Jump to content

Watch of Today


mk3

Recommended Posts

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.

Mount Royal RLT.JPG

Mount Royal 80j Felsa 4002.JPG

Mount Royal jewels layout.jpg

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

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.

 

ATOschematic.gif

(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 by AndyHull
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

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.

Stuag 2018.JPG

Stuag ETA 900 2018.JPG

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

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.

2019-06-23 11.55.38.jpg

2019-06-23 11.55.54.jpg

2019-06-23 11.56.10.jpg

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

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.

VEC 2 after.JPG

VEC 2 mvmt after.JPG

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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? 

s-l1600 (4).jpg

s-l1600 (5).jpg

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

18 hours ago, AndyHull said:

Sure.

The Rodeo is here ->

RIMG0499.JPG

 

The "Li Jac" is here ->

 

RIMG0230.JPG

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). 

Framlec FR 304 mvmt.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.




  • Recently Browsing

    • No registered users viewing this page.
  • Topics

  • Posts

    • OK, welcome in the world of alarm clocks... I guess the 4th wheel is dished because it is from another movement. If it was not dishet, then it would not mesh with the pinion of the escape wheel, am I right? The marks of wear on the 4th wheel pinion doesn't corespond to the 3th wheel table position, at list this is what i see on the picts. Calculating the rate is easy - there is a formula - BR = T2 x T3 x T4 x T5 x 2 /(P3 x P4 x P5) where T2 - T5 are the counts of the teeth of the wheels tables, and P3 - P5 are the counts of the pinion leaves. Vibrating the balance is easy - grasp for the hairspring where it should stay in the regulator with tweasers, let the balance hang on the hairspring while the downside staff tip rests on glass surface. Then make the balance oscillate and use timer to measure the time for let say 50 oscillations, or count the oscillations for let say 30 seconds. You must do the free oscillations test to check the balance staff tips and the cone cup bearings for wear. This kind of staffs wear and need resharpening to restore the normal function of the balance.
    • Glue a nut to the barrel lid, insert a bolt, pull, disolve the glue.  Maybe someone will have a better answer. 
    • The stress is the force (on the spring) x distance. The maximum stress is at the bottom, and decreases up the arm. That's why they always break at the bottom. I used a round file, then something like 2000 grit to finish. I gave the rest of the arm a quick polish - no need for a perfect finish. Just make sure there are no 'notches' left from cutting/filing. The notches act like the perforations in your toilet paper 🤣
    • It's probably a cardinal rule for watch repair to never get distracted while at the bench. Yesterday, after finishing a tricky mainspring winding/barrel insertion (I didn't have a winder and arbor that fit very well) I mentally shifted down a gear once that hurdle was passed. There were other things going on in the room as I put the barrel and cover into the barrel closer and pressed to get that satisfying snap. But when I took it out I realized I never placed the arbor.  When opening a barrel, we are relying on the arbor to transfer a concentrically-distributed force right where it is needed at the internal center of the lid. However, when that isn't present it's difficult to apply pressure or get leverage considering the recessed position of the lid, the small holes in the barrel and the presence of the mainspring coils. It was a beat-up practice movement so I didn't take a lot of time to think it over and I pushed it out using a short right-angle dental probe placed in from the bottom, but that did leave a bit of a scratch and crease in the thin lid. I had also thought about pulling it using a course-threaded screw with a minor thread diameter smaller than the lid hole and a major diameter larger, but that may have done some damage as well.  Thinking about how this might have been handled had it been a more valuable movement, is there a method using watchmaking or other tools that should extract the lid with the least damage? 
    • 🤔 what happens if lubrication is placed directly on top of epilame ? Making a small groove so the lubrication doesn't spread across the component but what if when lubing a little overspills and sits on the epilame .
×
×
  • Create New...