Watch Out or Watch on? Pt 2.

[doccaliban]

Sadly, I wear a smart watch all the time now because I need a few features multiple times a day. Before that I wore my beloved, sun faded, beat to hell Citizen Promaster dive watch. With over 5k dives on it, most as a working diver, every single scratch and dent has a story.View attachment 283091

I just found an old photo I can use it this thread, and the hat thread! The above watch during boat changeover, using the "harbor truck" (basically a rusty, gas powered wheelbarrow that would be instant death on the road) to haul tanks back and forth. The joke was that the first aid kit contained nothing but tetanus boosters.

 

[Bengel]

Bought a few years ago, my first hackable movement. Doesn’t get enough wrist time, so today seemed like the perfect time (pun intended)

 

[mikethompson]

Another new arrival (I will stop soon I promise), a new Tandorio flight watch. They use a Japanese movement in their watches, and is the first 'wind-up' watch I've had in a long time. I bought a metal bracelet for it that is still on its way, as I think it will be more durable for work, but I wasn't expecting the leather band to look so good on it.

I bought it as the face reminds me of an old style speedometer:

 

[AroEnglish]

 

[Briar Lee]

Another new arrival (I will stop soon I promise), a new Tandorio flight watch. They use a Japanese movement in their watches, and is the first 'wind-up' watch I've had in a long time. I bought a metal bracelet for it that is still on its way, as I think it will be more durable for work, but I wasn't expecting the leather band to look so good on it.

I bought it as the face reminds me of an old style speedometer:

View attachment 283736

View attachment 283737View attachment 283738View attachment 283739View attachment 283740

One of my favorite books is Shepard of the Hills, where the postmaster declared to a crowd of loafers Jim bought a four dollar watch in 1907:
——
"James Creelman, E-S-Q., Wal, dad burn me. Jim done wrote t' that there house in Chicago more'n three weeks ago, 'bout a watch they're a sellin' fer fo' dollars. Ba thundas! They'd sure answer me quicker'n that, er they'd hear turkey. What! I done tole Jim it was only a blamed ol' fo' dollar house anyhow."

At this many nods and glances were exchanged by the group in silent admiration of the "gov'ment," and one mountaineer, bold even to recklessness, remarked, "Jim must have a heap o' money t' be a buyin' four dollar watches. Must er sold that gray mule o' hisn; hit'd fetch 'bout that much, I reckon."

"Much you know 'bout it, Buck Boswell. Let me tell you, Jim he works, he does. He's the workingest man in this here county, ba thundas! What! Jim he don't sit 'round like you fellers down on th' creek an' wait fer pawpaws to git ripe, so he can git a square meal, ba thundas!" The bold mountaineer wilted.

—-

What the mail order houses sold for four dollars at the turn of the century was an American seven jewel movement in a nickel silver case.


I own a couple of examples. They had two pallet jewels and two hole jewels with two cap jewels for the balance, and one impulse (roller) jewel.

This arrangement might last a lifetime if the watch was serviced annually, and carefully worn.

But the train of a watch is under a lot of pressure from the mainspring, and to insure long life a watch needs 15 jewels, and 2 more for the center wheel don’t hurt, making 17 jewels.



I own several 15 and 17 jewel watches over a century old and still good timekeepers. Any more than 17, or at most 23 jewels, is more to sell a watch than improve function.

Pocket Watch Jewel Counts | 21 Jewels, 17 Jewels, 15 Jewels

Serial lookups, info, specs, and value for American antique pocket watches covering manufacturers like Elgin, Illinois, Waltham, and Hamilton

pocketwatchdatabase.com

 

[agnosticpipe]

Ok, I've gotta get ahold of myself and stop buying watches. Both my step daughters are huge Temu enablers and I just have to say no. But... for $16 I just had to try this no name all bamboo watch. It looks rather substantial but there's nothing to it. It weighs so little I can barely tell I have a watch on my wrist. Neither the watch nor the packaging has a brand name on it, and neither does the Temu description. Super simplicity. I probably just threw the money away, but time will tell if was worth anything at all. Sometimes just buying shit is fun!

 

[mikethompson]

@agnosticpipe , that looks good. I think the simple movement in there should make for a trouble free pipe. That's a good buy for $16.

 

[didimauw]

View attachment 283744

How is your Orient's accuracy? I have the same one, but Mine runs really slow. I tried adjusting it, but I'm terrible at it.

 

[AroEnglish]

How is your Orient's accuracy? I have the same one, but Mine runs really slow. I tried adjusting it, but I'm terrible at it.

Definitely in the negligible range. I measured it over 24 hours as exactly as a could with my phone and is was less than 1s slow. That's probably a poor representation of its accuracy but I normally have to wind it before I notice that it's loss a noticeable amount of time.

 

[agnosticpipe]

@agnosticpipe , that looks good. I think the simple movement in there should make for a trouble free pipe. That's a good buy for $16.

Thanks Mike, I hope it's a trouble free watch, not too sure about it being a trouble free pipe though.

 

[Briar Lee]

Definitely in the negligible range. I measured it over 24 hours as exactly as a could with my phone and is was less than 1s slow. That's probably a poor representation of its accuracy but I normally have to wind it before I notice that it's loss a noticeable amount of time.

I own three Orient automatics and my Orient Star. The Orient Star is the best, hitting almost exactly 14 seconds fast a week, week after week. Since I got it I don’t wear my other watches much, but the other three Orients keep “railroad time”, plus or minus thirty seconds a week. Orient advises checking accuracy weekly, not daily.

As little as they cost Orient watches have to be timed by a machine at the factory, and the customers “run them in“ and see how accurate each movement is. If one is off more than the standard of +20 or -15 seconds a day it’s a bad movement,,,if it does that a week.

A couple of years ago I bought an Orient Bambino for $39 on a shopping website and it turned out counterfeit. It even came in a Forsning box instead of an Orient, the crown wasn’t signed, the movement was wrong, and somebody faked a $125 watch.

The seller refunded my money and let me keep it.

My fake Orient does vary about 15 seconds a day plus or minus. Which is better than the published standards for Chinese automatics.

The coolest thing is to see just how much better detailed and finshed a geniune Orient is over a cheap Chinese fake. The real one is flawless, the crystal doesn’t reflect, the hands and dial are perfect, the whole thing looks like a much more expensive watch than it is.

I just bought a two dollar watch.

Quartz accuracy is cheap.

 

[jpmcwjr]

I wear my Apple Watch daily. Does a lot more than tell completely accurate time.

 

[mikethompson]

My last addition for a while. Replica of a 1963 Seagull Flight watch. I think 21 Zuan means 21 Jewels. I changed the band from plain black leather to a more tweedish green.

Looks good and works great. Only drawback is part of the weatherstripping seal on the back is sticking out of the case. I will contact the seller tomorrow and see what can be done. I'm not sure if the case snaps or unscrews. Solid piece for $40.

 

[Briar Lee]

I wear my Apple Watch daily. Does a lot more than tell completely accurate time.

Your Apple Watch is a modern consumer gadget with a microprocessor and a router and it’s about as close to Dick Tracy’s two way radio television watch as we’ve came so far.

But it’s a wrist watch. If you tried wearing it a lifetime it will get all beat up.

One of my coolest watches is a Hamilton 935 pocket watch made in 1895. It has an open faced nickel plated case just beat to hell, all brassed, a pathetic thing to look at. The fancy porcelain dial is crazed but all intact.

It keeps railroad time, about two or three seconds a day plus or minus.

Is a modern Apple Watch as great a technical leap as a railroad grade pocket watch was in the 1890s?

Rich men had carried watches they hoped were accurate to a minute a day for centuries.

Then a working man could buy a pocket watch almost as accurate as a marine chronometer.

Humans is smart critters, you know?

 

[mikethompson]

Nothing wrong with the Apple watch, I just don't need my watch to talk, text, check the weather, look at emails, etc.

A pot for every lid as they say.

 

[jpmcwjr]

Nothing wrong with the Apple watch, I just don't need my watch to talk, text, check the weather, look at emails, etc.
<< Snipped bits out >>.

I don't either, Mike. The only thing in your list I do from time to time is: talk. If my phone is out of reach, I can answer on the watch. Most times I can dispatch what's needed without grabbing the phone.

It has a heart monitor, pulse, and checks for arterial fibulation. When you get to a certain age, those functions are very useful. I also use the notices.

 

[mikethompson]

When you get to a certain age, those functions are very useful

We need you around for as long as possible sir

 

[Briar Lee]

I just risked $18 for a refurbished watch from India.

The Chinese will sell you a complete, working brand new automatic watch for about $20 and I have several of those.

India still has lots of watchmakers who refurbish old watches and sell them to the United States.

This one does have a return guarantee.



From what I’ve read there was a huge Indian watch factory named HMT that was a subsidiary of Citizen that operated in India until about thirty years ago.

The watchmakers in India take old cases and rebuild and restore the entire watch and put on a new band.

This one looks like they used a Japanese dial and Japanese rotor.



The last watchmaker I knew retired a couple of years ago.

Yesterday I saw a local jewelry store advertised they had a watchmaker on the premises.

They do.

He will install batteries, for $10 or $15 while you wait up to two watches.

For all mechanical watches there’s a fifty dollar estimate fee from an outside watchmaker who has a minimum fee of three hundred dollars if you decide to hire him.

The geniune article, brand new, from Jomashop, is $112.

 

[Grangerous]

Here’s the latest addition to my wrist.

BB58 on a brown leather strap from Tudor.

I enjoy vintage inspired divers. 1958 inspired Tudor. -It’ll keep good company with my 1957 inspired Seamaster.

And Sub

 

[ADKPiper]

Rocking a Luminox right now.