Watch of Today

[yankeedog]

Here in all it's  chrome plated glory. A lorsa p72 powered  werna..I never  hearda werna..anyone  have a clue?

[ro63rto]

Seiko 5206-5080 LM

[yankeedog]

From  the seventies  obviously. 

[ro63rto]

From  the seventies  obviously. 

[emoji106] March '73

[balaton]

18 hours ago, AndyHull said:

Interestingly, it would now theoretically be possible to 3D print objects with sub 10 micron resolution, so if you know anyone with a high end 3D  printer, then you might be able to fabricate these disks. If my recent experience of examining quartz chronographs is anything to go by, you may even be able to fabricate them in nylon or other similar polymers, rather than metal.

Furthermore high quality laser cutters can in theory cut to sub 1/1200 of an inch (0.0021166582mm) so if there is a market for these spares, and you can find some way to fabricate them, then you may be able to produce and sell them.

Might be a really good opportunity. Get in there, Andy, before someone else makes their millions from your idea!

[yankeedog]

3 hours ago, ro63rto said:

March '73

The decade  that good taste  forgot. 

[AndyHull]

A 17 Jewel "superflat" EB88XX (EB 8805) based dress watch with the rather strange moniker "Dimetron".

This arrived in a fairly sad condition, scratched up, fully wound, and locked up unable to set the hands, and of course filthy, but the sunburst blue dial made it almost irresistible. Well that and the strange name of course. 

I have absolutely no idea who actually produced it, but following its service and clean, it pretty classy. The most tricky thing about servicing the EB8805 is the date mechanism, which can be a little bit of a head-scratcher, but other than re-fitting that, things went without a hitch. No flying springs or mysterious vanishings.   

This EB88XX lacks the balance shock protection, but is fully jeweled.

The photograph doesn't do it justice, it has a very nice shimmer to the dial, and the slight wear to the plating is almost invisible under normal lighting. The crystal is the worlds worst dust magnet, but I'm going to give that a further polish anyway, then I'll give it a scoot with the glass cleaning spray and that should settle down. This is the original crystal, cleaned and polished.

I'm in two minds about the strap it is currently on. That may get swapped for something a little more formal.

It is of course a fully paid up member of the 404 club.

Edited October 31, 2019 by AndyHull

[ro63rto]

Love the dial and 3 style of markers.

[AndyHull]

7 minutes ago, ro63rto said:

Love the dial and 3 style of markers.

It is pretty good, all the more so considering it cost a mere 0.99p plus P+P

It didn't come with the case though, for that price.

I'm not a big fan of the EB8800 series movements, they are a little primitive, and prone to issues, but this one, following a bit of TLC is sitting around +/- 10sec per day with a swing in excess of 270 degrees and a sub 1ms beat error so I can't really complain.

I will certainly wear it, unlike for example the strange blue acrylic number I posted about the other day.

Edited October 31, 2019 by AndyHull

[AndyHull]

7 hours ago, balaton said:

Might be a really good opportunity. Get in there, Andy, before someone else makes their millions from your idea!

Unfortunately I don't have a printer capable of that level of detail.

[ro63rto]

It is pretty good, all the more so considering it cost a mere 0.99p plus P+P

It didn't come with the case though, for that price.
I'm not a big fan of the EB8800 series movements, they are a little primitive, and prone to issues, but this one, following a bit of TLC is sitting around +/- 10sec per day with a swing in excess of 270 degrees and a sub 1ms beat error so I can't really complain.

EB8800 not that bad.....
Spring to life after approx 45 years.
https://www.watchrepairtalk.com/applications/tapatalk/index.php?/topic/1685-1960's-Jaguar-Small-Brass-Desk-Clock

[AndyHull]

When they work, they are pretty robust, but there are a couple of issues.

That bridge holding in the mainspring for one. It tends to weaken over time, letting the spring explosively unwind taking a few teeth with it. The lack of shock protection on a lot of them is also an issue, as I have seen quite a number with broken balances.

On the plus side, they were produced in huge numbers over a long period from 1965 onward, so getting donors for spares is not too difficult, and they are fairly easy to strip and re-assemble. Also the parts seem to be interchangeable between the jeweled and un-jeweled variants, and the numerous different balances with/without shock protection seem to be interchangeable too.

Edited October 31, 2019 by AndyHull

[ro63rto]

When they work, they are pretty robust, but there are a couple of issues.
That bridge holding in the mainspring for one. It tends to weaken over time, letting the spring explosively unwind taking a few teeth with it. The lack of shock protection on a lot of them is also an issue, as I have seen quite a number with broken balances.
On the plus side, they were produced in huge numbers over a long period from 1965 onward, so getting donors for spares is not too difficult, and they are fairly easy to strip and re-assemble. Also the parts seem to be interchangeable between the jeweled and un-jeweled variants, and the numerous different balances with/without shock protection seem to be interchangeable too.

What are they like compared to a BFG866 ?

[AndyHull]

1 minute ago, ro63rto said:

10 minutes ago, AndyHull said:

When they work, they are pretty robust, but there are a couple of issues.
That bridge holding in the mainspring for one. It tends to weaken over time, letting the spring explosively unwind taking a few teeth with it. The lack of shock protection on a lot of them is also an issue, as I have seen quite a number with broken balances.
On the plus side, they were produced in huge numbers over a long period from 1965 onward, so getting donors for spares is not too difficult, and they are fairly easy to strip and re-assemble. Also the parts seem to be interchangeable between the jeweled and un-jeweled variants, and the numerous different balances with/without shock protection seem to be interchangeable too.

What are they like compared to a BFG866 ?

I would think pretty similar in terms of robustness. In my opinion,  the BFG866 is more of a faf to put back together.

[yankeedog]

Keep  an eye out for one with shock  protection..it would  be worth your time. 

[AndyHull]

Well there is one mystery solved. I know where it was made, roughly when, and by whom.

http://www.mikrolisk.de/show.php?site=280&suchwort=Bero&searchWhere=all

Dimetron        Bero SA     Biel, Schweiz; registriert am 22.11.1973

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biel/Bienne

.. so it may not be a Rolex, but it was made in the same town as Rolex.

Edited November 1, 2019 by AndyHull

[AndyHull]

17 hours ago, AndyHull said:

I'm not a big fan of the EB8800 series movements, they are a little primitive, and prone to issues, but this one, following a bit of TLC is sitting around +/- 10sec per day with a swing in excess of 270 degrees and a sub 1ms beat error so I can't really complain.

The "Dimetron" ran flawlessly overnight and all day today, and this is what I currently see (not rewound yet), so maybe I'll revise my opinion on the EB88XX - Give it a bath, and off it goes.

Edited November 1, 2019 by AndyHull

[yankeedog]

Seiko homebrew.spare 7009 movement  7002 dial from  dagaz.hands from esslinger.case and back from ebay. Date window  does not  line up..but I  can't read  the date without  my glasses, while I sure can see those hands.

[m1ks]

Orient freshly serviced today. 

Cal 46491.

Badly scratched crystal unfortunately as it's a faceted one. 

[AndyHull]

It is a "Two for one" day today, and speaking of unaligned dates, I finally got round to sorting the sticky day disk on this bright yellow HMT Rajat, so it is getting a bit of an airing along side the "Dimetron".

This picture gives a slightly better impression of the shimmering blue sunburst  dial of the Dimetron and the almost fluorescent yellow of the HMT. Its all so bright I think I need to wear shades. 

 

 

[yankeedog]

2 hours ago, m1ks said:

Orient freshly serviced today. 

Cal 46491.

Badly scratched crystal unfortunately as it's a faceted one. 

you should be able to do standard round crystal,no?

[m1ks]

5 hours ago, yankeedog said:

you should be able to do standard round crystal,no?

Yes, a standard round crystal will fit but it I'll be keeping this one for now as it fits with the design of the case lines.

I'm not a huge fan of the faceted crystals typically but this one fits the case design. A replacement nos one would be nice but I'll tty polishing this one of not when I can get some buffing wheels and compound to try it. 

[yankeedog]

Mothers  mag and aluminum polish and a piece of cotton  cloth. 

[yankeedog]

9 hours ago, AndyHull said:

It is a "Two for one" day today, and speaking of unaligned dates, I finally got round to sorting the sticky day disk on this bright yellow HMT Rajat, so it is getting a bit of an airing along side the "Dimetron".

This picture gives a slightly better impression of the shimmering blue sunburst  dial of the Dimetron and the almost fluorescent yellow of the HMT. Its all so bright I think I need to wear shades. 

 

 

Not familiar  with hmt automatics.citizen licensed movement?

[AndyHull]

1 hour ago, yankeedog said:

Not familiar  with hmt automatics.citizen licensed movement?

Yes, the HMT 6501 is licensed Citizen 6501.

It is a shame they have ceased production, as they are well made, and virtually indistinguishable from the Citizen 6501

apart from the logo and brushed finish on the rotor.

The same, or very similar movement is also referred to as the HMT6906

Edited November 3, 2019 by AndyHull