Watch of Today

[FLwatchguy73]

4 hours ago, AndyHull said:

I may have to source another watch for the parts for this watch, that I sourced for parts for another watch..... There is nothing mad about that whatsoever .... is there?

I may be guilty of this very thing! 

[FLwatchguy73]

Today I'm wearing my newly acquired, vintage big Q Timex Quartz. All original and keeping excellent time. Only the crystal needed a polish. 

 

[yankeedog]

13 hours ago, AndyHull said:

A Vestron "Foreign" (so probably German) pin lever pocket watch.

I actually picked this up to scavenge the hands from, but I couldn't resist having a look inside to see what ailed it.

The balance was rattling around, but on closer examination it appeared to be complete, so I removed and re-fitted the balance cock and balance, gave the whole thing a quick and rudimentary clean and oiled the pivots. Off it went.

It clearly still has a couple of issues. No crown, no stem and no second hand being the obvious ones. However, straight off the bat, and without any adjustment it is sitting around +80 sec per day, with the adjuster slap bang in the middle, so I'll let it run down and see how it fares. Hopefully as the oil gets to work, it will slow down slightly.

I may have to source another watch for the parts for this watch, that I sourced for parts for another watch..... There is nothing mad about that whatsoever .... is there?

Perfectly  sane

[AndyHull]

15 hours ago, yankeedog said:

Perfectly  sane

I'm glad you think so. In that case, if I reveal that I now have not one, not two, but three of these linen texture dialed Poljot 2614.2h Sekondas (the latest having just come back to life on the workbench this afternoon), I'm sure this will further prove my sanity.

I guess I'm just as sane as I need to be, and no more.

There is something quite irresistible about them. Despite the keyless work's tenancy to go "spriong" if you remove the stem without pulling it out to the hand setting position, they are actually very easy to work on.

This latest one wouldn't wind (the click spring was  gummed up in the clicked position, so any attempt to wind resulted in it instantly unwinding again). It was filthy, both inside and out, and needed a crystal, as the old one was in a shocking mess.

Almost the instant I wore it, I managed to scratch the new crystal (that little mark near the 8 o'clock position), by whacking it against the work bench in a futile attempt to catch a dropped screwdriver as I was putting stuff away. Time for a few more minutes polishing I guess to see if I can buff it out.

[AndyHull]

Scratch? What scratch?

Not too shabby for a watch produced some time after 1972. I should have taken a few pictures of it when it arrived.

Edited February 29, 2020 by AndyHull

[yankeedog]

I don't have any of the  "newer " poljots, but I have noted  a weakness in the keyless  works  in the 2409 type. They were often placed in off brand cases during the sixties. While  the are typically  good  runners they often show up  for sale on line  with  missing  crowns and broken  stems. 

Edited February 29, 2020 by yankeedog

[Johnbaz]

Hi

I've been wearing a couple of recent incomings!
 

Dan henrt 1963 Pilots Chrono, It has the SR71 Lockheed Blackbird on the case back!

This is number 0348 of a run of 1,963 pieces 

 

Also been alternating bewteen this Dan henry 1968 Dragster chrono 

This one is number 0318 of 1,968 pieces..

 

John 

[JohnD]

5 minutes ago, Johnbaz said:

Hi

I've been wearing a couple of recent incomings!
 

Dan henrt 1963 Pilots Chrono, It has the SR71 Lockheed Blackbird on the case back!

This is number 0348 of a run of 1,963 pieces 

 

Also been alternating bewteen this Dan henry 1968 Dragster chrono 

This one is number 0318 of 1,968 pieces..

 

John 

So these are modern watches 'inspired' by watches of those dates?

[Johnbaz]

5 minutes ago, JohnD said:

So these are modern watches 'inspired' by watches of those dates?

Hi John

Yes, Also, The date seems to command how many are made in the production run too!

 

John 

[FLwatchguy73]

Today I'm wearing the 2 tone silver dial brother of the black dial Timex Big Q I wore the other day. This one also has the original bracelet. 

 

[FLwatchguy73]

Since I've already featured the wristwatch I'm wearing today, I'll highlight today's pocket watch. It's a 1913 South Bend 16s. It has gold inlaid engravings on the movement and the jewels are in gold settings. The dial is double sunk and it's in a chrome plated, salesman's case with an exhibition back. I haven't had to touch this watch since I bought it other than to polish the crystals. One of my favorites. 

[dadistic]

That is a truly magnificent timepiece. 

[Johnbaz]

I received this Vostok 24hr manual wind through the post yesterday, I quite like it even though it's strange to read the hour off! 

 

It's new old stock, 44mm, Screw down crown and was only £25 posted!!

 

John 

[AndyHull]

A Luch SU 2365 based quartz. Date unknown, but from the style of the movement I would guess late 1970s. although it is alleged that this movement had quite a long production run.

You can see the original USSR era cell was still in the watch when I opened it, along with many years of accumulated nastiness.

Here it is looking a whole lot more wholesome following a deep clean and a replacement cell.  Some of you may recognize this dial design, as being one of the ones I looked, and created my own portrayal of, in the Decal Dial tutorial thread.

I've swapped it for my other recent favorite CCCP escape, the 19 Jewel Sekonda TV face, which has spent quite a lot of time on my wrist recently.

[FLwatchguy73]

Today's watch is my recently restored 1958 Timex 100. I swapped the movement, cleaned up the exterior  and polished the crystal. Judging by the shadow the hands left on the dial, there is a chance the lume is, or was radioactive.

[AndyHull]

19 minutes ago, FLwatchguy73 said:

Judging by the shadow the hands left on the dial, there is a chance the lume is, or was radioactive.

 

Possibly mildly radioactive, but I'm not sure that the brown marks are actually burn in from radiation, although they could well be, I simply don't know what the mechanism would be.

Radium is a possibilty, in which, with a half life of around 1600 years, they are likely to be pretty much as radioactive as the day they were painted (which in the grand scheme of things, is not particularly radioactive). The "phosphor" (actually zinc based emitter is a better description), is the bit that degrades, not the radiation source.

[Kmack190]

18th birthday present to myself. 

Speedmaster Automatic 3511.50

First swiss made watch in my collection.

[yankeedog]

22 hours ago, FLwatchguy73 said:

Today's watch is my recently restored 1958 Timex 100. I swapped the movement, cleaned up the exterior  and polished the crystal. Judging by the shadow the hands left on the dial, there is a chance the lume is, or was radioactive.

Timex? Radioactive? Probably  rust.

[JJM]

Today's 'Beast From The East' is a quite well worn (Read Scratched) Casio Edifice EQB-510D its about three/four years old & to date has given no issues whatsoever, a tad chunky I suppose, but you certainly know that your timekeeping needs are being catered for at almost 200grams & 45mm on the case diameter.... Its a good 15mm thick, however as you can see its complication rich, so I guess they needed a lot of space to shoehorn the 4529 movent in..... 

 

[FLwatchguy73]

Today's wrist watch has again already been featured, so today I'll showcase my huge Roskopf Messagero pocket watch. I dunno what size it is, 20s maybe.. Bigger even. I love the dial and the bold Roman numerals. It ticks so loud people have randomly asked what was ticking. I don't know an awful lot about it, other than it's Swiss, pin set, pin pallet, possibly 7 jewels, did I mention it was huge? 66mm to be exact. 

The barrel bridge reminiscent ofthe batman symbol. 

The little one is an 18s Waltham, it measures 55mm and looks tiny

[AndyHull]

Two fine looking watches you have there. I'm not quite sure that "fine" would be the best description of the one I have just been working on however.

By a bizarre coincidence I have also been looking at an oversized pocket watch, but not one with quite the same gravitas as that one.

A Dax (Westclox) made some time between 1973 and 1979. -> https://clockhistory.com/0/westclox/series/series-20-1/style-147-1.html

This one also keeps the neighbours awake at night with its ticking.

Here is a comparison with a Timex from around the same period. The Timex is positively dainty compared with the 50mm case of the Dax.

As you can see it shares more of its pedigree with alarm clocks than fine Swiss timepieces.

It came with all of those apprentice marks, so obviously someone else has already had a crack at getting it going (without success I might add).

It is now running reasonably well (as compared to an alarm click, rather than an Omega Chronometer obviously).

The beat error fluctuates more than I would like,  due to the poor tolerances but following a clean and service it is sitting +/- 10 sec per day or so, so long as you don't pay any attention to the wild variations that will no soubt occur when you actually carry the thing around.

It polished up nicely and a little T-Cut restored the factory shine.
It has a certain charm, but I certainly wouldn't rely on it to catch a flight.

Edited March 8, 2020 by AndyHull

[FLwatchguy73]

The bright red casing and 70's aesthetic reminds me of a quirky German made sport timer/ wrist watch that was made for the 1972 Olympics. It came with either a snap on stopwatch casing molded in bright red plastic, or it could be put into a wristwatch casing, also in plastic. I have this on my radar to add to my collection someday.

[AndyHull]

That is an interesting piece, what is inside the case? Being a Kienzle, it could be just as quirky inside as it is out.

[FLwatchguy73]

14 hours ago, AndyHull said:

That is an interesting piece, what is inside the case? Being a Kienzle, it could be just as quirky inside as it is out.

here ya go

 

[AndyHull]

Nice. The exhibition case back is a nice touch, and that is a very Kienzle looking take on a chrono/stopwatch mechanism.

Now I wonder what the chances of one of those showing up "spares or repair" for under £4.04 are. I suspect I'll need to  open my wallet a whole lot wider if I spot one.