Leaderboard

I did a lucrative wedding gig last Saturday - and spotted, by chance, a very nice Cortébert from the 1950s up for auction. Did I resist? In a word - no. Cortébert started off in the village of that name in 1790, by a chappie called Abraham-Louis Juillard. The firm went through all the usual hoops when quartz arrived, but this example is a nice watch from before all that hoo-hah.

"A.T.P." - Army Trade Pattern - was used on British military wrist watches from the start of the war to about 1944. From then on until the end of the war and beyond, the marking was "W.W.W." - which I think means that the watch was waterproofed. Bravingtons, who dealt in Army Surplus, even marketed a waterproof watch as the "Wetrista"! A.T.P. watches used all sorts of movements from Swiss makers - Jaeger, Unitas, Lemania, etc. - and could be very high quality. My Unitas is a superb watch of the type.

Got a similar one, used to be owned by my Uncle who was in the Royal Army Service Corps (RASC). He was wounded at Dunkirk, sent to Northern Ireland and honourably discharged due to his injuries in 1943. Inside is a 655 15j movement. I still have the original strap hidden away somewhere. ....and I will get around to replacing the crystal in due course.

I found this I intent to use when I get the real thing:

Ended up having a day in Stratford upon Avon and whilst in a charity shop my wife asked the volunteer if they had any books on watchmaking whereupon she said that one had just come in today. I now have a mint copy of the 2003 Complete Price Guide to Watches by Cooksey Shugart that I am sure Bunnspecial has made reference to. Price £1.95 (but I felt guilty so I made an additional donation).

Dear Bob, The manufacturer's recommendation is to replace the barrel complete. Having said that, buying a 20dollar part (+shipping in my case) for a 20 dollar watch is not economically sound unless you're going for a rebuild of a watch which has high value (chrono, vintage diver). Some Swiss high-beat movements used sealed mainsprings, in these cases since the value of the watch may be higher and to achieve the accuracy it was designed for it is worth spending the money on a new barrel/spring. In most of the cases with the Seiko barrels/springs, I have found that that the lubricant has deteriorated to the extent that it serves no purpose and may even hinder the correct function of the watch. I agree with you that the barrel cover is flimsy. It gets its strength through the rigidity offered by the large lip around its circumference, rather than other watches where the cover itself is quite thick. To avoid distorting the cover, pry it up just a little bit and work your way around. Don't try to get it off in one go. One reason that i usually open the barrels on these Seikos is that they use one bridge for both train and barrel. If you suspect that the mainspring is giving problems then you have to remove everything from the balance onwards. Unlike in most Swiss watches where the barrel can be removed without disturbing the other stuff. To avoid getting all that black stuff all over your desk, open the barrel and rinse it in some other fluid.. thinner or even WD-40 to get the worst of it off. I usually soak it for a few minutes in thinner.. (beware of flames, no smoking etc...) Anil

Taking these out is surprisingly easy. I use a screwdriver believe it or not. Putting them back in is a little more tricky. My method is to place the spring in situ and then I use two pairs of tweezers to apply pressure to both sides simultaneously and then turn the spring slowly until the spring is under the lip. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk