Jump to content

Hello from Reno Nevada

TerryD

By TerryD
in Introduce Yourself Here

 Share

Recommended Posts

TerryD New Member

TerryD

Posted
Posted

My name is Terry and I have been following Marks You Tube Watch Repair Channel for some time.  I have worn watches now for 55 years, since I was 10 in 1966. That is when my father gave me his new Timex "electric" watch that he was unhappy with because it would not keep running due to the severe vibration from the steering wheel in the Freightliner trucks he drove which caused the watch to stop running numerous times.  I have been fascinated with time pieces ever since that first watch and it is one of my more enjoyable hobbies.

I followed in my fathers footsteps and have been a truck driver now for 44 years and counting. Fortunately for me, todays trucks ride a lot smoother and watches are a lot more rugged.

When I was 13 I picked out a Mondaine Dive watch at the local watchmakers store that was in a glass case with all the other rather mundane looking dress watches. That Diver had the requisite tough looking black dial marked Mondaine, 17 jewels, automatic, incabloc, "waterproof" 666 feet and real glow in the dark, "Radioactive" radium hands and markers and a date complication at the 6 that were under an acrylic bubble crystal. The bezel turned both directions. The back of the watch had the "speedo dude" a skin diver engraved in the center with 200 meters, automatic, stainless steel, antimagnetic, Swiss Made engraved around the circumference.  And the most impressive thing to a 13 year old, a screw down crown. What more could a kid ask for?

The acrylic bubble crystal would scratch yes, but every time Heinz Geisler the watchmaker who sold it to me got hold of it he would polish out the scratches with a cloth and I assume some fine rouge. I used to call the "time lady" at Bell to listen to her say "At the tone, the time will be" to keep track of how my watch was running. I could then tell Heinz if it was fast or slow a "few" second per day and he would exclaim 'But it's not supposed to be that accurate" but then he would put it on a vibrograph, open the back and tweak it a little, hand it back and say "see how it runs now".  It was always better after he worked on it. I think that Mondaine had an ETA 2783 movement in it. 

Spent that summer of 69 body surfing at Huntington beach wearing that watch. I wore that watch for 10 years before i lost it. Wish i still had that one. Bought a Seiko quartz diver in 1980 for $180 because i could not swing the $250 for the 6309 automatic next to it in the case. I have worn various Seiko divers ever since. The latest is a 773 Turtle. Recently bought a couple of micro brand watches. One being a Vaer D5 Arctic diver with a Myota 9039 movement and the other a Dryden Chrono Diver with a Seiko VK63 mechaquartz movement. The Vaer with old radium tint super luminova reminds me of the early style Mondaine diver without crown guards and with a domed crystal. 

There are more stories about me working on or better yet "trying to work on" and in one case, murdering a watch but that's for another time.

  • Like 1
LittleWatchShop Distinguished Member

LittleWatchShop

Posted
Posted
4 minutes ago, TerryD said:

 I used to call the "time lady" at Bell

Yup, where I grew up, I dialed for time AND temperature.  Great story.  My father was a watchmaker and I had my eye on a Wittnauer Compressor diver watch he had in his showcase. He gave it to me for my 14th birthday--I still have it (my avatar on this forum). 

Is this your watch?  Hey...not all that expensive really.

TerryD New Member

TerryD

Posted
  • Author
Posted

LittleWatchShop: Wow, you should consider yourself lucky to still have that vintage diver. I've thought about buying a vintage Mondaine like mine but there are several minor variations in the ones to be found if you search vintage Mondaine dive watch. I'm not sure if i have seen them all yet. 

Funny the link you put up is the exact picture i have bookmarked to show friends an example of what mine looked like with some small differences. I'm almost certain mine had 660 ft. not 20 ATM as most images i can find show. There is one variation that has 50 meters but it is a hand wound piece, not automatic. Some images show the watch with a cyclops. Mine had no cyclops and if i even knew what that was back then, 13 year old/new eyes did not need it!

One day when i was 14 it quit running. I know this sounds crude but using dads only pair of needle nose pliers and with the watch held firmly down on Ma's carpet, i unscrewed the back. I may have touched the tips of the pliers up on a stone before hand so they were square. With great care, even pressure and luck i did not mar or scratch the case back.

What I found were two tiny screws and the self wind rotor & bridge assembly adrift. I knew dad had a small tube of locktite and a set of jewelers screwdrivers in his big tool box and so i very carefully put what i thought was a "small" amount on the tip of each screw and put the bridge back in its place and tightened the screws. Screwed the back on and she ran!

Next day, watch stopped again. I probably went back in and seeing no loose parts had to tell Pops "we need to go see Heinz" 

After I told Heinz what I had done, He furrowed his brow and in his wonderful German accent told me "Sonny, locktite is not made for zee vatches! You stay out of zem when zay stop. Bring zem to me FIRST next time". I guess he had to disassemble the works and clean out locktite. I told him it was only a "tiny" amount and he insisted "any" was too much!

His shop was a delight for me to visit with my Dad. I remember he let me see his bench in the back and specifically his vibrograph. More wonderful small tools than i had ever seen up to that time. My folks bought a floor standing grandfather clock from him about that time and I remember him delivering the clock in the back of his Volkswagon square back with back seats folded down and the how careful he was unloading and setting it up in our living room. That clock is still in my brothers house keeping time and chiming. Tempus Fugit!

  • Like 1
  • 6 months later...
Klassiker Distinguished Member

Klassiker

Posted
Posted
On 7/3/2021 at 2:20 AM, TerryD said:

There are more stories about me working on or better yet "trying to work on" and in one case, murdering a watch but that's for another time.

Hey Terry, come back! I want to hear more stories!

jdm Distinguished Member

jdm

Posted
Posted
2 hours ago, Klassiker said:

Hey Terry, come back! I want to hear more stories!

Enthusiasm comes and goes. Our storyteller member joined July 2 and last visited the 17th. Maybe he found a watch cold case forum.

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
 Share
Go to topic listing

  • Recently Browsing

    • No registered users viewing this page.

  • Topics

  • Posts

    • tomh207
      Gift ideas for someone that likes watches

      By tomh207 · Posted

      Books, or some sort of voucher to a material house if they do them. You can never read and learn enough and if you find a material house that could do a gift card then the person could pick things they really need.   Tom
    • tomh207
      Hello from Essex

      By tomh207 · Posted

      I don’t know what a pivot locating tool is? I am not a clock guy though but everything else you mentioned cousinsuk should be able to supply without issue. you might get more results if posting in the clock section of the forum.   Tom
    • jao
      Gift ideas for someone that likes watches

      By jao · Posted

      I came up with a topic that might be helpful for partners, friends, or family members of watch enthusiasts: gift ideas for people who are passionate about watches. Of course, more watches are always appreciated, but what are some other gift options related to this hobby or collection? What related gifts would you love to receive?
    • Plumbs
      Hello from Essex

      By Plumbs · Posted

      Thanks to everyone for the welcome.  Can I ask for some advice?  I have a French Drum clock which I am hoping to dismantle, clean and mend a bit for a friend (it is a long time since I did this, but I would like to restart). I used to go to M & P for supplies but it seems they are out of action at the moment.  Is Cousins a good place for supplies?  I think I will need: 1. Some small watchmaker type screwdrivers 2. Cleaning fluid to put in a bath and agitate the parts in (I don't have an ultrasonic bath and was not proposing to get one) 3. Clock oil 4. Some thin nosed pliers for removing pins 5. A basic magnifying eyeglass 6. A pivot locating tool 7. An assembly support for the movement 8. Some assorted pins .. but probably nothing more than that for the moment.  I don't think I will need to rebush any holes although I do have the tools for this.  The hour wheel is broken but I hope I have sourced a replacement. Final queries:  a. the wooden case has split a bit.  To glue it together, would standard strong PVA glue e.g. Evostik interior wood glue be OK?  b. to polish the exterior brasswork of the face and rear, is Duraglit OK, and should they be lacquered after polishing?  I am not proposing to polish and lacquer the movement itself, unless that is vital, but only to clean it in the cleaning fluid. Thanks in advance and I hope this is clear.  
    • Bonefixer
      Breitling Navitimer 806

      By Bonefixer · Posted

      Thanks Mark. I think I’ll leave the beat error for now - it’s a fixed stud so I’d have to adjust the collet position.    The watch has bigger problems. On reassembly I’ve found that the hour counter reset hammer is broken - I didn’t do it, the main hammer part was just not there. Can’t easily identify a replacement part. And the subdial hands. The running seconds hand needs an extended pivot tube as the pivot is below dial level. Can’t find one of them either. I’ve found a central seconds hand that might fit it - going to have a go at cutting, filing and polishing it to make it work. 
×
×
  • Create New...