Mish mash or normal?

[buzz12]

Been tinkering with this Dominant watch wondering if it is worth tearing down.  I think it is an AS? 984 movement although the makers mark appears to just be an "S" which I can't find on the makers lists... but there go. Anyway it runs well enough but I haven't serviced yet because I'm not sure if it is a made up effort.

Q1: Is it normal to have gold numbers and gold hands in a chrome case - or should this really be in a gold coloured case?

Q2: Is it normal for the minute hand to be bent down at the end to match the contour of the crystal - or is that an indication again, that something is not as it should be... wrong style hands maybe, or wrong crystal?

What do you more experienced guys think about it?  Is it more or less as it should be?

Cheers, Buzz

[jdm]

Seems an absolutely normal and common watch of its time to me.

[oldhippy]

Its normal is the answer to both questions. If the glass is a low dome which it should be a watch repairer might have bent the minute had a bit so it doesn't rub the glass which could stop it. My late grandfathers watch was chrome with  gold like hands and numbers it was a Vertex and a very good watch. I don't know why you should think that it might not be normal. If you under take the repair the strap needs replacing as its not the correct width and the lugs could do with replacing. It has a nice little movement.

[buzz12]

Thanks for that guys. Yes, it is a nice movement, Oldhippy. It's the sort of watch I would enjoy wearing, so I will go ahead and service it and as you say, I will sort the strap out.

1 hour ago, jdm said:

Seems an absolutely normal and common watch of its time to me.

What time are you thinking, @JDM.  40s - 50s or later?

[Marc]

I would say that it's absolutely right and well worth the effort.

Mine says "Hi".

It's been in the normal rotation for over 2 years and has never let me down; still as consistent and reliable, and still looks great.

[jdm]

12 minutes ago, buzz12 said:

What time are you thinking, @JDM.  40s - 50s or later?

I think more likely the 50s. Spring bars were not very common before.

[buzz12]

@Marc, you have such lovely hands... they are amazing!!  I think mine is in love... Haha!  Enjoyed your "My First Offering"... I found it very useful.  You mentioned the crown you fitted, was maybe too small, well mine has also has got (what I feel is a small crown).

I fitted the crown to what appeared to be a new stem (as shown in the original picture), but the crown I fitted was with the watch when I found it...

Like you, Marc. I struggled to find info. Dominant does not appear to be a very prolific watch... but I love it... so simple and clean.  Unlike you, I am very new to this, so maybe I missed something,.. but I 'm learning day by day.  The best I came up with was:

http://www.ranfft.de/cgi-bin/bidfun-db.cgi?10&ranfft&0&2uswk&AS_984

Maybe I am over thinking it and it makes no difference, but you may notice that the movement in the link looks identical to my movement, BUT is signed AS, where as both yours (same movement, but bridges not etched) and mine are signed S, not AS. Is that a date thing do you think? Maybe signifying earlier, or perhaps later?  Pink pages suggest cira 1940's, but like take JDM suggested, spring bars were not very common before the 50's... any thoughts?

 

[Marc]

I must admit, the hands on mine are rather a good feature.

I don't think that the "S" in the cross is a makers mark as I have seen it on numerous movements from different makers and in different brands. One possibility that does occur to me is that where I see it on a movement, the words "Swiss made" or "Fab Suisse" are absent, and I wonder if it is just some kind of short-hand for "made in Switzerland"; a capital "S" inside a cross from the Swiss flag kind of thing?

From memory, mine is signed AS 984 on the dial side, the same as the one on Ranfft. This appears to have been quite a common practice at one point amongst movement suppliers, and particularly AS and FHF, yours is definitely an AS 984 though.

I have always dated mine in the 40's. This is mainly because the only other one that I could find reference to had identical face, hands, and movement to mine, but was in a hall marked gold case, dating it squarely to 1944. Mine is fixed lugs too which points to earlier rather than later. The only thing that is slightly out of character for the 40's is the size. At 34mm it is no giant by today's standards but it is on the large size for the 1940's. Not beyond the realms of possibility though.

Despite my comments in my original post I never did get around to changing the crown and I have just got used to it, so it looks right and I think a bigger crown would look clumsy.

Yours is now only the third that I have seen so thanks for posting. It's nice to know that there are others out there.

[Cad101]

I don't think I own a watch from the 40's/50's with a chrome / SS case that doesn't have gold hands it seems the norm. that's a nice watch BTW simple nice face easy to read my kind of watch all round I love sub second dials. Nice easy movement to work on too winner all round really.

Mick

 

[buzz12]

Very interesting... just (wrongly) assumed the S was a makers mark. No wonder I couldn't find it on the makers lists. Thanks for sharing guy's. I can feel a tear down coming on and will see what markings there are under the balance.

[Marc]

Don't take my interpretation of the "S" in a cross as gospel, it's just my take on it until I find another (more authoritative) explanation. Also, I suspect that there won't be any marks under the balance on this one, but removing the dial will reveal all. Have fun, as CAD101 says, it's a nice easy movement to work on.

[Cad101]

Oh forgot to say I'm sure I read somewhere years ago that the 'S' represented the swiss cross with a S inside  for swiss and was just another proof stamp not a makers mark