Two from the 'bay, Invicta and Longines

[anilv]

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.

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.

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.

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!

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.  

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.

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

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

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.

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.

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

 

[Watchtime]

Great finds, congrats...really nice to work on...I noticed a little space on the bracelet of the Longines, it looks like the bracelet is not original?

[anilv]

Watchtime. Yes, the bracelet is a Speidel and probably added later.

Anilv

Edited December 2, 2017 by anilv