The wrist watch.

[ADGENTNC]

:fedora: Yeah, I count my blessings daily!

 

[Michaelson]

As well you should! :cheers1: High regards! Michaelson

 

[Biltmore Bob]

OT but...

I just got three westclox pocket watches. Two keep good time if I wind them same time every day. Two run about twenty minutes slow in twentyfour hours. I have heard that they probably just need cleaning. Any thoughts?

 

[Michaelson]

Not really worth fooling with. Nice old 'dollar' type watches, but don't put any money in them. Regards! Michaelson

 

[Wild Root]

If they run fast, they need cleaning. If they run slow well, they need cleaning.

I saw that my 1940 Bulova was running two hours fast once. I took it in and had it cleaned. Works perfect now.

Root.

 

[Michaelson]

Not necessarily. It could just require regulating/timing, and that can be done by adjusting the regulator whip at the back of the movement. Rule of thumb is it's a plus/minus 30 second correction from dead center of the regulator scale to max fast or slow, for a total correction of one minute per 12 to 24 hour period.

There are so many things it COULD be, like I said, it's not really worth pursuing unless it was a higher quality jeweled movement, which the Westclox are not.

Regards! Michaelson

 

[Wild Root]

Yes, you speak wisely. I agree with you on the Westclox thing. They were cheap watches and well, I was told the same thing by a watch man. It's not worth fixing it if it's got no Jewell movement.

Try and adjust it by the little switch in the back and you might fix it.

Good luck,

Root.

 

[Michaelson]

...or, just set the one back that's not keeping time as a parts watch to support the longevity of the two good timekeepers! Something to consider...
Regards! Michaelson

 

[Biltmore Bob]

Yeah I already thought of that one, thank for the input you two.

 

[ADGENTNC]

Wow, Michaelson, you should migrate east to NC and come work for my store...You seem to know more about watches than our current bench watchmaker!!! :clap

 

[Michaelson]

I know enough to be dangerous, but that just comes with how long I've been dabbling with the study of horlogy....(grins) Thanks! High regards! Michaelson

 

[feltfan]

Cricket and Lord Elgin "digital"

Wild Root seems to have a knack for knowing the various things
that interest some of us vintage hounds. At some point I'll get
around to photographing my electric fans. For the moment, let me
make my first attempt to post photos on this site, by showing a couple
of watches. Let me know if there are any issues with this posting and
the images- I'm testing out Flickr.com.

The first watch is a Swiss Vulcain "Cricket", so named because it
has an alarm. I understand this to be a 40s watch. It is a hand wind
and is my regular wear watch. The alarm is actually a wind up bell
and hammer and is so forceful I can feel it like a joy buzzer in a room
too loud to hear it (punk rock concert, etc). The alarm setting is on
6 in this photo and is turned on/off by the button above the stem.

Its radium moved a geiger counter enough that I have been told it
would have to be kept behind a shield in a lab. Unfortunately,
radium has a short half life and it doesn't glow much anymore.
No, it's not dangerous to me (it was banned because the people who
painted it licked their brushes).

http://photos22.flickr.com/28030859_c4936fde6b.jpg

The other is a gold filled Lord Elgin. It's for special occasions. You can
see it is already slightly dinged- it's soft. It's a 50s watch, also hand
wind, and I am told Elvis had one (he probably had one of everything).
The "cool" thing about it, as you can see, is that it is "digital". I have
seen a stainless steel version, with divets intended to make it look like
a golf ball.

http://photos23.flickr.com/28030871_9b2a0800e9.jpg

For the hat geeks, it's sitting on a 50s Stetson Panama I have
had around for a while.

BTW, elsewhere there has been some discussion of the difficulty of
finding vintage items for larger men of today. Long vintage watch
bands are very hard to find. Anyone got a source?

 

[Jay]

My only two watches are my 1945 A-11 Waltham and a 1940s square-faced Bulova I got from my dad. The only problem with the Bulova is that everyone always asks me "izzat a girls watch?" I guess since its not overly large modern folks can't tell the difference.

 

[Mycroft]

I got a few of modern ones. But, I wear pocket watches (new, but lookign for vintage) with a suit (I hate the watch under the cuff feeling). I have one vintage, a pocket watch from late-1800's to 1920's, but it broke before I reseved it as a gift, looking to repar it. I am also, thanks to Paddy's links for a WWII American GI or Pilots watch.

 

[PADDY]

1930's Cyma (Swiss) men's Art Deco wrist watch (PICS)

Just sold this (On TFL ) and it's a marvellous little Art Deco watch from the 30's made by one of a handful of premier Swiss watch company's of the Golden Era (CYMA). It winds well, keeps 'great time' over a 24 hour period and amazingly still has it's original leather strap (in basically NOS condition!! ). This baby wouldn't look out of place on the wrist of Rick in Casablanca or any of the silver screen Hollywood crowd as they take the boat out to Avalon for the weekend!
This little watch (as was the style back then) has a BIG heart of Gold (literally!), set off by the beautifully domed crystal and stepped case that just cries out ART DECO..!!

Who ever said, "size matters!!" as this little fella is a head turner as much as 'today' as in his 'hay day!!'









[/QUOTE]

 

[ingineer]

Here is a good reason to buy a vintage watch now:
This what ETA says:
http://store.swatch.com/sistem51#/products
This is what it is:
http://watchguy.co.uk/review-a-trip-inside-the-swatch-sistem51-eta-c10111/
Makes me ill
Richard

 

[jamespowers]

Here is a good reason to buy a vintage watch now:
This what ETA says:
http://store.swatch.com/sistem51#/products
This is what it is:
http://watchguy.co.uk/review-a-trip-inside-the-swatch-sistem51-eta-c10111/
Makes me ill
Richard

Oh boy---a soldered plastic watch. It is a wonder that it runs---but not for long. A vintage watch makes that $150 spent seem incredibly stupid.....

 

[nickmathis]

Even without much knowledge about watches, I can say that Swatch goofed up with these. Pretty horrifying.

Watches and clocks have been a fascination of mine since childhood, so I would very much like to learn more about them and one day collect. If I do, maybe I'll start with the Hamilton 1935 Dixon.

Long live the vintage watch!

 

[jamespowers]

Even without much knowledge about watches, I can say that Swatch goofed up with these. Pretty horrifying.

Watches and clocks have been a fascination of mine since childhood, so I would very much like to learn more about them and one day collect. If I do, maybe I'll start with the Hamilton 1935 Dixon.

Long live the vintage watch!

That would be a good one to start with.

 

[tmal]

I see that there is a website for Hamilton Watch Co. Is the the same Hamilton of legend? I remember the watches from WW2 that many men wore for years.
Also, every good car mechanic in the old days wore a Hamilton, at least in my neck of the woods. In other words if I buy one of these watches am I getting a real Hamilton?