New Caravelle

[bobm12]

Great job and walkthrough, Don! Hope a new case come along and you can proudly wear this new restored/serviced watch!

 

Cheers,

 

Bob

[Geo]

Eventually it all snapped shut with a deafening report!

 

Just a thought.

I've had a couple like this myself Will, but always managed to close them with my cheap hand press. What I would say is always make sure that the die on the crystal side is only in contact with the case, then give it the death grip! :)

[bobm12]

 

What I would say is always make sure that the die on the crystal side is only in contact with the case, then give it the death grip! :)

Definitely. Always work as long as the case and back are properly positioned! As the wife said, position is everything...she is learning watchmaking, don't get me wrong! :)

Edited February 26, 2015 by bobm12

[Don]

Thanks for the kind words and encouragement, guys. :bow:

 

I tightened the press beyond what I was comfortable doing it, but maybe I'll have another go and take it further. I did manage to mar the new crystal a bit with the die by NOT doing what Geo said. On subsequent attempts I put the case in a case holder so that the crystal was not touching anything. I may as well go for broke before buying another case. I'm a little short of funds after buying the two crystal presses.

 

Don

[Scottster]

That was an awesome post. I bought an old Caravelle a couple of months ago for $5.00. It has a beautiful green dial. I can't wait to get it running and I will post some pics. Thanks.

[Don]

Thanks, Scottster. I'd be curious to see your Caravelle. Is it the same movement?

[Scottster]

No. It's a 1906. I bought it for $5.00 on eBay. I tore it down, cleaned, serviced it. After reassembly the minute and hour hands wouldn't move. I have a new driving wheel and pinion coming from Oldswisswatches.

It's interesting how you put the dome over your timer. I have a timer coming. The same one you have.

Beautiful watch. My case for the caravelle is pretty bad. I'm going to try to clean it and put a new crystal in it. I don't have any experience with crystals.

It is a beautiful watch. Thanks for the pics.

[Don]

I hope you get it running with the replacement parts. I've messed around with two AS movement and I like them.

 

I just put a plastic movement holder dome over the movement on the timer. My home is super dusty so I try not to leave any parts uncovered for long. I've been meaning to make a proper base like the Horotec dust cover on this page. It's a great idea, but not worth $40 to me.

 

My case is beat up pretty bad too. In addition, I could not get the case back to snap on and I eventually broke the stem while trying. Fortunately Caravelle's are pretty easy to find cheap, if you're patient, so I hope to be able to wear the watch soon. Setbacks are demoralizing, but part of me is actually excited when I encounter a problem, because it's an opportunity to gain experience. Sometimes you win, sometimes you learn.

 

Thanks for the nice comments.