Watch of Today

[AndyHull]

Timex gives way to another HMT. This time the more seventies styled Chetham.

I'm going to take a look at a few more HMTs that are awaiting my attention, probably over the weekend. I'll keep you all posted.

 

 

I also picked up a little light bedtime reading.

I was sure I already had a copy of this, but it must have been left behind in the mists of time.

[AndyHull]

10 minutes ago, yankeedog said:

I think it is pretty common practice these days to take the name of a defunct but reputable company and commandeer it.Either by purchase or outright theft. When I see the "ELGIN" watches currently on display it causes me to wonder if it isn't  a place near Kowloon.

It could be said that if you are considering purchasing a modern Elgin, you must be loosing your marbles.

... and with that terrible pun, I think I'll head for bed.

[yankeedog]

I would only purchase a modern "elgin" as a fishing lure.

[noirrac1j]

1 hour ago, yankeedog said:

I would only purchase a modern "elgin" as a fishing lure.

...but only for catfish or white crappie.

[yankeedog]

I was thinking striped bass.

[m1ks]

Todays 'nearly new' Orient Kano diver with burgundy bezel.

This is beautiful and good as the pics are, so much nicer in the flesh as it were.

[balaton]

On ‎5‎/‎22‎/‎2019 at 4:26 PM, AndyHull said:

A little bit of utilitarian Gallic simplicity in the form of a "Lijac" to bring us back down to earth.

It has a tick like a Timex, and approximately zero jewels, but none the less it does poses a certain continental charm. 

So far I have managed to find out precisely nothing about this particular watch, so if anybody has any clues regarding its origin and manufacturer, I would be keen to find out.

Hi guys, please forgive my first of two intrusions. Here are details of the Lijac makers, and their period of operation:

     Maker                                              Location

CUP / Cupillard-Vuez & Rieme / Anciens Etablissements Maurice Bussard

Morteau, Frankreich; um 1954-1966

[balaton]

On ‎5‎/‎27‎/‎2019 at 8:11 AM, Nucejoe said:

@Deggsie What caliber is it and what parts do you need besides the HS?.

Apologies again, but here's my second intrusion. This particular "Aviation" brand was made by Louis Newmark's eponymous company based in Croydon, England. The typeface used for "Made in England" is the clue.

Initially, they used ebauches from the likes of EB and Baumgartner whilst tooling-up to make their own in-house movements which they then identified by size only. The one driving @deggsie's "Aviation" is the Newmark 13''' and dates from around the mid-50s. They reverted to using bought-in movements after only a few years.

A Flume catalogue from 1962 mentions four distinct Newmark calibres and whilst I have several examples of the 13''' and the 10.5''', I've never encountered the other two (an 8 x 11''' and a 12''') and rather doubt that they were ever put into production. 

Regards. 

[m1ks]

On 5/30/2019 at 11:25 PM, AndyHull said:

Timex gives way to another HMT. This time the more seventies styled Chetham.

I'm going to take a look at a few more HMTs that are awaiting my attention, probably over the weekend. I'll keep you all posted.

 

 

I also picked up a little light bedtime reading.

I was sure I already had a copy of this, but it must have been left behind in the mists of time.

Very briefly I thought that was Cheltenham. lol

[AndyHull]

1 hour ago, balaton said:

Hi guys, please forgive my first of two intrusions. Here are details of the Lijac makers, and their period of operation:

     Maker                                              Location

CUP / Cupillard-Vuez & Rieme / Anciens Etablissements Maurice Bussard

Morteau, Frankreich; um 1954-1966

Nothing to forgive. I spent ages trying to find out about that. Looks like I was looking in the wrong places. Thanks for taking the time to let me know. I do like to know a little about the history of these watches and their manufacturers. It looks like the Lijac is actually relatively rare, since the brand was only around for twelve years.

[AndyHull]

4 hours ago, m1ks said:

Very briefly I thought that was Cheltenham. lol

Given that Cheltenham has a Cheltenham Literature Festival, the Cheltenham Jazz Festival, the Cheltenham Science Festival, the Cheltenham Music Festival, the Cheltenham Cricket Festival, and the Cheltenham Food & Drink Festival, perhaps it is time they started a Cheltenhem Horology festival, and producing their own Cheltenham watches would be a logical extension to that.

[balaton]

1 hour ago, AndyHull said:

Nothing to forgive. I spent ages trying to find out about that. Looks like I was looking in the wrong places. Thanks for taking the time to let me know. I do like to know a little about the history of these watches and their manufacturers. It looks like the Lijac is actually relatively rare, since the brand was only around for twelve years.

You're most welcome. As you'll know, there are countless such "forgotten" brands, unloved but very often housing the same movements as some of the big, well regarded, names. 

Regards.

[ricardopalamino]

37 minutes ago, balaton said:

You're most welcome. As you'll know, there are countless such "forgotten" brands, unloved but very often housing the same movements as some of the big, well regarded, names. 

Regards.

Hi balaton,  Welcome to a fun , and very helpful forum .  

To your point of unloved brands or watches housing the same movements as other brands . I have a vintage Seiko Laurel that needed a new balance staff or replacement balance assembly but I could not even figure out what the movement caliber is because it pre-dates current methods that Seiko now uses to ID their watches . Believe me , I had this repair on a back burner for a long time because I needed the parts I couldn't even ID .

I am not quite sure which year the Timex 400 was produced for a short window ,  [ I know that member JerseyMo would know the production years ] , But the Timex 400 used a Seiko Japan made movement that is the same one as the one in the Laurel . 

I found this out by accident when I saw a pic of the Japanese movement in the 400 as I was scrolling through different offerings on ebay . 

 

The Ranfft movement website is invaluable in helping ID movements and their interchangeable series parts that I use often for these purposes .

[balaton]

36 minutes ago, ricardopalamino said:

Hi balaton,  Welcome to a fun , and very helpful forum .  

To your point of unloved brands or watches housing the same movements as other brands . I have a vintage Seiko Laurel that needed a new balance staff or replacement balance assembly but I could not even figure out what the movement caliber is because it pre-dates current methods that Seiko now uses to ID their watches . Believe me , I had this repair on a back burner for a long time because I needed the parts I couldn't even ID .

I am not quite sure which year the Timex 400 was produced for a short window ,  [ I know that member JerseyMo would know the production years ] , But the Timex 400 used a Seiko Japan made movement that is the same one as the one in the Laurel . 

I found this out by accident when I saw a pic of the Japanese movement in the 400 as I was scrolling through different offerings on ebay . 

 

The Ranfft movement website is invaluable in helping ID movements and their interchangeable series parts that I use often for these purposes .

Many thanks for the welcome. Yes, Dr Ranfft's resource can be most useful or, failing that, either Chris Lorenz or the Uhrforum's Werksucher.

Regards.

[Johnnie]

Today's offering is my Ingersoll Navigator, 

[ricardopalamino]

3 minutes ago, Johnnie said:

Today's offering is my Ingersoll Navigator, 

Ohh , nice dial and hands . Quite handsome for sure . 

[ricardopalamino]

 

How about some 70's Funky Chunky ??

Heres a Lucian Piccard 17 J , automatic in Fab original condition . 

Time for some Funky-Town ...........Sorry for the bad pics...

 

 

 

[AndyHull]

I didn't get a chance to look at the HMTs, I mentioned previously,  but I did take a quick look at another one of the "bonus" quartz watches I have acquired along with a more interesting mechanical or two, in a job lot.

This Accurist Quartz had thumbprints on the inside of the glass when it arrived.

The reason was pretty simple. The glass wasn't actually bonded to the watch, and would fall out without any real effort.

A little careful application of a suitable adhesive (no, not superglue, cynoacrylate is a nightmare on glass), a battery and a little scrub and polish and it looks quite presentable.

[yankeedog]

Today? A 7 jewel 11dp caravelle.

[yankeedog]

On 6/1/2019 at 4:38 PM, ricardopalamino said:

 

How about some 70's Funky Chunky ??

Heres a Lucian Piccard 17 J , automatic in Fab original condition . 

Time for some Funky-Town ...........Sorry for the bad pics...

 

 

 

Disco watch....probably the rotor is shot.

[jameswarner1011]

1905 Illinois grade 184 14k solid gold case

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[jameswarner1011]

Cyma Watersport with a R420 bumper GF case. Guessing from the 50s or 60s??

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[ricardopalamino]

7 hours ago, yankeedog said:

Disco watch....probably the rotor is shot.

Chick Magnet for sure .

[balaton]

 

During a brief dalliance with Timex quartzies last year, I picked up a couple of “Big Q” M135s from the early ‘80s, and also this slightly oddball 35mm “Small Q” jump-minute affair. The dial reference numbers declare it to be an M55 from 1979 and was bought as a non-working punt. I stuck in a new battery, more in hope than expectation, and got lucky.

As many will know, these things don’t tick, being silent and unmoving in operation. Rather than every second, this accumulates over 59 seconds until on the 60^th and with a distinct “click”, the minute hand jumps to the next marker. It also hacks.

From what little I’ve been able to glean from a variety of sources and to which I’m much indebted:

The movement is what Timex called a rocker motor, only ever used by them and was in production from 1978 to 1980. Allegedly, the M55 didn’t appear in their catalogues but is mentioned in the Timex museum notes. There was also a date version, the M56.

One thing I can vouch for is that it’s spookily accurate and the claimed +/- 15 secs per month really doesn’t do it justice, even after 40 years.

I’ve attached a link to Chris Lorenz’s resource, translated from the original German, here:  https://17jewels.info/movements/t/timex/timex-m43/ which although focussing on the M43 is what I expect my M55 to look like if my sausage fingers ever pluck up the courage to remove the black plastic cover. As they say, if it ain’t broke ..etc…  It also provides a link at the bottom of the page to the 1977 rocker motor patent details for those who may be interested.

Regards.

 

[yankeedog]

13 hours ago, jameswarner1011 said:

1905 Illinois grade 184 14k solid gold case

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk
 

A thing of beauty is a joy forever.