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DarrenThomson

By DarrenThomson
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DarrenThomson Member

DarrenThomson

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Posted

Hi everybody.

I took up learning watch repair a month ago, using the online courses from TimeZone Watch School and just finished building an ETA 6497-1 movement. I'm interested in British watchmaking and now plan to start buying up old Smiths movements with a view to learning about them and repairing them.

I look forward to getting involved with the forum.

Regards

Darren

Pip WRT Addict

Pip

Posted
Posted

Hi Darren, welcome from another relative newby! From the tags it looks like you're in HWyc? I'm not far away if that's the case, Twyford for me. Sounds to me like you're a man with a plan. Looking forward to seeing your progress with the Smiths movements. Any reason you chose Smiths?

sperki77 WRT Addict

sperki77

Posted
Posted

Hi and welcome to the forum, Darren.  If you like working on watches, you've chosen and excellent forum!  Everyone is very helpful here.

Shirley

DarrenThomson Member

DarrenThomson

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Posted
On 16 January 2017 at 11:36 PM, Pip said:

Hi Darren, welcome from another relative newby! From the tags it looks like you're in HWyc? I'm not far away if that's the case, Twyford for me. Sounds to me like you're a man with a plan. Looking forward to seeing your progress with the Smiths movements. Any reason you chose Smiths?

Hi there,

Im interested in Smiths due to them being the last fully-inhouse watch manufacturer in England. The only people doing that now (as far as i know) are Roger W Smith...and you'll pay 100k for one of their watches ! Really interested in comparing how the Smiths Cheltenham factory build movement vs how ETA do it today.

Thanks for the welcome !

Blacklab Distinguished Member

Blacklab

Posted
Posted

Welcome Darren. Here's something I posted a while back that you may find useful:

"Smiths produced clocks & watches from 1851 eventually opening a factory in Cheltenham producing the high end watches equal to the Swiss such as the Deluxe, Astral & Imperial ranges. The factory closed in 1970. Also a factory in Ystradgnlais, Wales, originally & joint venture with Ingersoll (not the American one) producing lower end pin levers such as the Smiths Empire & Ingersoll Triumph range & eventually a jewelled lever used in the Streamline range (see here: http://www.watchrepairtalk.com/topic/3157-smiths-streamline/). The factory closed in 1980. In the final years before closure movements were sourced from the Swiss & the Far East.

Smiths Group plc is now British multinational diversified engineering business with is headquarters in London, operating worldwide but unfortunately no longer produces watches.

The Smiths watch name is now owned by Timefactors who produce homage watches in small quantities with Swiss & Japanese movements.

Robert Loomes uses highly modified Cheltenham Smiths movements in his range, but you will need to save very hard to buy one."

See also some of my previous posts:

http://www.watchrepairtalk.com/topic/4947-anglo-celtic-smiths-watch-film/

http://www.watchrepairtalk.com/topic/1778-smiths-ty/

http://www.watchrepairtalk.com/topic/3671-smiths-astral-sub-seconds-2/

Hope this helps. Smiths are easy to work on being designed for hand assembly. The only downside is they are getting increasingly expensive to purchase.

 

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