Revisiting an old hobby

[HSL]

I admire you take time to tinker with everything, most fascinating.
My theory of where these small watches came from was stretching against  a theory of natural evolution, but now you tell me I might have bought them, mind boggeling. 

[JohnD]

2 hours ago, AndyHull said:

Each not much larger than a sewing machine bobbin, four more Timex Petites each got a well earned bath. The brown dialled one also got a new crystal.

These are actually quite attractive, if basic little watches. They are also ubiquitous, with hardly a job lot on ebay that doesn't include at least one of these. As a result I have quite a number, in a wide range of colours.

They are also very easy to work on, and it seems almost indestructible. The brown one is from 1979, the lower white one from 1974, the red from 1976 as far as I recall, and I don't think I checked the upper white one, but it is clearly the most recent of the lot. All except that recent one are from Dundee, it was assembled in the Philippines. 

I have a couple of the early electric versions of those Timex ladies watches......

[AdrianNOGUES]

Hello from Scotland.
I recently re-awakened an interest from my youth in watches and clocks. Strangely the catalyst was searching for a replacement hand for a Starrett  dial indicator that I picked up for pennies on ebay and which I though might be useful for leveling the bed on my 3d printer. It was missing the dial hand, which looked very like a watch second hand, so that led to a search for a suitable donor watch. Needless to say I then got distracted by the vast array of old time pieces to be had for pennies, and grabbed a couple of basket cases.

The first one was a Sicura Voyageur. It only says Voyageur on the dial, but it has all the hallmarks of a Sicura, with the seahorse emblem on the caseback, and the remains of hands that look like the Sicura "Marine Star"
It was in a sorry state, but after a quick clean, polish and minor overhaul it's Rondo-matic heart is now ticking away nicely. I'm awaiting a suitable second hand for that, currently on the slow boat from China, and it has parted company with its bezel, which I may fabricate a replacement for if I get the time. The problem there is that I can't find another "Voyager" to compare with, and Sicuras had a variety of different bezels. 
I found WRT by watching some of Mark's many excellent Watch Repair Channel videos, many thanks for those Mark.
I have a couple of other basket case watches ordered from ebay. I set myself an artificial ceiling of £4.04 per watch (although I have already blown that a couple of times), as I figured that there was a lot of fun to be had from resurrecting an item destined for landfill and costing less than a trip to the coffee shop.
My day job involves computers, and I dabble in electronics as a hobby, which means I'm fairly patient, and used to dealing with very small fiddly components, and already have a bunch of small tweezers, screwdrivers, clamps, magnifiers and so on.

Welcome ! Very interesting read and awesome restauration !


A. Nogues, a french watchmaking student.

[watchweasol]

Hi Adrian   you made a good job of that watch   looks like its loved all over again well done

[AndyHull]

Job lots like that are worth a second glance. Sometimes there are a few gems hidden amongst the potatoes. 

[AdrianNOGUES]

Hi Adrian   you made a good job of that watch   looks like its loved all over again well done:thumbsu:

Its Andy not me !


A. Nogues, a french watchmaking student.

[AndyHull]

2 minutes ago, AdrianNOGUES said:

Its Andy not me !


A. Nogues, a french watchmaking student.

If you are referring to the wrecked Sicura then yes, that is one of mine, and it is still a bit of a work in progress. I'm looking for suitable hands for it. It runs fine, but in my opinion, the hands need to be a little more interesting and 1970s.

It recently acquired a new bezel, which I may modify too, as the name Voyageur suggests that a time zone bezel was more likely than a dive one originally. This is its current state.

 

[watchweasol]

OOOPs sory Andy     Its a gem.

[AndyHull]

23 minutes ago, watchweasol said:

OOOPs sory Andy     Its a gem.

Thanks. Speaking of gems, this little gem was in with the Timex Sprites.

A 15 jewel 428 grade  Elgin ladies watch from 1922. The 404 club is missing a good example of an Elgin watch, and this fits the bill very nicely.

The balance is fine, but it doesn't take a wind.

The winder, click etc all works, but it feels like either the mainspring is broken, or it has slipped off the barrel arbour.

The strap clearly isn't original, and that piece of bent paper clip is a little unsightly, but I think it will look very attractive once it is clean and running once more.

I'll take a look at it soon.

There were six watches in that particular "potato patch", for 0.99p plus postage. The two Timexes, a Sekonda 17 Jewel ladies in clean and running condition (which I will service), an Inventic Swiss pendant ladies, and an Oris ladies. 

The Elgin obviously looked the most interesting and the others were a bit of a bonus.

 

Edited May 8, 2020 by AndyHull

[AndyHull]

The Sekonda in the bundle is this USSR era gold plated, 17 jewel Slava 1601 based piece with blued hands, most likely from some time in the early 1960s.

It is ticking away nicely, but no doubt could do with a service, so I'll give that a shot when I have a little spare time.

Currently I'm mainly taking advantage of the unseasonally pleasant warm, dry, Scottish weather to do a lot of gardening, so most of my spare time is spent filling pots, digging beds and removing weeds.

Edited May 8, 2020 by AndyHull

[watchweasol]

Hi Andy  You got a nice hand full of tatties there to play with, I still have a lot of old jobs to do but like you they are on hold whilst the weather holds, I live up beyond Aberdeen so got to take it while you can, Where are you located in Scotland.   When the rains and wind come back I shall be in the workshop.   stay safe. 

[AndyHull]

4 minutes ago, watchweasol said:

Hi Andy  You got a nice hand full of tatties there to play with, I still have a lot of old jobs to do but like you they are on hold whilst the weather holds, I live up beyond Aberdeen so got to take it while you can, Where are you located in Scotland.   When the rains and wind come back I shall be in the workshop.   stay safe. 

Fine tatties indeed. We are just south of Perth, keeping our heads down and hoping for the best. You stay safe too.

[watchweasol]

Hi Andy  Nice patch to be in,  Gdaughter lives in Edinburgh so we are through the area quite abit,  Caravan used to be at Scone by tye racecourse.   all the best

[AndyHull]

6 hours ago, watchweasol said:

Nice patch to be in

Even nicer now that spring is here and summer on its way.

Here are a couple of pictures I took this morning, from near the house.

[watchweasol]

Nice out look Andy, like where I grew up in Yorkshire amid the fields and bluebells,  I am 200 yards from the sea at St Combs  golf course and beaches.  Raining here now.

[AndyHull]

I recently picked up yet another Sekonda, and prompted by a PM from @Przemek and a discussion of the related Cornavin  brand, I started looking in to the history of Sekonda.

 

This lead me to here -> https://mroatman.wixsite.com/watches-of-the-ussr/sekonda

.. and here -> https://mroatman.wixsite.com/watches-of-the-ussr/cornavin

 

In fact,  the whole site is well worth a read, as there are some really good examples of USSR/Soviet/Russian watches and a number of brands I was not previously aware of. Thanks @Przemek  for the link.

 

[AndyHull]

Speaking of said Sekonda, I posted a couple of pictures of this latest addition to the club on the "Watch of Today" thread, but I thought it worth mentioning that it has settled down to a good solid performer.

A couple of days after servicing, and following a full day of digging fence pole holes for a gate,  and chasing weeds in the garden, with it strapped to my wrist, it is sitting at around +20 s/day. I may indulge in a little more "tweakage" and see if I can get it near COSC, but for now I'm happy with it.

Speaking of garden, I found a visitor tucked under the hedge at the front, a red legged partridge sitting on a clutch of 12 eggs.

My (vegetarian) wife has let it be known that neither it, nor the hare that keeps eating random things in the garden are going to end up in the stew pot, 'cos if they do, I'll be in the pot with them.

Looks like I'll just have to stick with the KitKats for the time being.

There is also a rather dim witted pied wagtail which has decided to nest under a small shovel on a shelf in the shed. Every time I go in I need to remember to whistle as I approach, otherwise when I swing round the corner in to veiw it explodes  in a cloud of feathers and whizzes past my ear in a panic.

 

Edited May 17, 2020 by AndyHull

[AndyHull]

Most of you will be able to think of a watch or two that has been featured in film. James Bond has flashed a few interesting time pieces. Lovell's (well Tom Hank's) Omega Speedmaster in Apollo 13, Back To The Future's - Casio CA53W Twincept Databank.. the list of iconic timepieces is long, however I recently encountered one movie that is named after a time piece (or perhaps more accurately a manufacturer of timepieces). 

I suspect that despite it winning "Best International Feature Film" at the, Edinburgh International Film Festival 2017 this is a movie that few of you are likely to have seen. It may not have the multi-million dollar budget of a Bond, or the slick special effects of the aforementioned space drama, but in these days of imposed confinement, it is worth a watch (pun intended).

I wont give the game away about the title, you are going to work a little harder and figure that out for yourselves, no prize for the first one who gets it right (other than the internet glory of course).

 

Edited June 4, 2020 by AndyHull

[FLwatchguy73]

Glory... A Bulgarian movie..I may have to check it out.

[AndyHull]

Well that didn't take long to figure out. You win the Purple Internet trophy. 

"Glory" or more correctly Slava (Russian: Cлава, meaning "Glory").

The watch in question appears to be a fairly classic Slava Day Date, possibly a Slava 2429.

BTW I'm not sure whether to include the DVD in the 404 club. It qualifies on price, and its a good watch, but for the life of me I cant figure out where to put the batteries or wind it up.

Edited June 4, 2020 by AndyHull

[FLwatchguy73]

Here is the watch, one is currently available on the Bay for under $50. To be pedantic, the movement is a 2414.

I'm not a huge fan of brown, but it's not awful.

[AndyHull]

8 minutes ago, FLwatchguy73 said:

To be pedantic, the movement is a 2414

Pedantic is good. I didn't even get the complications right, it does indeed appear to be a 2414 day only rather than a 2429 day date.

As to "brown", how could we have survived the 1970s without brown?


Even Rolex were not immune to the 1970s brown phase I actually think the Slava carries it off a little better, but others may disagree.

Edited June 4, 2020 by AndyHull

[FLwatchguy73]

geeze! Who did the lume on that one?

[AndyHull]

It certainly isn't Rolex's finest work I agree.

I wonder if the "explosions" are an artefact of the low level radiation. I guess they may also be caused by some chemical process or moisture ingress. 

Maybe I should start a "Show us your brownest watches thread" as an antidote to the blue dials one.

[FLwatchguy73]

1 minute ago, AndyHull said:

It certainly isn't Rolex's finest work I agree.

I wonder if the "explosions" are an artefact of the low level radiation. I guess they may also be caused by some chemical process or moisture ingress. 

Maybe I should start a "Show us your brownest watches thread" as an antidote to the blue dials one.

i sold the only one i had! lol