition of the automatic winding module:

I'm currently practicing on some 1104a and 11a non working Ladies movements from speedtimerkollektion (servicing /balance restaffing /hairspring manipulation/ bridge jewel adjustment) and should hopefully have enough experience in a few months to tackle this project. Looking forward to working on this example of one of the first Seiko automatic watches.

[ManSkirtBrew]

Just got this 1956 Bulova in the mail. I'm a sucker for these with these movements with the sub seconds hands, and the black dial is something different for my collection.

It's pretty filthy. Can't wait to see what's inside!

 

[GuyMontag]

7 hours ago, ManSkirtBrew said:

Just got this 1956 Bulova in the mail. I'm a sucker for these with these movements with the sub seconds hands, and the black dial is something different for my collection.

It's pretty filthy. Can't wait to see what's inside!

 

That looks to be a Bulova President, not sure which model. The 1956 President 'P' had the same dial but not in black so it will have a different model designation. The dealer catalog shows the1956  price was $100, which is close to what Bulova was selling some of their 1970's chronographs for and is about $1,100 in today's dollars. I think those diamonds are real as the dealer catalog lists "9 diamonds" in the description and which makes the price make sense. If you post it over on mybulova.com they may be able to dig up the exact model name.

[Neverenoughwatches]

4 hours ago, GuyMontag said:

That looks to be a Bulova President, not sure which model. The 1956 President 'P' had the same dial but not in black so it will have a different model designation. The dealer catalog shows the1956  price was $100, which is close to what Bulova was selling some of their 1970's chronographs for and is about $1,100 in today's dollars. I think those diamonds are real as the dealer catalog lists "9 diamonds" in the description and which makes the price make sense. If you post it over on mybulova.com they may be able to dig up the exact model name.

Would this also be a gold case then if the dial has real diamonds. Looks like a good find MSB has got himself there

[KarlvonKoln]

On 12/23/2022 at 5:08 PM, ManSkirtBrew said:

 

 

Oh I do very much adore the color combination of black and gold.  That watch is stunning!

[ManSkirtBrew]

19 hours ago, Neverenoughwatches said:

Would this also be a gold case then if the dial has real diamonds. Looks like a good find MSB has got himself there

Looks like "10k Rolled Gold Plate." I started a project thread here.

[AndyHull]

On 12/16/2022 at 11:24 AM, Nucejoe said:

Boy that Ankra watch is sure ugly.

I've seen a lot worse. It has nice blue accents on the hands and on the indices (which the camera has entirely failed to pick up).

Serviced, scrubbed, polished and the missing paint on the hands restored, it actually looks not too bad... considering its from the 1970s
The case appears to be some sort of bronze, so with a little "patina reversal" magic, it now actually shines.
I'll probably need to repeat the process in another fifty years, but I can live with that.

It did fight me every step of the way I might add. Its slightly idiosyncratic Osco OS 400 beating heart had been liberally doused in used motor oil (at least that was what it looked like), which meant that stripping it down resulted in some head scratching as the date jumper mechanism basically flew apart when the cover was removed.

It also had the spring from hell that must have tried to hide at least twenty times. On the plus side, I found several other missing parts in the carpet while I was on my knees with the magnet. The spring in question is the one that is smirking on the brass date jumper wheel.

Those two slots in the pusher confused me for a while. There are approximately three point six trillion combinations of spring, wheel and pusher which involve the spring in or on one of those slots. All of them of course are incorrect, trust me, I tried them all before the penny dropped. 

Edited December 31, 2022 by AndyHull

[GuyMontag]

1 hour ago, AndyHull said:

 

Love it, this style is right up my alley. I'm trying to think if I have a watch in my collection that has both a sub-seconds and date complication, but I don't think so. Very cool.

Edited December 30, 2022 by GuyMontag

[Endeavor]

Today I received this beauty, a 4th quarter 1951 Molnija. In 1947 the Soviets bought the Swiss Cortebert machinery (cal: 624 & 616). In the beginning these movements were produced to the same high Swiss standards, complete with Geneva stripes. In the 1940's Rolex also used the same movement design in their watches. The Molnija movement I received is the same as the Cortebert cal. 624

The seller revealed that this watch has been in his family for as long as he could remember. The watch shows hardly any signs of use / wear and the movement has perhaps been serviced ones, but is still in excellent / untouched condition. It came with the original box, chain and April 1952 passport. Even the inside of the back-lid is highly decorated.

And here the 1940's Rolex version;

 

 

Edited December 30, 2022 by Endeavor

[AndyHull]

That is a very attractive piece. I have a couple of similar Monjas, not anywhere near as nice as that as they are in pretty poor condition. They are sitting  on the to do list as I couldn't find a source for the balance or balance staff, but if it is a Cortebert cal. 624 that might give me a better hope of finding any necessary parts.

[Endeavor]

5 minutes ago, AndyHull said:

but if it is a Cortebert cal. 624 that might give me a better hope of finding any necessary parts

I don't know if the Soviets, at some point in time, changed the design of the Cortebert 624 balance-staff. Most Molnija's do have the 3602 movement and balance staff's are available on eBay. Whether the older types had the same 3602 balance staff I can't say, but you could give a 3602 balance staff a try, they aren't too expensive.

For example: https://www.ebay.de/itm/162950763642?hash=item25f09f547a:g:FicAAOSwKV9ihK2u&amdata=enc%3AAQAHAAAAoPZUPW3%2Bb4VjzuuuWrmU9YJMBgeL5OUHqm3uHlMLjeEIh1Q2urUiCB9uO8Lqwk0UqAB7tu9KI2AKJX1fkWQj4bLHxi98IDqwyc4XM5cMhdZhNLFy%2B4YFoxHXLv7k0K7XG5LQRIp7AfHWJmhOR7l3WEFI4DRkvfCPWxE0qmYufW2eeyvO%2BWE3UAKVwZ1uvD6lwYguyLAYFw57K0xrclKB3vo%3D|tkp%3ABk9SR_iqwb2sYQ

[oldhippy]

Rolex

[JohnFrum]

Incoming is this Elgin Pocket Watch, 6s, Model 2, 7 jewels (Grade 286) from ~1926:

Along with a parts donor movement 

Edited December 30, 2022 by JohnFrum

[lexacat]

Taking my first plunge into the Swiss pool with a Tissot Seastar. Looks like it's legit? I hope so. Serial # indicates manufacture in 1960 and it certainly looks its age. 

Should get it in a couple of weeks, which will give me time to look into how to service the 781 movement. Apparently it's a runner, but we'll see. Definitely will need a new crystal from the looks, but hopefully that's it.

[Endeavor]

I was searching for new & other challenges and I found that older, but in "good" condition, pocket watches can certainly provide these. Like the 1951 Molnija I posted above had next to being very dirty, escapement issues; hairspring out of shape, pallet jewels and the balance wheel was grosse out of poise. To me all very interesting challenges.

Anyhow, I hope to get this end 1920's silver-case Artdeco Omega, with a 35,5L-T1 movement in tip-top condition again.

ETA early next week

Edited January 31, 2023 by Endeavor

[AndyHull]

Another German watch on its way. Adora -  Gemeinschaftsmarke - Adolf Rapp - Pforzheim, Deutschland.

Those late sixties or early seventies looking digits give it a bit of a space age vibe.
This one is a bit of a gamble, as there are no pictures of the caliber, but that is reflected in the price.
Not quite a 404 club candidate, but not far off. It may have a German caliber, or perhaps a France Ebauches one. Some Adora watches even have Swiss calibers.

[AndyHull]

 

More insanity. Yet another Jappy Frers. Baucort Argentan key wind, key set late 19th century pocket watch, at a 404 club price.

I should have enough spares again to put together yet another fully working watch. They are very easy to work on, built like tanks, and with a little bit of a shine an polish they come out looking very nice.

See here ->

 

.. and here ..

.. and here ..

 

.. and several other places on this forum.

 

Edited February 11, 2023 by AndyHull