Watch of Today

[VWatchie]

Just now, Delgetti said:

High frequency day: 36000 bph. 

Now, that's a bad boy watch! 

[GuyMontag]

1947 NOS Ambassador 'C'.

Actually, the case came without the movement so the movement isn't NOS, but she sure is pretty.

[Kkramme]

[SBGA405] Grand Seiko “Godzilla” Spring DriveI always enjoy coming back at the end of the week to my first Spring Drive watch which is a combined automatic mechanical watch and a high quality quartz — a Spring Drive.Impressive accuracy (10 seconds per month) and wears remarkably comfortable at 44.5 mm in diameter and 95 gm.Love the power reserve indicator, and the colour of the dial amd the watch band.One of my “perfect” watches!!

[noirrac1j]

10 hours ago, Kkramme said:

[SBGA405] Grand Seiko “Godzilla” Spring DriveI always enjoy coming back at the end of the week to my first Spring Drive watch which is a combined automatic mechanical watch and a high quality quartz — a Spring Drive.Impressive accuracy (10 seconds per month) and wears remarkably comfortable at 44.5 mm in diameter and 95 gm.Love the power reserve indicator, and the colour of the dial amd the watch band.One of my “perfect” watches!!

As  I kid, I'd watch Godzilla stomping over buildings and cars and I'd think to myself: Tokyo is a really dangerous place to live... . Cool watch!!

[Razz]

1973 Bulova Diamond Excellency Q. 11 AN mov't manual wind. Love the UFO look of this one. Not sure the size of the diamond but looking around for an advertisement to see if it is.listed....strap is not original but the buckle is signed along with the crown. In excellent condition. 

[GuyMontag]

20 minutes ago, Razz said:

1973 Bulova Diamond Excellency Q. 11 AN mov't manual wind. Love the UFO look of this one. Not sure the size of the diamond but looking around for an advertisement to see if it is.listed....strap is not original but the buckle is signed along with the crown. In excellent condition. 

This is such an odd Bulova. Off of the top of my head the only other mechanical Bulova that I can think of that has the 'Bulova' logo as an hour marker is the Golden Clipper 'J' (there must be others), one of my favorite dials. And then it has a solitary diamond, which is not unusual with Bulova, but paired with the 'Bulova' hour marker, that only leaves two quarter hour markers, and I can't think of another Bulova that has only two hour markers like that. You do you Bulova, no conformity here!

Edited May 8, 2024 by GuyMontag

[Razz]

26 minutes ago, GuyMontag said:

This is such an odd Bulova. Off of the top of my head the only other mechanical Bulova that I can think of that has the 'Bulova' logo as an hour marker is the Golden Clipper 'J' (there must be others), one of my favorite dials. And then it has a solitary diamond, which is not unusual with Bulova, but paired with the 'Bulova' hour marker, that only leaves two quarter hour markers, and I can't think of another Bulova that has only two hour markers like that. You do you Bulova, no conformity here!

I agree, very minimalist dial,  but then the diamond. The 1973 R has a black dial and gold case and is similar in layout. But on the MyBulova site there really is nothing else like it...

[Razz]

On 5/7/2024 at 9:20 PM, Razz said:

I agree, very minimalist dial,  but then the diamond. The 1973 R has a black dial and gold case and is similar in layout. But on the MyBulova site there really is nothing else like it...

Updated photos with new leather strap and original signed buckle. I like the minimalist strap - plain back with black thread...

Edited May 14, 2024 by Razz

[AndyHull]

Today felt like a Timex day, so I've been sporting a classic.  One of my favourite vintage watches, a 1969 Timex Marlin.

Just for the record, as I recall this is a 404 club watch, and arrived pretty beaten up, and in need of a service. 

Its probably worth somewhat more than four quid after a little TLC.

The picture probably doesn't do it justice. Wearing it, the watch looks and feels almost new.

Edited May 30, 2024 by AndyHull

[RichardHarris123]

I have a love/hate relationship with Timex. Partly hate the crudeness of the movements but also admire that they keep on going, a bit like dollar watches. I can't fault the look. 

[AndyHull]

The movement is positively agricultural, but you can't deny that for a 55 year old watch, its not looking half bad.

Furthermore it is running pretty well for what it is. Often they are all over the place. This is what I am getting without a rewind, so the amplitude is starting to fade a little after a long day, but the accuracy and the beat error 'aint half bad for an ancient Timex pin lever.

They can be a bit of a faff to actually get running anywhere near as well as this sometimes, and a lot of them are somewhat tired and worn out, but this one is still marching on. I can't remember how long ago I serviced this one, but it was probably a couple of years ago, and I imagine the only time the mechanism had see the light of day before that was when it was in the factory in Dundee.

For what little it is worth, I'm sitting here writing some notes with a stainless steel Parker 45, which is another design classic.

I just looked up the date code on the pen (IIA if anybody is interested). At 32 years old, the pen by comparison is a relative youngster.

[LittleWatchShop]

3 hours ago, RichardHarris123 said:

I have a love/hate relationship with Timex. Partly hate the crudeness of the movements but also admire that they keep on going, a bit like dollar watches. I can't fault the look. 

My dad (watchmaker running his own business) hater them. I have serviced a few. In a strange way, they are brilliant.

[HectorLooi]

I love Timexes. But there is absolutely no money to be made if we were to do a full disassembly, clean and oil.

But with the advent of the ultrasonic cleaner, I wonder if we can get away with just dunking the fully assembled movement, sans the dial and hands, into the ultrasound. It should be better than the dunk and swish method.

[Neverenoughwatches]

Wearing a big lump of a watch today. Feels like i have a kettlebell on my wrist. Aw no and i promised no more bare leg shots , good god our lass needs her legs shaving and before anyone asks no she didn't lay the watch on top of my head and take a picture

[mbwatch]

On 5/31/2024 at 12:58 AM, HectorLooi said:

I wonder if we can get away with just dunking the fully assembled movement, sans the dial and hands, into the ultrasound.

I have done ultrasonic with naphtha and IPA and they cleaned well enough, but I worry too much about shaking the hairspring apart to keep doing it (for my own Timex watches, or for ebay sales, not professionally for clients). For a super dirty one, I doubt the pivot holes would get clean enough with the pivots in them though. Maybe with a better ultrasonic cleaning fluid.

Since I'm not under any time pressure, I keep disassembling them instead.

[Razz]

This is a quartz but one of my current favorites. Is 40mm and wears very nice. Was able to pick it up cheap and replaced the glass. Could not read the time!

Edited June 18, 2024 by Razz

[ManSkirtBrew]

Seiko Kinetic that I picked up at a local jewelry shop on a whim. I occasionally walk in to ask if they have any broken old watches, so I like to buy a few every now and then even if they're not my favorite.

After replacing the capacitor and cleaning the atrociously filthy case and bracelet, I have to say it's grown on me and I wear it a lot.

[Waggy]

Gotta love that arm cheese 

[AndyHull]

I picked this up recently for the 404 club, assuming it to be a Marlin from 1983, and probably a bit of a basket case, however it is actually a 1973 Mercury model number 160502473 and I have to admit I am very pleased with it.

It is remarkably clean, tidy and scratch free which is all the more remarkable given the fact that it is 51 years old (I did fumigate it anyway just because I always give everything that arrives a good clean before I start working on it).

It is probably one of the best preserved Timexes I have. Furthermore... it works, so I haven't even opened it up yet.

For a few pennies under four quid, well worth the gamble.

Edited July 25, 2024 by AndyHull

[steve1811uk]

Seiko 11-0630 from July 1977 I think. White gold plated case and bracelet. Condition is amazing for 47 years old and running with great amplitude without even touching it. This one is for my wife. Nice charity shop find for just £4. I always look for watches in those shops but most of them seem to only sell modern quartz. You have to be really lucky to find something nice.

[AndyHull]

Very nice. I must confess to trawling round charity shops for bargains too. I was down in Milngavie the other day doing just this while my wife was visiting the dentist. Nothing but cheap quartz stuff on that occasion, but sometimes you do get lucky.

On 5/31/2024 at 6:58 AM, HectorLooi said:

I love Timexes. But there is absolutely no money to be made if we were to do a full disassembly, clean and oil.

But with the advent of the ultrasonic cleaner, I wonder if we can get away with just dunking the fully assembled movement, sans the dial and hands, into the ultrasound. It should be better than the dunk and swish method.

It might be advisable to at least take the hands off. The dial will probably survive, but I did manage to remove the paint from a set of hands in the ultrasonic a while back. Not sure why since they appear to be painted with battleship grade enamel paints, but once bitten as they say.

Taking the dial off is a little risky as the metal tabs tend to fail. Generally I do remove the dial and the hands, but not always. I also generally don't put Timexes in the ultrasonic, I just go for the slunge.  

[ManSkirtBrew]

One of my favorites today: 1972 Seiko 6139B Bruce Lee. My first chronograph restoration, including reaming out the bushings to add jewels to the barrel. I'd love to find an original yellow dial and correct hands for it one day, but for now I just love wearing it.

[AndyHull]

Its been a while since I wore this 2628.h USSR era TV cased Sekonda, so I decided today was the day to give it an airing.

 

[AndyHull]

Today I was sporting the Swatch Irony Chronograph (a V8 Chronograph model YCS109 to be precise).

 

[AndyHull]

Timex indigo electroluminescent backlight watch with a unidirectional bezel (with a bright lume pip and a very satisfying click) and a nautical themed dial.

It is water resistant, apparently, but there is absolutely no indication whatsoever of exactly *how* water resistant, so I would assume "not very" would probably cover that.

This was floating about in the junk box, as part of a job lot and seems to have appreciated a little TLC. It is  actually not a bad little watch. Perhaps not something I would wear very often, but in essence it was free, since I bought the lot for some other piece and since it is the only EL backlight watch I have, its actually quite a neat addition to the 404 club.

If anybody knows the significance of the pennant flag on the dial, I would love to know. 

Edited August 12, 2024 by AndyHull