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Watches

Started by Twed, September 01, 2018, 03:55:52 PM

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Martin Van Buren Stan

Never really worn a watch but I bought this by accident last week. It's nice and weighty, but I don't like the face much. I wonder why it doesn't have numbers 1-4


Famous Mortimer

That's nice!

I occasionally get targeted watch ads on Instagram, and there was a lovely one today. Nearly three grand! Sort your algorithm out, mate! 100 quid is as much as I can afford on a new watch, tops.

Sherman Krank

I've never really bothered with watches but I inherited one a few years back and continued what I suspect was the long standing family tradition of sticking it in a drawer and forgetting about it. The drawer collapsed the other day due to the weight of all the shite I'd stuck in it and I came across the watch as I was emptying the remnants left in it so I could repair the drawer.

It's an Omega Geneve identical to this one.


An inscription on the back dates it to 1971 and from the small amount of research I've done the bezel* is 9ct gold and the dial colour is known as champagne.
In its current state (ie. a bit tatty and not running) it appears to be worth around £150-250 and tarted up and running somewhere around £400-550 (on ebay at least).
Dealer price seems to be £800-1500 but I'm assuming they leave a fair bit of haggle room.

What I'm wondering is how much it would cost to get it fixed up and running again?
The crystal has a bunch of light scratches on it and looks like it may have gone a bit cloudy. The crown moves but feels a bit 'gunky' though when I pop it out and turn it, both it and the hands move freely.
So does anyone know what kind of price I'd be looking at for a service and new crystal?



* I googled 'names for the parts of a watch'.    

Sherman Krank

Never mind, I did a bit more googling and it seems it'll cost more to get it serviced than it would then be worth so fuck that.

Ferris

Quote from: Sherman Krank on May 02, 2022, 07:45:13 PMNever mind, I did a bit more googling and it seems it'll cost more to get it serviced than it would then be worth so fuck that.

They're a bit like guitars in that a) you don't really need one, b) you definitely don't need more than one, c) collectors get into them because they're just so bloody nice even if it's cheaper not to bother fixing/upgrading them and they probably lose money on them overall.

I've spent a lot on mechanical wrist watches that are realistically worth next to nothing, but I can't help myself. There are a lot more cheap-but-fun pieces out there for watches than guitars though so it'd be difficult to bankrupt myself.

That Omega is like a late '80s USA telecaster in wine red - it's not super sought after, but still a lovely bit of kit and worth a few quid to the right collector, and you stand out as someone who knows your onions (or at least has very specific and not necessarily bad taste) if you decide to keep and wear it. It's not MIM or post '00s Squier at any rate.

Ferris

Just because:



Swatch, Omega Automatic (late 1940s), Raketa Big Zero, Raketa Kopernik (both late '80s), Gruen Curvex (1920s)



Vostok Amphibia (late 1991), F-91w, w-218H, Girard-Perregaux Sea Hawk (early 1930s?), Swatch

Realized I was wearing a watch while I took those, so my Casio Duro separately:



There's a few missing (mainly cheapo Casio digital watches including one without a strap because...eh), but nothing I have there is worth more than a few hundred quid really (maybe the Omega), and median is about 40 quid per piece.

There's a Pobeda on its way I'm quite excited about because I can't stop myself with cheap Soviet mechanical wrist watches. That's the last one for now, probably though my dad says he got a great deal on a '60s Speedmaster so I might end up with that which would become the nicest thing I own by a very long way.

Sherman Krank

I suspect if I did wear watches I'd likely have a bunch of them plus all the tools to take them to bits and reassemble them and I'd spend way too much time watching youtube videos of people repairing watches while thinking stuff like 'That's a dumb way to do that'.

Ferris

Quote from: Sherman Krank on May 03, 2022, 01:08:54 AMI suspect if I did wear watches I'd likely have a bunch of them plus all the tools to take them to bits and reassemble them and I'd spend way too much time watching youtube videos of people repairing watches while thinking stuff like 'That's a dumb way to do that'.


Sounds like you're halfway there!

Join us! Join us!

Ferris

I have been unable to stop myself. I have a shitload more Soviet mechanical watches, a couple more Casio digital and analogue watches, and just ordered a Swatch/Omega moonwatch which I'm excited about now.

Also a decent collection of Indian HMT watches which are all lovely and unique pieces. I've gone quite mad, obviously.

katzenjammer

Quote from: Ferris on May 03, 2022, 12:23:56 AMJust because:



Swatch, Omega Automatic (late 1940s), Raketa Big Zero, Raketa Kopernik (both late '80s), Gruen Curvex (1920s)


 

Wow! Your wrists are really long

touchingcloth

My Seiko 5 is bollocksed and is gaining a couple of minutes per hour, rather than ~5 minutes per week.

Anyone familiar with working on those things themselves? It was so cheap that it isn't really worth the cost of sending away for repair, but a quick google suggests that doing it myself involves a lot of mechanical kit for opening and magnifying the guts of it, and an oscilloscope for setting the beat properly.

I've switched to wearing my fitness tracker on my left wrist for now, but would rather go back to a watch really.

Side note, but I had a quick look in a watch shop the other day, and have you seen the watches they have these days? Massive, aren't they - may as well stick a strap on a carriage clock. Reminds me I need to start that "have you seen the trainers they have these days?" thread I have planned at some point.

SpiderChrist

I have my Dad's old Rotary watch that Mum bought him in 1964. It doesn't seem to want to work, but I wear it anyway cos I'm odd. Keep wondering about getting it fixed, but my financial situation sadly precludes this course of action.

katzenjammer

Quote from: touchingcloth on November 19, 2022, 08:32:58 AMMy Seiko 5 is bollocksed and is gaining a couple of minutes per hour, rather than ~5 minutes per week.


Is that normal? I was after getting one of these but not sure I could put up with that

fuelled by his reckless abuse of Swiss cheese, Ferris's horological obsession finally consumes him...

Sebastian Cobb

Quote from: touchingcloth on November 19, 2022, 08:32:58 AMMy Seiko 5 is bollocksed and is gaining a couple of minutes per hour, rather than ~5 minutes per week.

Anyone familiar with working on those things themselves? It was so cheap that it isn't really worth the cost of sending away for repair, but a quick google suggests that doing it myself involves a lot of mechanical kit for opening and magnifying the guts of it, and an oscilloscope for setting the beat properly.

I've switched to wearing my fitness tracker on my left wrist for now, but would rather go back to a watch really.

Side note, but I had a quick look in a watch shop the other day, and have you seen the watches they have these days? Massive, aren't they - may as well stick a strap on a carriage clock. Reminds me I need to start that "have you seen the trainers they have these days?" thread I have planned at some point.

Mine was losing an annoying amount per day and I managed to get it pretty accurate just by watching what to do on YouTube. The hardest part was getting the back off the first time, and although I had it face down on a cloth to try and not scratch the face I still managed to put a small scratch in it,which whilst barely noticeable to anyone else, taunts me a bit.

It's not hard but things are small, being mildly short sighted (less than - 2) I found I had to take my glasses off to get closer.

To do basic adjustment, you only need a wooden cocktail stick or toothpick, but if it's running irregular rather than consistently fast/slow then you might've knocked something else out of whack which requires special equipment, although some phone apps claim to be able to listen to the ticks to tune some of these.

touchingcloth

Quote from: Sebastian Cobb on November 19, 2022, 10:47:53 AMMine was losing an annoying amount per day and I managed to get it pretty accurate just by watching what to do on YouTube. The hardest part was getting the back off the first time, and although I had it face down on a cloth to try and not scratch the face I still managed to put a small scratch in it,which whilst barely noticeable to anyone else, taunts me a bit.

It's not hard but things are small, being mildly short sighted (less than - 2) I found I had to take my glasses off to get closer.

To do basic adjustment, you only need a wooden cocktail stick or toothpick, but if it's running irregular rather than consistently fast/slow then you might've knocked something else out of whack which requires special equipment, although some phone apps claim to be able to listen to the ticks to tune some of these.

I'm pretty sure it's related to dropping it, which the internet seems to suggest causes issues with the hairspring. I've tried the quick fixes of "whack it against your had a few times", but it hasn't sorted it and I'm pretty sure it needs the back off. I haven't been able to do that with normal tools yet, and am loath to buy anything on eBay only to find out the cogs all fly out and I end up with a watch which is entirely rather than mostly bollocksed.

touchingcloth

Quote from: katzenjammer on November 19, 2022, 09:42:38 AMIs that normal? I was after getting one of these but not sure I could put up with that

Some weeks it was more like a minute or two. It needed the time changing at least once a week most weeks, but I found it running five minutes fast (it was always fast rather than slow) at most wasn't too much of a pain.

Needing to wind it twice a day, though? Nah.

Sebastian Cobb

The back-opener things that consist of three adjustable prongs and changeable bits are fairly cheap and will allow you to adjust other less broken watches for fine tuning should they need it, so not a complete loss if your seiko is dead.

The Crumb

If the case back has grooves in and you're not too precious about it, you might be able to use scissors to open it - get the tips in opposing grooves, squeeze together gently and unscrew.

Ferris

Quote from: Sebastian Cobb on November 19, 2022, 11:14:25 AMThe back-opener things that consist of three adjustable prongs and changeable bits are fairly cheap and will allow you to adjust other less broken watches for fine tuning should they need it, so not a complete loss if your seiko is dead.

I've been able to get the backs off mine with needle nosed pliers (into the grooves, then twist) or a very thin butter knife, depending on the style of the back plate.

I have two mechanical ones that have given up the ghost - won't turn at all, even though I haven't done anything to them. It's like they're fully wound up but unable to discharge their pent up energy, like me after six coffees.

touchingcloth

Quote from: The Crumb on November 19, 2022, 11:19:03 AMIf the case back has grooves in and you're not too precious about it, you might be able to use scissors to open it - get the tips in opposing grooves, squeeze together gently and unscrew.

This did the trick (though I had to squeeze very much not gently in the end), ta!

Now to work out if I can figure out wtf to actually do with it. Part of the problem is that sometimes after I wind it and press the crown back in now it doesn't start ticking again straight away until I give it a bit of a tap, so I suspect something in the guts of it has broken or jammed...

https://www.urigeller.com/#nav

He used to restart old watches so it might be worth giving him a call if all else fails. He did it remotely too so no need to travel (but I understand he might use astral projection or meddle with forces we don't understand, so you'd have to be OK with that).

Ferris

Packing for our first trip in the covid world, 3 weeks in the UK. Obviously my primary concern is what watches to take.

Given it a lot of thought, decided to go with these three:


easytarget

Birthday. First new watch since I left university in 2000.

Bright orange. Minimal functionality. Waterproof to 666 feet. Fucking come on!


Ferris

I'm liking that orange diver, @easytarget. Very nice.

Speaking of divers, I bought a knockoff rolex sub from the dark web about 2 months ago for $20 just to see. Morbid curiosity, really. Well it's finally arrived and actually I like it a lot - the strap it came with was complete shit, so that's gone. On a quilted black nato strap for now, but I'll end up keeping it on a silicon strap I reckon.

It's a little smaller than my other divers at 40mm (instead of 45-46mm) which I prefer for daily wear and while it's obviously a knockoff if you know your watches, it's an impressively functional automatic steel-case watch for 13 quid delivered, or about half the price of an F91-w. It even has a date complication!

touchingcloth

I haven't had a date complication since something bluh blah rumble Tinder!

Gob Shine Algorithm

Grrrr8 Thread. Vibe of staring at watch ads in Esquire; I'd happily wear 90% of these (but especially Terry Thomas'.

My watches: Gen 1 Vostok (very special occasions), Citizen Eco Metallic Red (all-singing, zero maintenance - highly recommended), CCCP 1937 Special (fairly special / poncey occasion).

https://www.unexplained-mysteries.com/forum/uploads/monthly_2023_01/20230112_094437.jpg.e9407329273e41bc1683c620d322512b.jpg

atavist

I've just been quoted £480 to get my watch serviced.

FOUR HUNDRED AND EIGHTY POUNDS. Fuck me.

touchingcloth

You can get between two and ninety-six watches for that sort of cash.

atavist

Quote from: touchingcloth on January 12, 2023, 10:51:34 AMYou can get between two and ninety-six watches for that sort of cash.

Or your actual CAR serviced