Watch of Today

[AndyHull]

2 hours ago, rehajm said:

The punch line- it regulated DD in beat and zeroed but it was horrible in all the other positions- one to two minutes, fast and wobbly.

I wouldn't say that was entirely unusual for these movements. The QA mission statement seems to be " if it runs, its good enough" in a lot of cases.

I do have a couple that work almost perfectly in all positions, others, not so much.  If the particular manufacturer of a movement (and there seem to be many manufacturers)  made at least some basic effort, they will keep time.

On the plus side, balance complete can be picked up for pennies, as indeed can entire scrap movements. They can be extremely frustrating to service though, due to the poor quality control. Some of them left the factory in a barely working state, with factory fitted fingerprints.

[rehajm]

4 hours ago, AndyHull said:

do have a couple that work almost perfectly in all positions, others, not so much.  If the particular manufacturer of a movement (and there seem to be many manufacturers)  made at least some basic effort, they will keep time.

Interesting. That makes sense since the mission is to fake a high end watch there needs to be some accuracy. Despite the poor quality I thought to myself this is actually an efficient design. Higher quality manufacture  and they might have something...

[AndyHull]

Looking at your teardown picture, you can see that you get quite a lot of "bits for your buck" with these Chinese automatics, and for the most part, components are somewhat interchangeable between different variants.

I picked up a couple of scrap movements as I need a balance for one of my 404 club candidates. Two scrap Chinese automatics with what appears to be good balances cost a whole £2.99p plus shipping. One is skeletonized, the other is just very basic finishing. The dials are pot ugly, but I didn't buy them for their looks. They both have a full set of hands. Not very interesting or attractive ones, but hands, none the less.

If I get a working balance, I'll be happy. The chances are that they will both run, but even if they are both toast, for that money,  I'm hardly going to complain.

Edited October 21, 2023 by AndyHull

[Razz]

Just arrived today. Tissot Seastar automatic with a 2481. I really like the cushion case and this may be my daily wearer for quite a while. Some very minor adjustments only. Added a Barton silicone band that is extremely comfortable on the wrist. I need to look up the serial number but must be early to mid 70s.

[GomBoo]

2001 Odyssee

Edited November 7, 2023 by GomBoo

[GuyMontag]

1 hour ago, GomBoo said:

2001 Odyssee

Wow, that is pretty sweet!

[GomBoo]

I've been a big fan of the first electric watches that Hamilton came out with back in the early '60's. When Unwind in Time sent a notice about this mechanical I grabbed it.  Hamilton did make the prop watch for the movie and this was the limited consumer version. (French spelling for copyright reasons.)

Edited November 7, 2023 by GomBoo

[GuyMontag]

6 minutes ago, GomBoo said:

I've been a big fan of the first electric watches that Hamilton came out with back in the early '60's. When Unwind in Time sent a notice about this one I grabbed it.  Hamilton did make the prop watch for the movie and this was the limited consumer version. (French spelling for copyright reasons.)

I'm a fan of the Hamilton (and others) electronic watches as well. I picked this one up a couple of years ago but lost the crown and haven't had any luck finding a new one. The Odyssee is an automatic though, right?

 

[GomBoo]

Yes it is.  

Try contacting Jarett at https://www.unwindintime.com.  

I've gotten some very nice Hamilton Electrics from him

 

 

Edited November 7, 2023 by GomBoo

[Razz]

21 hours ago, Razz said:

Just arrived today. Tissot Seastar automatic with a 2481. I really like the cushion case and this may be my daily wearer for quite a while. Some very minor adjustments only. Added a Barton silicone band that is extremely comfortable on the wrist. I need to look up the serial number but must be early to mid 70s.

Looking more closely I think this might be a re-finished dial. It doesn't have the luster and the badges and hour markers are rough and not polished. The round badge has the painted symbol just a little off as well. Oh well I am pretty confident the movement is real as it has plenty of amplitude and beat error is low and the rate delta is also good...

[Waggy]

Hi all, just thought it had been a while since I posted any projects. I've actually been quite busy preparing for a local market where I plan to sell some watches for the first time.

Here is one of the watches I worked on, a Seiko 7S26, it actually needed quite a lot replaced on the automatic works, but I got there in the end.

Before front and back

And the finished watch:

Here is another Seiko I worked on, this time a 7S36 from my friendly supplier in the Philippines, this one with a sport style case.

And the after shot, I ditched the bracelet that came with it to use on a future project, it was a Seiko bracelet but wasn't original to the watch.

Thoughts, comments and suggestions greatly appreciated.

[Waggy]

Also done a few ladies watches, here is an absolutely tiny Tissot that I had to replate:

Before:

Plating process:

And here is the finished watch:

[rehajm]

Lovely work Waggy. I’m inspired to tackle tougher case projects. The Tissot is extraordinary- back from the zombies!

…I’d be interested in how your work is received at the market. 

[Waggy]

@rehajm many thanks for your kind words, I'm finding the right price to pitch the watches at is harder than restoring them.

[rossjackson01]

Finally! Wearing it for a few days to confirm my standards.

Bellmatic 4006a

 

[Waggy]

24 minutes ago, rossjackson01 said:

Bellmatic 4006a

Wow great job - will be hard to take off your wrist

[rossjackson01]

Waggy, Mikepilk and rehajm. Thank you for the thumbs. Actually means a lot to me. 

[Razz]

1973 Bulova Sea King HH. Before and after pictures. The bracelet was not original but a Hong Kong special with lots of wear and DNA. Could use a new crystal but the old one cleaned up okay and I plan to work on it more. Added a blue leather rally band. The dial is almost perfect as are the hands except for a loss of some lume. This would be a good case and crystal to practice polishing on as well. The case was difficult to open but the gasket did it job and the movement is clean.

definately needs a service with the low amplitude.

Edited January 8 by Razz
Add picturses

[Waggy]

Looks good, Bulova are my nemesis, for whatever reason I never seem to have good luck with them. I'm sure it's 100% psychological now... is it an acrylic crystal?

[Razz]

Yes acrylic. No cracks but a couple of deep gashes.

[Waggy]

1 minute ago, Razz said:

Yes acrylic. No cracks but a couple of deep gashes.

Good news, you can probably get most, if not all, of these out. I posted somewhere on this forum about the method I use on acrylic crystals to refurbish them - not promoting myself as an expert, but it may be useful to you.

 

[Neverenoughwatches]

On 11/16/2023 at 9:00 AM, rossjackson01 said:

Finally! Wearing it for a few days to confirm my standards.

Bellmatic 4006a

 

That dial is gorgeous 

[GomBoo]

1st Watch of the first 2024 rotation...Hamilton Nautilus 450, 1963

[Waggy]

Finally got around to fixing up my Tag, been on my to-do list for over 6 months. Got it as a treat for myself and after parts arrived and I got motivated I finally finished it over the weekend.

[rehajm]

5 hours ago, Waggy said:

Finally got around to fixing up my Tag, been on my to-do list for over 6 months. Got it as a treat for myself and after parts arrived and I got motivated I finally finished it over the weekend.

Of course it looks brilliant after your work- are there any shabby before pictures or was this one in proper shape to start?

Edited January 15 by rehajm