Let's See Your Watches! The Vintage Watch Thread.

[ScionPI2005]

Five bucks! Holy cow! Very nice find; should serve you well for a very long time, and very stylish too.

 

[avoice]

Watches

Old mechanical and even old digital watches are collectible nowadays. Check ebay for Gruen, Hamiliton watches. Old Swiss watches are pretty expensive. But a good Omega or Schafhausen (IWC) can be bought for your price range. There are probably many dealers in your area. Don't get fooled by the leather band. Many old watches came with bracelets. Speidel twistoflex was patrented in the early fifties. I have many of these with patent numbers.

 

[cooper]

I've been wanting an Omega Seamaster for a long while, now that I have a good paying job (at least for a college student) I hope that now will be the time for me to save up.

I'm wearing a relatively inexpensive Seiko Automatic right now, it has served me pretty well, but for some odd reason it is very easily loosened around the band area where it meets the face.

Seamasters are my all time favorite watches.

 

[Flitcraft]

DOXA is a great brand- better known in Europe.
FYI, the French Foreign Legion favors the DOXA Dive Watch for its personnell.
Five bucks is a great deal!

 

[silhouette53]

A looker !!

Now this is a lovely watch and I only wish I could afford the £1700 required to buy one !! Its a reproduction by Hanhart of their 1939 chronograph beloved of Luftwaffe pilots - not that that is of any significance - I just think its a great looking watch

 

[MrNewportCustom]

My 1980s Rollie, paternal grandfather's Waltham, and maternal great uncle Clyde's Illinois Bunn Special. The Rollie has 17 jewels, the Waltham and Illinois have 21.

Modern Bulova.

Lee

 

[Spitfire]

Just updated my IWC Spitfire Chrono. Went from black crocoleather to steelbracelet. This is how she looks now...

 

[skyvue]

My engagement present

I recently became engaged to be married, and my lovely intended presented me with this watch as an engagement present:

It's a Swiss watch -- the face says "Chronometre Ancre."

I love this timepiece on its merits, but I don't really know very much about watches. If anyone can tell me more about it, I'd be interested to hear it.

 

[ScionPI2005]

Seperation Anxiety and Vintage Watches

Well, I just dropped my vintage Benrus Dial-O-Rama off at the watch repair place to be oiled and cleaned. It's going to take an estimated 6-8 weeks and cost me $75.

It's amazing. Sad to see how times have changed and it is getting harder and more expensive to maintain the treasures that we have found and grown attached to. Only a few decades ago, it would have been easy to find a place to get a watch maintained, and it would take less time and cost less as well.

So I'm going through seperation anxiety already. I purchased this watch just over three years ago, and have been wearing it fairly regularly ever since. I've really bonded with it and I plan on wearing it for numerous years to come. I just hope it doesn't eventually become impossible to find someone to work on it; I may just need to try to learn myself someday.

So, does anyone else notice this? Are there any items that you own; rather it be a wristwatch, or vintage piece of electronic equipment that you struggle to keep maintained and working? Just thought I'd see if anyone else could relate to this.

 

[RedHotRidinHood]

Oh god, yes. I have a vintage 1958 Ironrite mangle that I use for both my business and personal, and when her motor blew back around Christmas, I cried. I knew it was going to be hard to find someone to work on it, but I got extraordinarily lucky and found the ONE person in Phoenix who was willing to even look at her. He runs the sole vintage stove place here in Phoenix, and luckily he had parts for my girl. He put a new motor on her, cleaned her up, and now she runs so smooth!

While I was desperately calling places and visiting shops, people were acting like I was crazy. "What is it that you have? Oh, an iron? Oh, we don't work on small appliances." No, Skippy, this is a mangle about the size of a dishwasher. It's not small. "Oh....well, did you call the maker to see where you can take it?" No, sweetie, Ironrite went out of business in 1962. It's a basic motor AND I have a copy of the service manual. Nobody wanted to even TRY. Thank the gods for Ken, my stove guy...he is now elevated to god-like status in my book. He is going to get cookies on Christmas every year forever!

 

[ScionPI2005]

It's hard to find people to look at vintage items. I had to be patient in getting my vintage watch in to be worked on as well. Apparently the place I took it is one of the few places in Albuquerque that will work on vintage watches. When I called them a few months ago, they told me they were six months behind on watch repairs just because there's no one else to go to and they've been swamped. but they do a good job and I trust them; seeing as how they are the ones I bought the watch from in the first place, and they refirbished it before I bought it.

I should give up being a detective and go into vintage watch repair; that would be the simpler life...[huh]

 

[Mid-fogey]

I'm there brother. Not vintage, but I had to send my Omega off a while back and I wonderd when/if/in what manner I'd see it back. Right now my broken Pelikan is awaiting a similar voyage.

 

[PADDY]

Vintage half hunter great grandfather's watch.

Sent off about a year ago now. Still chasing it up to be sent back to me [huh] Separation anxiety is just one of the emotions I have linked to all this. Disappointment is another.

 

[Alan Eardley]

Sent off about a year ago now. Still chasing it up to be sent back to me [huh] Separation anxiety is just one of the emotions I have linked to all this. Disappointment is another.

Paddy

Don't be anxious or disappointed. A year wait is nothing in the wonderful world of vintage watches and clocks. My great-grandfather's fusee pocket watch has been with the repairer for two years now. He rang me two weeks ago to tell me that he had at last been able to obtain the needed part (a pin in the drive chain). I guess he'll have it finished by the end of the year... If it was my only watch, I would be impatient, but it might as well be on his desk as mine.

Don't worry.

Alan

 

[Gilbey]

Breitling Chronomat Evolution

 

[ScionPI2005]

That is an extremely gorgeous watch there Paddy! I can understand your eagerness to get it back in the shape you sent it off in.

Paddy

Don't be anxious or disappointed. A year wait is nothing in the wonderful world of vintage watches and clocks. My great-grandfather's fusee pocket watch has been with the repairer for two years now. He rang me two weeks ago to tell me that he had at last been able to obtain the needed part (a pin in the drive chain). I guess he'll have it finished by the end of the year... If it was my only watch, I would be impatient, but it might as well be on his desk as mine.

Don't worry.

Alan

Those were my exact thoughts Alan. The place where I took my Benrus told me at first several months ago they were six months behind in work, and I should hold onto it. Though I think it's better that the watch be in their hands waiting to be worked on than on my dresser; being overlooked day in and day out waiting to be worn and used again.

 

[Tomasso]

He rang me two weeks ago to tell me that he had at last been able to obtain the needed part.

I waited over three years for a part to turn up for an old Hamilton; I often wondered how hard he was looking. [huh]

 

[Alan Eardley]

A narrow escape

It seems I was being too phlegmatic about the watch repairer having my great grandfather's fusee pocket watch long term. The guy went out of business some weeks ago, cleared his shop and vanished virtually overnight!

It took me some detective work that Philip Marlow would have been proud of (even when working with Rigby Reardon) to locate it. I was monitoring eBay, I can tell you! The good news is that I have found it, it is repaired and I will be getting it back.

Phew!!! I will watch (sic) this in future.

Alan

 

[Baron Kurtz]

wow, you wanna watch those watchmakers.

(It helps to have a parent who is a watchmaker. These jobs get fast-tracked!)

bk

 

[ScionPI2005]

It seems I was being too phlegmatic about the watch repairer having my great grandfather's fusee pocket watch long term. The guy went out of business some weeks ago, cleared his shop and vanished virtually overnight!

It took me some detective work that Philip Marlow would have been proud of (even when working with Rigby Reardon) to locate it. I was monitoring eBay, I can tell you! The good news is that I have found it, it is repaired and I will be getting it back.

Phew!!! I will watch (sic) this in future.

Alan

I'm doubting that will happen with mine; seems this is one of the few reputable places in my city. Everyone takes their vintage watch here, which is why they have a long waiting list.

Still, should be hearing from them before too much longer I would hope.