Watch of Today

[balaton]

A relic of the Jewel Wars, this 35mm 1950s Mount Royal with an 80 jewels (kind of) Felsa 4002, 21 of which are broadly functional and 59 which, er, aren’t. I’ve no idea how many of these watches survive today or, indeed, were ever made but it “coulda been a contender” until the likes of Waltham, Orient, and Titoni climbed into the ring with their 100 (and more) jewelled efforts.

Of the two recorded makers of a Mount Royal brand, Choisi seems to be the most likely candidate for today’s curiosity, it being a product of the original company founded in 1929 before its demise, date unknown. The company name was seemingly reactivated in 2013 by a Singapore-owned  enterprise which, from what I can see, is largely producing retro-style watches along with homages based on the old company’s vintage models. 

Regards.

[yankeedog]

Interior bling

[Johnnie]

I like the look of the watch, 

[AndyHull]

1 hour ago, Johnnie said:

I like the look of the watch, 

Its actually quite an attractive piece, though all those extra rocks in there might make it a tad heavier than strictly necessary.

[balaton]

8 hours ago, yankeedog said:

Interior bling

If you've got 'em, flaunt 'em!

[balaton]

7 hours ago, AndyHull said:

Its actually quite an attractive piece, though all those extra rocks in there might make it a tad heavier than strictly necessary.

Only if there had been any substance to them

[Johnnie]

There is a Mount Royal on fleabay at the moment without the extra 59jewels ! £149.00

[AndyHull]

3 hours ago, Johnnie said:

There is a Mount Royal on fleabay at the moment without the extra 59jewels ! £149.00

All you need are the matching slippers.

[balaton]

Jeez, you guys are cruel. OK, try this one instead:

34mm Wittnauer from the early '70s and running on the 13 (only) ESA 9154.

Regards.

[balaton]

12 hours ago, Johnnie said:

There is a Mount Royal on fleabay at the moment without the extra 59jewels ! £149.00

Yes, and it's able to resist Emerson (sic) in water. Maybe he got luckier on dry land.

[AndyHull]

I see it says "T Swiss - LIC ATO"

The ATO patented movement is about as simple as these things get. At its most basic, it only uses one transistor. This may not make for the most stable oscillator, design but in this use case, they are actually relatively good, since they rely on a fairly conventional mechanical balance to control the oscillator frequency, rather than an R/C circuit, which would typically be less stable over the working temperature range.

 

(schematic shamelessly stolen from https://www.bmumford.com/tmp/ATOschematic.gif )

This AC125 germanium transistor version is probably the most simplified schematic, but often in reality there are current limiting resistors and other little tweaks.

Since they have no mechanical switched contacts, they don't suffer from burn through or oxidation failures of the contact.

Edited June 19, 2019 by AndyHull

[balaton]

37.5mm Swiss-made Stuag, wears very flat and runs on a 17j ETA 900. Probably late ‘40s.

Attributed to one of the few female (is that term still allowed these days?) -led watch manufacturers, Mlle Mireille Grebler (later Mme Mireille Franz-Grebler) who also came to control Cauny, before that particular brand became Spanish owned sometime in the 1970s.

Regards.

[yankeedog]

It's ok if that's how she self identified.

[balaton]

3 hours ago, yankeedog said:

It's ok if that's how she self identified.

Of course! How could I have forgotten that particular caveat?

[ro63rto]

Hoping for a sunny day

[yankeedog]

Why? I would wear that watch when it's overcast.

[m1ks]

Yesterday's eBay deliveries.

A nice pin pallet that's the cleanest I've ever seen, came with the pallet fork loose, refitted and ticking away, will get a service and back onto eBay at some point.

Then an 'interesting' Seiko franken.

Lovely clean 7019A movement, (which was the reason for the purchase) bonus of new strap, practise dial to strip and make a dial from and hands.

[balaton]

My second of this VEC brand and driven by a 15j Cupillard 233, the other one running on a 17J Lorsa P72. Brand name registered in 1932 by SR Ltd Etablissements of Marseilles, the city from where I bought this one, so no doubting its French Connection.

I’ll get my coat.

[AndyHull]

Very nice. Quite a bit more sophisticated than the two French movements I posted about recently, the "LiJac" and the "Rodeo".

[balaton]

Thanks. Did you post images of these two movements?

[AndyHull]

Sure.

The Rodeo is here ->

 

The "Li Jac" is here ->

 

Both have remarkably similar movements. The "Li jac" is a simpler un-jeweled version, the "Rodeo" is jeweled.

 

 

Edited June 23, 2019 by AndyHull

[Johnnie]

Fero ??? Have just bought this because I like the face ! Never heard of this watch and it is a none runner. Any information would be much appreciated. Cost £28.54 Inc postage so wasn't too painful. Not sure if it's franken or worth its price? 

[Johnnie]

Ops, forgot the side view !

[AndyHull]

A nice clean example. Worth the money I would suggest.

[balaton]

18 hours ago, AndyHull said:

Sure.

The Rodeo is here ->

 

The "Li Jac" is here ->

 

Both have remarkably similar movements. The "Li jac" is a simpler un-jeweled version, the "Rodeo" is jeweled.

 

 

Blimey, I see what you mean.

What you've got there would appear to be two French-made Framelac pin-levers, a movement maker about which very little seems to be recorded. I've attached an image from the Uhrforum.de of the jewelled-lever FR 304 for comparison of the bridge configuration (similar) and the shape of the balance cock (identical).