The "fine time piece" owners thread.

simon ess said:
I don't wear a watch - never have.

I've owned this since not long after it was commissioned by a family member Squadron Leader.

I've decided to have a go at wearing it. I'l be getting a new battery and a link taken out of the strap tomorrow hopefully.

DSC_6336 by Simon, on Flickr
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I'm thinking this might benefit from a service, although it's hardly been worn.

Would it be best to send it to Breitling or are there alternatives?
 
To make my Moonwatch really unique and individual to me, Ive had Carl at GasGasBones to make this custom velcro strap for me, Most people use the details from the Apollo 11 mission to replicate the velcro strap that you can buy for the Moonwatch, and I should have also, as 11 is my lucky number.
However, Apollo XIII was where the Moonwatch really performed when it helped the crew get back to earth safely, when the Oxygen tanks exploded.
Luckily, the mission took off on 11th Apr so Ive had that engraved into the Hop-up buckle, and those immortal words (often mis-quoted) can be seen on the leather patch.
A bargain at £55.
269685366_10160088450458408_672679086255670001_n by jason greenwood, on Flickr
 
My latest cheap Chinese mechanical automatic watch. I think this was about the most expensive at £21.

Ignore the thumb print :D

fzKkPhY.jpg


I haven't had to reset it since I got it a week ago, it's kept perfect time so far.
 
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I like the bigger one too! (Both pictures showing for me - I understand that there have been some problems with pictures not showing.)
 
So has anyone unearthed a hidden gem watchwise lately?
i saw some from a microbrand called Radcliffe i quite liked but i can't be waiting around for kickstarter campaigns as if i decide i want one then i want it now lol
Aquamarines & turquoise seem to be popular dial colours at the moment as does a move to smaller cases 38-40mm.

i'm tempted for something with a white or maybe green face. Maybe an all black PVD Chrono but it would have to be without the tachymetre as i really don't like them
maybe something with a nice dial that changes in the light...
 
Tirpitz said:
So has anyone unearthed a hidden gem watchwise lately?
i saw some from a microbrand called Radcliffe i quite liked but i can't be waiting around for kickstarter campaigns as if i decide i want one then i want it now lol
Aquamarines & turquoise seem to be popular dial colours at the moment as does a move to smaller cases 38-40mm.

i'm tempted for something with a white or maybe green face. Maybe an all black PVD Chrono but it would have to be without the tachymetre as i really don't like them
maybe something with a nice dial that changes in the light...
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I like simple classic designs. This is the latest addition: bronze field watch
 
The new Swatch Moon watches are being released for general sale online I believe. Those that queues for hours to get the first releases may have done so unnecessarily. I might buy one in USA next week if they’re cheaper and available
 
jpgreenwood said:
The new Swatch Moon watches are being released for general sale online I believe. Those that queues for hours to get the first releases may have done so unnecessarily. I might buy one in USA next week if they’re cheaper and available
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I really like the Mercury version....
 
Since my Triumph Speedmaster is blue, I'll be trying for a Neptune (I think!) Shame they're only 3 bar waterproof.
 
I bought a Pluto Moonswatch in Covent Garden the other day. The Moon and Mercury had sold out unfortunately, and Pluto was next on my list. I quite like it, and will be keeping it. They do look rather nice, though they are very light (which may not be a good thing depending on how you look at it). It’ll be a nice alternative when I want something a bit different on my wrist.

I queued for about 30 mins ahead of the store opening. Annoyingly, pretty much everyone in front of me in the queue was flipping. They’d buy the watch (1 only per customer) and the instantly flip it onto an online “drop” website. They could get £900 for a black Moon version, so a nice £700 profit for standing in line for a bit. They they’d run over to Swatch at Oxford St and try and do it all again. Largely they were kids (under 18) making a mint instead of being at school.

I would like a Moon or Mercury so will get one when they come into general circulation.
 
Out for lunch today and popped into a Jeweller’s I frequent(easy birthday/Christmas pressies) they’d had this in the sale section for a wee while, got the “whatever” from SWMBO so brought it home. Porsche design series one Titanium at a decent discount. image.jpg
 
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No CGT on watches either (should you choose to cash in on the gain.)
 
markyboy.1967 said:
Makes a change for me as my watches usually lose money but as i dont sell i suppose it doesnt really matter.
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Just took a look at the prices trends and indeed they are going up for the classic brands, good to know!
 
My favourite watch is my early 70's Omega Seamaster automatic on a rather lovely custom made Ostrich leather strap... but to be honest it spends most of its time in the watch case. My daily wear is a Feice Max Bill chronograph clone (automatic). it has advantages over the original Junghans watch in the its day date and has no limitations on the secondhand running (30mins max on the original). I love it and when I had the chance to buy the Max Bill. last year chose to keep my little 200 quid copy instead. I also love the fact that its a little fast each day (1.5 mins) meaning I have to set it daily, its become a pleasant little ritual each day, It just goes to prove that you don't have to spend a fortune to find a watch you enjoy.

I also have my Gt Grandfathers J.Myers & co pocket watch complete in its hand carved "Lausanne" watch case that went through WW1 with him and was with him at the Battle of the Somme and also when he was gassed. Its serviced and still running.
 
Ok let`s ask in here as nobody else in the outside world is able to help me so far :)

I would really like to get a Seiko Helmet which belonged to my father in to someone who can give it a full service and will have any small parts that may be needed.
I sent the watch in once to a company who said they could do it a few years back, cost me just over £100 at the time and when it came back it seemed to be working fine, after about a year or so it then gradually started to lose time and then ground to a halt. I did take the back plate off and noted that the seal which they were supposed to of replaced was not there, from memory there should have also been tiny rubber seals on both the two push buttons, a new glass would be nice as well. I could have got back to them but thought if they could not get it right the first time they ain`t getting another stab at it. So there it stayed in the drawer and time has flown by.

Since this my father has passed away so I have more of a reason than ever to try and get it restored so I can wear it. I have tried a contacting a couple of places since but get zero response from them, chatting to a friend of mine he thinks the biggest cause of it stopping is just the fact it has dried up. So what I would be looking for as well as the small parts would be a complete stripping down cleaned and oiled up and calibrated, and if possible to have the luminous paint done. I am pretty sure that parts are not kept by Seiko anymore but believe looking at comments out there that there are third party repair kits that can be obtained by various places, Any advice here would be appreciated thanks.

IMG_1384.jpg
 
u8myufo said:
Ok let`s ask in here as nobody else in the outside world is able to help me so far :)

I would really like to get a Seiko Helmet which belonged to my father in to someone who can give it a full service and will have any small parts that may be needed.
I sent the watch in once to a company who said they could do it a few years back, cost me just over £100 at the time and when it came back it seemed to be working fine, after about a year or so it then gradually started to lose time and then ground to a halt. I did take the back plate off and noted that the seal which they were supposed to of replaced was not there, from memory there should have also been tiny rubber seals on both the two push buttons, a new glass would be nice as well. I could have got back to them but thought if they could not get it right the first time they ain`t getting another stab at it. So there it stayed in the drawer and time has flown by.

Since this my father has passed away so I have more of a reason than ever to try and get it restored so I can wear it. I have tried a contacting a couple of places since but get zero response from them, chatting to a friend of mine he thinks the biggest cause of it stopping is just the fact it has dried up. So what I would be looking for as well as the small parts would be a complete stripping down cleaned and oiled up and calibrated, and if possible to have the luminous paint done. I am pretty sure that parts are not kept by Seiko anymore but believe looking at comments out there that there are third party repair kits that can be obtained by various places, Any advice here would be appreciated thanks.

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there's a guy on Youtube based in the uk that's actually got a channel all about servicing watches of this vintage... He's a unmitigated Seiko nut and has produced scores of videos servicing this kind of stuff...


if you do "social meedja" - there's also a facebook group that he's involved in - and there's scores of watch repairer and actual watchmakers on that group that I'm sure someone will be able to help at least give a really accurate idea of whats involved - certainly better than I can!

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TheBigYin said:
there's a guy on Youtube based in the uk that's actually got a channel all about servicing watches of this vintage... He's a unmitigated Seiko nut and has produced scores of videos servicing this kind of stuff...


if you do "social meedja" - there's also a facebook group that he's involved in - and there's scores of watch repairer and actual watchmakers on that group that I'm sure someone will be able to help at least give a really accurate idea of whats involved - certainly better than I can!

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Nice one Mark much appreciated.
 
If you’re on Facebook, join “The Watch Crowd”. A guy called Adam Hillier runs it. He’s our local Seiko stockist and jeweller. He’s Seiko mad and has a wealth of knowledge.
 
jpgreenwood said:
If you’re on Facebook, join “The Watch Crowd”. A guy called Adam Hillier runs it. He’s our local Seiko stockist and jeweller. He’s Seiko mad and has a wealth of knowledge.
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I did jason along with a couple of other suggested groups, put a want up and after a week zilch a mundo. @TheBigYin, cheers again for the link, unfortunately Michael is suffering with some health issues at the mo and has stopped doing any repairs for people. he did give me a lead to a Simon Wilkinson who apparently is a Seiko Guru but he did say it will not be cheap, I had a reply back as follows and seems good to me. Just awaiting his addy details so I can fire it off.


Hi Richard I'd be happy to work on your watch.
I specialise in servicing and restoring vintage SEIKO's. I have an extensive collection myself.

Until I see the watch I can't accurately assess what will need doing. When someone sends a watch to me I do an initial appraisal based on what I can see without taking the movement apart and from this we agree the work to be done.



My typical charges for a watch of this type are:

£150 - full 6139 movement stripdown service (this does not include any movement parts if these are required)

£30 - full case stripdown and ultrasonic clean

£20 - new gaskets (caseback, crown, pushers)

£20 - new crystal (Sternkreuz equivalent to SEIKO 340W18GN)

£15 - new pusher springs

£15 - return p&p (Special Delivery insured to £1000)



I can relume the hands and the dial pips - my charge to do this is £35.
If I were to work on this watch for you I would be doing the work mid June due to the queue of watches I already have to work on. Turnaround time once started is 1 week.
Let me know if you have any more questions.
 
u8myufo said:
I did jason along with a couple of other suggested groups, put a want up and after a week zilch a mundo. @TheBigYin, cheers again for the link, unfortunately Michael is suffering with some health issues at the mo and has stopped doing any repairs for people. he did give me a lead to a Simon Wilkinson who apparently is a Seiko Guru but he did say it will not be cheap, I had a reply back as follows and seems good to me. Just awaiting his addy details so I can fire it off.


Hi Richard I'd be happy to work on your watch.
I specialise in servicing and restoring vintage SEIKO's. I have an extensive collection myself.

Until I see the watch I can't accurately assess what will need doing. When someone sends a watch to me I do an initial appraisal based on what I can see without taking the movement apart and from this we agree the work to be done.



My typical charges for a watch of this type are:

£150 - full 6139 movement stripdown service (this does not include any movement parts if these are required)

£30 - full case stripdown and ultrasonic clean

£20 - new gaskets (caseback, crown, pushers)

£20 - new crystal (Sternkreuz equivalent to SEIKO 340W18GN)

£15 - new pusher springs

£15 - return p&p (Special Delivery insured to £1000)



I can relume the hands and the dial pips - my charge to do this is £35.
If I were to work on this watch for you I would be doing the work mid June due to the queue of watches I already have to work on. Turnaround time once started is 1 week.
Let me know if you have any more questions.
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that sounds pretty reasonable, certainly in terms of labour charges - around £75 a hour at a rough estimate - that's less than the monkeys are charged out at Wakefield Audi...
 
Grange Jaguar apparently charge £200 per hour. Plus the inevitable VAT...

When I had Dad's Rolex resurrected (he didn't wear it so it had gummed up), Rolex charged me £700. The local place (as above) did the same thing (but properly...) 3 years later for £200 and it's been fine ever since.
 
Initial Rolex Quote for repairs on my 1016 was £1600 plus "whatever we find inside that needs repair"... Now, that was partly because I'd smacked it (on a doorknob FFS) quite a bad one on the winding crown and managed to bend the stem and dislodge the crown tube and slightly "re-arrange" (ie twist) some of the keyless works mechanism. Plus, as it was going back to base, they'd have polished the case again, changed the crystal for the 4th time in the watches life and probably the dial and hands again, seeing as it has (now non-glowing) Tritium lume. Or, put another way, ruined the watch.

So, it ended up going to an Independent, who made a fantastic job of cleaning, servicing, and repairing the stupid things I'd done to the watch. Came back with not only a list of what'd been done, but all the bits that had been replaced. Took "a while" to get it back - basically, because it's a 1570 movement from 1974, and the parts took a bit of sourcing - not to mention that the case needed laser welding and rebuilding then re-finishing on that side before tapping for a new crown tube and crown. Okay, it needed yet another Crystal as it turned out the fitted one had been slightly chipped in the impact.

But it's back, it looks nearly the same as it did before the accident, and it's been regulated back to (imo) an exemplary +2s /day on the wrist and between -1 and +3 in 6 positions on the timegrapher... not bad for a nearly 50 years old low beat (19,800 vph) movement...

Cost - less than half what Rolex wanted to ruin the watch, Worth to me - priceless.
 
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TimHughes said:
wonderful! thank you for sharing. I like having the open back to see the movements in action.
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I recently bought a Porsche Design chrono with a display back, unfortunately they made like their cars, with tinted glass, viewing the inside difficult, who thought that was clever.
 
Ive just added this beaut to my watch box. Ive wanted one for a few years as i love the style and engineering of metals and ceramics that Rado use. The little anchor logo is floating so will rotate when the watch is moved in different orientations. Also, it bears the name of Captain Cook. I live close to where he was born, grew up, and a lot of our local infrastructure is named after him. Ive bought this second hand off Ebay, but its mint condition and only a few months old.
289097062_1489457464844423_952888237881395050_n by jason greenwood, on Flickr
 
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