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Advise on how to/what to buy regarding replacement set of hands for an old watch.

Matheus

By Matheus
in Watch Repairs Help & Advice

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Matheus New Member

Matheus

Posted
Posted

As you can see at the members introduction thread, I'm not really a watch enthusiast, but I'm facing a problem to keep beautiful a watch I inherited from my late granddad.

Being a biologist, I'm not the classy kind of guy. Good outfit for my routine is jeans/t-shirt/leather sandals or moccasins and I'm done. At the wrist I usually wear my old and utilitarian Orient mako or a beaten Russian Sturmanskie and that's all.

But... next January I'll marry (first time, besides 44 years old) a beautiful girl I met when I moved to central Brazil 4 years ago, so will be a formal occasion and will be time to buy a suit to wear (to marry and to be buried, probably. Trust me, no one wears a suit where daily temperature can reach 312K with 11% humidity). For the fortunate occasion, I'd like to wear a dress watch I inherited from my late grandfather. It is a beautiful watch I care with utmost respect and love, and it have been working flawlessly at least the last 15 years, while in my possession.

I did some homework, and the watch is a JeanRichard model, with yellow gold plated case (33.13mm diameter), filled with a Felsa 693 triple calendar/moonphase movement in perfect condition. I already had it revised by an experienced watch repair guy here (the only one in town people trust their Omegas, Rolexes and so on), who can restore the case and crown. Externally, the only flaws are some plating loss on the crown and top/right lug where my grandfather's fingers and shirt sleeve abraded. This guy can replate it, but advised me to keep it as is, just clean the case and live with granddad's character.

The problem of this watch is the set of hands, that are oxidized and had some paint flaking, but the watch repair guy don't have a compatible set of hands to replace. I already found the hole sizes for the Felsa movement at ranftt.de website and measured the lenght of the hands (2.2mm(Ho)/13.5mm (L) crescent-tipped for calendar painted in red, 1.40mm(Ho)/9mm(L) gold alpha for the hour, 0.90mm(Ho)/12mm(L) gold alpha for minute and 0.20mm(Ho)/12.5mm(L) red painted sweep second hands), but the only website I found offering alpha-style hand is otto frei, and the hole sizes of alpha-style gold plated hands they have are the same only for the hour. The minute hands, seep second and calendar available hands always diverge from Ranfft's measurements.

For the calendar, Otto Frei offers only 1.8mm (Ho)/13.5mm(L) crescent-tipped hands. For the hour hands, the same business offers the correct 1.4mm(Ho)/9mm(L) golden alpha hands. For the minutes, the vendor have only 0.8mm(Ho)/12mm(L) hands and for the sweep seconds 0.19mm(Ho)/12.5mm(L) - I don't know the post lenght. Calendar disks also have dirty backgrounds and some worn letters - replacements in Portuguese or French idioms would be nice.

What should I buy? Can a watchmaker adjust the hole size of a hand? Is my desire doomed? Are other hand suppliers who would be able to fullfill the requirements of my movement?

Sorry for the long post, and I thank you in advance for any advice or help.

 

IMG_20170901_012705898.thumb.jpg.6567888dd7771595fc8e09715422f313.jpg

Geo Distinguished Member

Geo

Posted
Posted

It's nit paint that is flaking, it is old radioactive lume.  The hands could be re- lumped, but looking at the overall condition I would personally leave it as is. 

Stunning watch! :-)

  • Like 2
Chopin Super WRT Addict

Chopin

Posted
Posted

I checked the watch. Then read again what you said. That watch is in a VERY GOOD condition for its age. Don't do anything to it as there are high chances it will get ruined by someone that might not know what they're doing.

Andy and Geo are right. Boy if I inherited that watch, I'd consider myself a damn lucky fellow.

  • Like 1
noirrac1j Distinguished Member

noirrac1j

Posted
Posted

1) congratulations on your impending nuptials.

2) Scientists need to be devoid of class  (or elegance), and this watch is both so you're moving in the right direction!

3) If you replace those hands, you would be devaluing the watch considerable and I don't think you want that. 

 

p.s. Keep the Portuguese days of the week, they're a lot of fun.

 

J

  • Like 1
Marc Distinguished Member

Marc

Posted
Posted

Using the Kelvin scale to describe the weather......

I like that :-)

lovely watch just as it is.

Matheus New Member

Matheus

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  • Author
Posted

Thank you very much for your considerations, gentlemen.

I will keep it as is, in agreement with your advice. My grandfather used it for a long time when walking among the living, and it certainly was well used, as told by my mother.

Curiously, investing further on gathering information about this particular watch, a detail aroused my curiosity: 

Thirty jewels on a Felsa 693 machine seems unusual. Could be the case Jean Richard facility somewhat "vamped" the movement? The self-winding rotor is also signed "jeanrichard / geneve / 30 rubis" in three lines.

Matheus New Member

Matheus

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  • Author
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  On 9/1/2017 at 6:31 PM, Marc said:

Using the Kelvin scale to describe the weather.

Expand  

Yes... partly an habit (my home thermometer is K-scaled), partly because I don't find the degree symbol at this new computer with ABNT2 keyboard.

Chopin Super WRT Addict

Chopin

Posted
Posted (edited)

Sometimes companies modify stock movements for various reasons. Usually they would put more than 20ish jewels on a movement more as a marketing gimmick to make it seem as if they're extra special.

Jean Richard is a pretty good brand with some pretty expensive specimens out there such as their diving watches.

Also, some brands afforded to personalize their movements (and various other components) some didn't.

Edited by Chopin
rogart63 Distinguished Member

rogart63

Posted
Posted

Lovely watch. Keep the hands as they are. Finding hands that fit a specific watch are very hard. 

Congrats to a wonderful watch and congrats to the wedding .

Anyone tell me how the day and date and moonphase work?  What does SEX AGO means? 

Matheus New Member

Matheus

Posted
  • Author
Posted
  On 9/1/2017 at 8:36 PM, rogart63 said:

Lovely watch. Keep the hands as they are. Finding hands that fit a specific watch are very hard. 

Congrats to a wonderful watch and congrats to the wedding .

Anyone tell me how the day and date and moonphase work?  What does SEX AGO means? 

Expand  

I can't explain you how those complications (day/date/moonphase) mechanically work, but "sex" is the contraction of "sexta-feira" (Friday) and "ago" the contraption of "agosto" ( August).

By the way, the month is not mechanically connected to the actual mechanism in this movement, so must be changed manually.

Matheus New Member

Matheus

Posted
  • Author
Posted

As you can see, hands are not in the best shape. Red paint flaking off (tip of seconds, mid-length of day indicator), gold plating scaling off (minute, hours), date disk showing SAE instead of SAB (sábado = Saturday). Radium paint (if radium) seems depleted already.

Chopin Super WRT Addict

Chopin

Posted
Posted

It's pretty hard to find replacement hands for this type of watch first of all.

2nd of all you'd be potentially decreasing it's value.

Just saying... I wouldn't touch it at all other than get it serviced and cleaned.

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