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Posted

Hi there,

I have got this pocket watch from my grand father which is not working.  To be honest I dont think it was the most expensive watch at the time, since the case ist chrome-nickel.

the watch wouldn't wind,so I suspected the Main spring to be broken.

I managed to get it out of the case and also dissassemble it. But unluckily i didnt manage to get the screw out of the Barrel arbor without breaking it. The screw on the crown wheel is left turning. So I didnt think that the screw on the ratchet wheel woul be left turn. And yes the Mainspring is broken!.

The Problem is that i can't seem to find any information on this caliber /movement from Invicta Ltd. and there find any spare parts. I have searched literally hundreds of posts on Ebay and other sites but have never seen a picture of a similar movement.

Anybody has some information, knowledge they would share. It would be highly appreciated!

best Regards

 

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Posted

Do you know the Calibre number and the make. If not could you take a nice clear photo of the other side, first remove the hands then the dial. We need to see the keyless work. Have you looked around the balance, sometimes the info can be there.

Posted

Hi there, 

thanks for replying so quickly. I have attached to pictures of either side. 

The only number I could find is 151.1 stamped at the edge. I haven’t been able to find any reference to that number. 

I tried to reference the stamps to some list of stamps I found.

any idea anyone?

thanks

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Posted

The makers mark looks like A Michel, which was one of the first manufacturers to join Ebauches SA. I can’t find reference to a cal 151 anywhere though so that marking may be a red herring. I'm pretty sure I’ve read somewhere that the shield mark is some reference to that federation also.

Ideally you need to find a copy of an old swiss watch movement catalogue and identify from the movement diameter in lignes and the shape of the keyless work parts. There used to be a scanned copy on Ernst Westphal’s site, but it seems to have gone now

If you post pictures on here then maybe someone will look it up for you.

Alternatively you may be better off buying a selection of LH crown wheel screws and finding one that fits!

Posted

That was a great lead! Thanks StuartBaker104!. I started looking for A.Michel and movements AM etc. and on this site http://www.ranfft.de  a very similar arrangement for the crown wheel and ratchet wheel came up. The bridge doesn't look exactly the same but the dimensions seem to fit. So at least i have a place to start looking for spare part. And the reference to the Main spring I found by Flume.de 

Actually I need a new Barrel arbor since the screw is stuck and I don't see any chance of getting it out. I still don't know it its left or right turn.

 

 

Posted

I knew I’d seen that marking somewhere... Here you go

http://oldswisswatches.com/Spares/complete_listing/AM_72.htm

It’s known as the Ebauches Trust mark... and once you know that it’s easy to find, along with a great reference site for makers marks that I’ve not seen before

https://www.thiemard.info/horlogerie/tools/poincons-listing.php?lang=en

And if my German isn’t misleading me, this page would suggest that the combination of marks you have with the AM in a triangle and the Trust mark was only used between 1936 and 39 (hopefully living in Munich you have a better command of the German language than I do)

https://watch-wiki.org/index.php?title=Ebauches_SA

I don’t know how you have identified the correct mainspring from Flume, except by measuring the old one? Often old watches have an incorrect spring fitted, so unless you have a positive identification of the calibre number, you can use the “reverse engineering” calculator on this page to check 

http://www.vintagewatchstraps.com/mainsprings.php

Good luck finding a way to remove that broken screw. If you have access to a lathe you may try to drill it out... it may just catch on the drill and unscrew if you’re lucky!

  • Like 1
Posted

Good evening,

I really appreciate all the new (to me) information which is really great. 

You are absolutely right about the stamps : so the watch can only have been produced between 1936 and 39. I haven’t been able to find some exact looking movement though so I’m guessing that it’s some sort of A.michel made for Invicta. What puzzles me is the Invicta logo on the face which doesn’t look like the normal Invicta logo. I can only guess why that would be. Maybe somebody made their own “Invicta” watch and sold it on the local market. 

i don’t have a lathe or precision drill at my disposal, so I’m hoping to find a used complete barrel with the arbor in it.

Again thanks for all the help. Let me know if I can help translate some German ;-)

I will let you know how it goes on. 

Best regards from Munich. 

 

 

 

 

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Posted

It was very common in that era for watches to be made from parts from a number of suppliers. I don’t know that Invicta have ever made their own movements, and it is likely that their logo whould have changed many times over the years.

Ceratinly in the uk it would have been more common to see the retailer’s name on a dial much before this date.

A quick search threw up this which is a very similar example... https://www.ebay.com/itm/Invicta-Pocket-Watch-movement-dial-44-mm-in-diameter-balance-broken-/222899356571

 

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