Jump to content

Two from the 'bay, Invicta and Longines


Recommended Posts

Sharing two watches I won off the bay. Both were advertised as needing work.

First off is an old Invicta handwind. Older Invicta are good buys but typical of watches from the 50-60s era is they are usually let down by base metal cases and the dials usually have water damage.

This one caught my eye as it has a decent dial in good condition. Even the minute track is in good order. The case is stainless steel.

P_20171202_190808_1.thumb.jpg.e09d6159776deb72d6e51868be794fc6.jpg

This type of dial has a copper coloured finish which I really like as it changes colour at different angles. The hands have been re-lumed but I think its not the radioactive type of lume as it no longer glows.

P_20171202_194012_1.thumb.jpg.f5d42d944f58917f70329719bf65e661.jpg

The caseback indicates 'stainless steel back' which usually indicates a base metal case but this one is a stainless steel case. Waterproof, anti-magnetic and Incabloc...all good stuff.

P_20171202_190852.thumb.jpg.5f04ba0d52c04985d03cd0c6172c6895.jpg

Inside we find an AS1194 movement. A good, well designed solid workhorse movement. It was not running and when I opened it the reason was quite apparent as the ratchet wheel was loose in the case with its screw lying next to the balance. Returning the ratchet wheel to its place and gave it a few winds of the crown and its running like a champ! It's been on my wrist for the past 8 hours and its been keeping good time. I got lucky here!

P_20171202_190924.thumb.jpg.d256956a9a86dbc0b887521d6a6b25f8.jpg

Looking at the caseback, its a bit different in that the threaded male portion is on the case instead of on the caseback, which in this case holds the female thread. It uses a lead seal which is visible outside the threads in the case picture below.  

P_20171202_191036_1.thumb.jpg.ed225e7e01090b13db89bb3c40aabf06.jpg

P_20171202_191005_1.thumb.jpg.327df3948621844dca904efee8a326b8.jpg

The second watch is a Longines. I bought it because the case was in great shape, these gold filled cases usually don't wear well and the caseback and lugs usually have the gold worn off on the rear. In severe cases even the upper edges wear. This one is pretty pristine. It came with a period Speidel. I'm not a fan of these generally and they can sometimes damage the case but for the limited use this watch will see I think I'll leave it on. The facetted glass crystal has some scratches but not enough to warrant sourcing a replacement.

P_20171202_190726_1.thumb.jpg.3993a28aa4c1f2c2f1ba830be42dd0b9.jpg

Pic of the rear.. the only visible wear is on the caseback near the crown. Not too visible.

P_20171202_190626_1.thumb.jpg.2d4b323c2728c795c3458e0cf31f97bd.jpg

Dial has seen some sloppy handling, hands are slim and look delicate!

P_20171202_190500_1.thumb.jpg.d6c64500b2c6a73ca4cf6258d2cabe3f.jpg

Inside we find a nice Cal 9L. Picture below shows it running strongly (balance blurred). The seconds hand 'ticks' but the hour and minute hands don't move. The lack of resistance when setting the hands indicates the cannon pinion is slipping and needs tightening. Not normally a problem but with a sub-seconds movement the cannon-pinion has a closed end and this needs more force than a traditional open pinion so more care is needed. The barrel bridge and train bridge have different hues in the picture below but it is not noticeable with the naked eye.

P_20171202_190445_1.thumb.jpg.35fcb7156f7bc4f9211d107d97e47906.jpg

Final picture is the inside of the caseback. The case is made by Wittnauer in the USA, which was a way to reduce taxes. This association led to a lot of 'Wittnauer' branded watches being labelled as Longines-Wittnauer despite Longines not being involved in these watches at all!. A detail visible in the picture below is the recess drilled in the caseback, this is probably to clear the ratchet wheel screw.

P_20171202_190531_1.thumb.jpg.c102e82951375d6e2229d9e00d93dcd9.jpg

Cost for the Invicta was around USD40 and Longines about USD65 (shipping included). While bargains on ebay are not as common as before there are still good buys if you're patient (and willing to take a chance!). 

Both brands are still in existence but they are juat shadows of their previous past. Invicta is famous for 'homage' watches with cheap movements while Longines is basically banking on their name and buying ebauches.

Anilv

 

  • Like 1
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.

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.



  • Similar Content

  • Recently Browsing

    • No registered users viewing this page.
  • Topics

  • Posts

    • Heres my watch of today, a Smith 13'" RY . My missus bought me this for this Valentines day a bargain 14.99 with a reduction, the seller has occasional 20% off offers now and then so it was about 15ish with delivery. I love Smiths and i love bulleye dials, this is my first one. The watch arrived non working as stated and i knew what was inside and what would be against me, but i enjoy a challenge, we dont expect a lot if anything from pin pallet movements. A balance pivot was broken and i didnt have another staff but i did have another RY with a battered dial so i robbed the balance and tweaked it around to make it work apart from that mostly just a good clean and relubrication. Keyless works are pretty rough by design and the crown is a bugger to get in and out with the dial on, the setting lever hits the dial before it releases it, so a little mod is needed to help that along. Major problem was the pins on the lever were quite worn which make the old tg have a snow storm fit. Its a similar read for most pin pallets, these were brass as was the escape wheel. But perseverance is me, i didn't change the pins but i did spend some time dressing and polishing the worn areas which improved the trace a lot with some straightish lines 😅 and a beat error of .5 . Not sure what the lift angle should be on these and i Wasn't in the mood to work it out and who believes timegraphers anyway, but at the default 52° it runs with 260ish full 210 after 24 hours dial down , the verticals rates were pretty much all over place. So lets just put it in it's superlight aluminium case and see what happens. Been wearing it now for 3 weeks and it's consistently losing around 1.5  minutes a week winding each morning i think pretty good for an old pin pallet watch. I just love this dial, thanks wifey heres my Valentine's gift for yer sweetie x
    • I have a PDF below that will help. The problem was the PDF wasn't designed for this purpose it was designed to tell you what size watch you  have. Then it doesn't take into account movements come conceivably in different thicknesses.   watch-ligne-size-chart.pdf
    • That would be something! Which brings me back to;  
    • you think you're going to sleep tonight you're not, you're going to ponder the question of what makes you think those of the right parts?  
    • Does anyone knows what size case a need for a dial diameter 20.60mm?
×
×
  • Create New...