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Here are some. Lots of Pike we released...not gonna filet one unless that is all I can catch. Some Walleye, and one lake Trout.

I have been gone for a couple of weeks, traveling and canoeing and camping in the Quetico Provential Park (2 million acres of wilderness). Attaching a panoramic picture I took from one side of the campsite. Much solitude and lots of fish. The weather was (almost) perfect. About 60 miles of paddling. My 15th trip. Not sure how many more my body can give. This may be the last one.

The question is what is genuine? Cartier is essentially known for designing and making jewellery so Cartier didn't make the movement. Cartier cases have serial numbers, there is no serial number so they didn't make the case, and their cases are held together by screws. If they employed another company to make the case , did someone else also make the dial. At best Cartier commissioned someone to make it, so its not really Cartier. There are a few examples on ebay the same as this, not sure if we can use that as evidence for it not to be fake unless we are suggesting only one fake has been made. Surely the Cartier tank is in the top list for most copied and faked watch of all time. Understandably i cant figure out why a world renowned Jeweller would put their name to this.

OK I've reached a decision on this. I followed the advice here and consulted the list of BHI accredited watchmakers. There are two local to me. One is the chap who gave me the estimate of £400. He had the watch for months, didn't tell me what work needed doing and didn't seem interested in taking it on. The other seemed really nice and said he enjoyed making balance staffs but was so busy he didn't have the time. So I've decided to reassemble the watch and put it back in the drawer for the time being. My huge thanks to everyone here for your advice. You have taught me how to dismantle a pocket watch properly . Mike

Strange, you can buy a complete new movement and have it through your letterbox by the end of the week for £69.75, CousinsUK is a public site, so you don't need to be a business or anything to use them. Link here: https://www.cousinsuk.com/product/seiko-quartz-movements?code=7T62M Hope this helps PS Not sure how much of a "watch guy" your watch guy is if he can't source this movement, so you may want to look elsewhere... just my opinion

Another 404 in the bag, this one went very smoothly and came up very well, the watch is now punching well above its weight. This Silony (Cal. 320) was part of a batch of 7 I got from eBay and so has an individual cost £3.71. The watch arrived as a non-runner, mainly due to gummy lubrication and a LOT of fibres inside the watch. After a clean and service I changed out the crystal as the original was yellowed and added a new strap. Before and after shots below: The watch before (with my new 3D printed screwdriver holder in the background): The watch movement before service: And here is the after shot:

I'll just say that this is just another corporate scam to generate revenue hidden behind a current social trend. Since they state you can send in "Any watch" I pose a scenario such as this. "Little Johnny" wants to help his mom by getting her a 20% off coupon for a new watch for Christmas. So he figures hey there is that old pocket watch hanging in that glass dome in the family room. Why not send that in? You know the one from his great grand father that is cased in 18K and has a name like "BALL" on the face. does that watch get RECIRCLED? Oh yeah right into some ones collection! Geez guess I have become an old fault finder.

…and to clarify, I wasn’t questioning anyone here either. I’m hunting for a tank, an old one, and was educated by second and third gen watch shop owners on what to look for. Clearly this one misses a lot of the usual Cartier boxes…

I was willing to listen to your opinion because I have read that Cartier produced some pretty average watches in the past. But please don't question my intelligence, the link you provided only had on photo.

I think that's a good move but not necessarily because of your scpeticism about it being a fake. It represents a "dud" period in Cartier horology. Collectors aern't interested in this stuff - neither does it particularly grab the eye - design or build-wise. If the OP has thoughts about doing some Resto and selling it on - I'd pitch my bid at no more than £500 - though I suspect it will go for far more than that. But that doesn't make it validated. I adore Cartier - but I wouldn't bother with it - it's representational of dark days - Quartz Crisis was blowing a Hooley, nobody knew what to do, marketing people flapping about, etc. It has nothing to mitigate it's "cheapness" and oppotunism in a dynamically changing Swiss watchmaking industry in crisis. And Cheap - was never a Cartier selling point anyway. It would be a pass from me too.

I'll stick my neck out here and say yes, I do. The dial's a bit iffy but the rest is fine. Not a great era for Cartier - the early 70's - has to be said. Gold/ silver plating (why not solid), etc. The OP expresses scepticism about the authenticity because one of the numerals isn't signed - usually the "7" as they are these days. Cartier didn't start doing that until about 2004. This is a '70's watch. That's a bit like someone expressing the same doubt about a Rolex Sub from the '80's - because it doesn't have the laser etched crown on the crystal or the engraving and the serial number on the rehaut. As I say - it was a low point for Cartier horologically - the early '70's, until they got their mojo back in the early '80's and started producing the iconic re-issue of the SS and gold Santos, etc, and then they were elevated back to where they belong; Watch as pure, beautiful jewellery. Interesting brand over the years. Got a women's Santos on the bench at the moment - you can see the "7" hasn't the vertical Cartier - and this is from 1993. Nice watch - has seen some abuse. Always tricky to gauge what the customer expects me to do in terms of Resto. Probably best just to polish it up a bit - you can - the gold bezel IS solid Gold - as are the screws on the bracelet. So, you see within 15/ 20 years of making the OP's ebay watch - Cartier had got their sh1t back together. Still a bit of a rubbish movement though - ETA by this time.

Who is @LittleWatchShop? Never heard of him. Hehe. Glad you enjoyed yourself and I hope there's at least one more trip in you.

Yah- a better strategy to be sure…but most of the lot will be ladies timex bracelets… I do have a few goodies if inflation pushes it to the 808 Club- I won a lot with an avocado-dialed Vulcain calendar that will sneak into that one …

I think the trick is to go for a 'job'lot' then the average price comes below 4.04. Otherwise you are stuck paying over the odds for junk and/or sifting through hundreds of Mumbai Specials!

Well it's a shame we couldn't help more but I'm glad you learnt something.

With any type of Cuckoo clock when it comes to striking the action depends on wires working correctly, they should not be bent in any place apart from the proper places, if not they will cause all sorts of trouble such as the cuckoo clock door not working properly, strike side playing up and causing God know what. A tiny drop of oil to stop rubbing of wires will help the action to work smoothly. The same goes for these musical types.

If you are in the US CousinsUK will also ship internationally, or you could use a US based supplier (also open to general public):

Another 404 in the bag! See link below:

I found this on Amazon UK, looks like it will do the same job: https://www.amazon.co.uk/12-inch-Telescoping-Magnetic-Strength-Extendable/dp/B0B87N5F7D/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=workshop+magnet+floor&sr=8-2 Just search under "Telescoping Magnetic Sweeper" there are 3 or 4 options there

Hello all! My name is Garrett and located in PA, USA. I've been into watches since I was a child and in my mid 20's (Currently 39) wanted to get into watch restoration and maintenance / repair. In the early 2000's, I decided to take a few online courses on servicing an eta 2801 as well as joined the NAWCC. I bought some basic watch tools as I was still in college and working as an intern, so money had priorities elsewhere. I was hooked, but turned off on the expense it was required to acquire the necessary tools. My backup plan while I was starting my career (IT / High Performance Computing) was to go to watch making school. Well 15+ years later my career took off for the best and I am now at a point in my life that I have income to spend money on good tools to get back into the hobby as I put off working on watches during that time to focus on other areas of my life and hobbies. I have a pretty nice watch collection (to me) and also like to collect pocket watches. My admiration for pocket watches is due to the art, ingenuity, and craftsmanship that went into them. They are truly a beauty to be hold. My focus right now is to start learning on pocket watches to service and repair as needed and then move to the smaller watch movements. The past month or two, I have been slowly picking up tools with the hopes of starting to service my first pocket watch (Waltham Model 1892 Appleton Tracey 17j) that was from my grandparents after they had passed. Before I start work on that, I will be practicing on a few cheap seagull st3600 movements. I apologize for the rambling, but in the end, just wanted to say hi and hope to be an active member of the forum (even if it is just lirking). I have been a huge fan of Mark Lovic's youtube channel for many years and plan on signing up for his courses. - Garrett

When you initially checked the hand setting before anything got disassembled and you thought it was 'Goldilocks'... Not too tight and not too loose when setting the hands, well when you get to the friction-fitted minute wheel, you would turn the minute wheel above the barrel which is friction-fitted in place and 'feel' how tight it is. That is the tightness you want to 'feel' when replacing the minute wheel and using a domed punch in your staking set of the correct size to slightly splay the collar that passes through the minute wheel. That's why it is important to check that tightness on each hit of the punch because if you go too far the hand setting will be really tight, but also you'll need to remove the minute wheel and start again. Knowing that it can be hard to remove the minute wheel, if you have over-tightened it, it will be incredibly hard to remove, hence making those hammer blows light and keep checking the tightness. After you have had the experience of what feels correct a few times, it'll be child's play afterward. remember to check the minute wheel and barrel cover after removing, so that it is absolutely flat before replacing. You can see why the minute wheel needs removing by the amount of old grease in there, by your pic. Most of what I've explained is in the presentations. The slide I show using razor blades to rest the hand levers on is pretty important, as too much pressure will be put on the barrel cover and bend it. In fact, if you have a washer, cut it in half and that makes a better support, as it will rest on most of the barrel cover.

Also 99p.