| Author | Message | ||
     Buellshyter |
The world's first true atomic wristwatch, the Hewlett Packard 5071A  | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
I've never been so proud to own a "sub luxury" watch. The best bang for the buck is in the "Sub Luxury" watch market. You get the best, most accurate, most durable watches at the most reasonable prices. I also like the vintage and new old stock market. If you can fog a mirror and have $6,000, you can have a Rolex today, but I prefer to purchase watches you can not find anywhere else. For the same price as a Rolex, I can buy 4 NOS vintage watches that you can't find anywhere. That's where the excitement is! | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
Buellshyter, I wondered why your right forearm was so large. Now I know!  | ||
| Midknyte |
If you can fog a mirror hehe, that's funny http://www.tokyoflash.com/ - home of incredibly obscure, and even some usable watches... | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
Midknyte, My brother-in-law is a computer geek and has a binary watch. I'm too stupid to be able to read it. I feel like:  | ||
| Perry |
There are 10 kinds of people in this world - those who can read binary watches and those who can't. | ||
| Buellshyter |
No, my right forearm is big from being single...lol. Seriously, that isn't me in the picture but I thought it was funny. | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
right forearm is big from being single | ||
| Mikej |
You folks are going to make me dig out a few watches, aren't you.  I'll post pics later tonight or tomorrow to see if I can stump the expert, or at least show him something he maybe hasn't seen lately. | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
Ain't hard to stump a stump! Please dig out what you have. I love to see new watches. I have my eye on that Orfina NOS. I am talking with the place that is selling it right now! I never new it existed until I started this thread. That is what happens. You hear about something that you didn't know existed, and suddenly you have something else to covet! | ||
| Rocketman |
I never new it existed until I started this thread. Where's my cut Ft  Rocket | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
Rocket, Talk to Hans in Switzerland. I'm sure he'll be happy to cut you a check. | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
EVER SEE A MECHANICAL DIGITAL WATCH?   This is a Caravelle "Digital". It was created about the time that Quartz watches and LED watches were coming into vogue. It tapped into the stylistic desire to move away from the old fashioned "analog" displays. My Aunt had one of those number flip display alarm clocks. Every minute it would flip another number over like a Rolodex. This watch is similar in its design. Instead of rotating hands, the numbers swing around. The movement is still mechanical:  Caravelle was a lower quality watch in the Bulova family. The movement is basically a Bulova design. Rolex does the same thing. Their lower family member is Tudor. Tudor's have the same movement as Rolex, but the cases are not quite as fancy, and of course the name isn't there. So if you REALLY REALLY want a Rolex because you thing their movement is the best ever made, you can buy a Tudor.   | ||
| Mikej |
Years ago I used to work with an engineer who collected pocket watches. Every year he would take a week or two and go to England and visit with some watch makers he knew who still at that time hand built their watches and cut all the gears by hand. I've always wanted to go there and see that done ever since, haven't made it there yet though, don't even know if anyone there still does that, and most likely could not afford one if they do. Anyway, here's a couple of mine. Can't find it now but a fun one I have is one that chirps like birds, has four different bird calls on it, fun at work or other places in the springtime without anyone knowing about the watch on my wrist. These I did find squirreled away in various places around the house: This pocket watch says "Illinois" on the bezel. Inside the back on the works it says "Banker" and "Adjusted 3 positions" and "19 Jewels" and "Double Roller" and "Illinois Watch Co Springfield". The cover says "Elgin Giant Watch Case Co. Elgin U.S.A." and "Guaranteed 14K Gold Filled 25 Years" and "Double Stock" and "Pride", the Pride is inside an oval. There is also a serial number inside the cover, and a different serial number on the watch works.     This wrist watch says "Jaquet" and "Automatic" on the bezel. On the rear cover it says "Swiss Waterproof Automatic" and "Stainless Steel Back" and "20 Microns P" and has a "TC" inside a polygon, there is also a serial or other number. I don't know if that is a diamond, a diamond chip, or a piece of glass at the 12 o'clock position on the bezel. The bummer about this watch is that the winding knob unscrewed one day while I was setting the date and I'm not sure how to properly screw it back on tight enough to stay and I don't want to have it fall off someplace while I'm wearing it. It was a gift from my mom. I haven't had the back off this watch yet since I don't have a tool to remove or unscrew the rear cover.   This next one is a panel mount stop watch. One the bezel it says "Jaquet" and "Made in Switzerland". On the back there is a tag on the side of the body with Type 300CP and a serial number. One button on front starts and stops it, one resets it to zero, and the third one winds it up. The gears seen on the back are the winding gears. I haven't had this one open yet as I wasn't sure what would come flying out if I did open it up. I would like to someday get the glass on it replaced. Bought it on e-bay several years ago "just because", and haven't decided where to mount it yet. Not sure what it's original purpose was but have seen a couple of other ones almost identical to this one at local auctions around the Milwaukee area.    And somewhere around here I've also got an old digital watch like I first saw way back in the early 1970's that a friend bought for more that I'd paid for running cars at the time. Don't remember the brand or even if it's worth anything these days. You have to push the button for the numbers to light up in order to tell what time it is, and it takes two batteries and goes thru them fast. I don't think it's a Casio, might be though, don't know, lost in the back of a drawer in any case where I'll find it again one day and go off on a search for more batteries to wear it again until the batteries die again where it will then return to being lost in the back of a drawer someplace around here until I find it again once more and repeat the cycle..... Anyway, any input or knowledge you could provide about these clocks/watches/time-pieces would be appreciated. And sorry for the photo quality, best I could do under the conditions and tungsten lighting and an older digital camera. Watches and clocks are neat. | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
Beautiful watches. Pocket watches are very difficult to research. There are folks that know them much better than me. I have a pocket watch that I can't even get information about. The Jaquet watch could be part of the Jaquet-Droz watch group, or it could be a separate brand. I can't find anything on Jaquet as a separate brand, so it very well could be part of the Jaquet-Droz group. The watch you have is a 20 micron gold filled, automatic Swiss movement, The band does not appear to be original. It was probably on a leather strap originally, but was swapped over to the existing band. I would recommend that you have a watch maker to repair the stem and have the watch serviced. I would say that the stone is a diamond chip. It appears to be in fairly good condition. The face would probably not need to even be restored. When the watch is serviced, it would have the dust removed and overall it would be cleaned. If you wanted to go toward a full restoration, you could have the plating redone as well as have the hands redone. The other stopwatch is really cool. It looks like something from a naval or submarine application. Frickin' goose eggs man. I got nothin'! | ||
| Gentleman_jon |
Mike, I don't know much about your particular Illinois, except that it looks like a higher grade pocket watch , perhaps from the 1920's. At that time, American watch makers, Hamilton, Illinois, Elgin, Howard and Waltham, to mention the most well known, made most of the the watches that Americans wore. They made watches at a variety of price points, and the highest quality ones were very highly regarded. These watches were pocket watches, and most of the companies that made them were put out of business by pressure from the Great Depression and then the Swiss wristwatch not long after WW ll. Perhaps the pinnacle of American watch making was the Railroad watch. These watches were made by all of the companies mentioned above, and the quality was impeccable. The were sort of the American equivalent of the marine chronometer. While the English roamed the high seas in the pursuit of Empire, Americans laid railroad track to conquer a vast continent. Early trains relied to a certain extent on the accuracy of these watches, which had to be accurate to within 30 seconds per month. They were checked for accuracy regularly. Many gentlemen wore railroad watches as a status symbol: the Rolex of the day. Here is a particularly nice Illinois Bunn Special from the Goldberg collection, ( mine is in the safe). Other examples, even more prized, had a second small dial that showed how long the watch had been running since last wound: a highly desirable complication that was thought to improve accuracy.   These watches are very well documented on the web, and a few minutes on Google will yield a lot of information. | ||
| Midknyte |
right forearm is big from being single heheh, and now that I own a Buell - my left hand is as strong as my right one  | ||
| Freezerburn |
Aren't all of us male Buelligans so manly that both forearms are equally developed? | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
Aren't all of us male Buelligans so manly that both forearms are equally developed? Or other parts calloused? | ||
| Freezerburn |
Yeah, and I use 80 grit TP! | ||
| Midknyte |
Ok, back to Watch porn http://watchismo.blogspot.com/2006/12/internal-art -richard-mille-tubular.html  | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
Not bad for $38,000! | ||
| Etennuly |
I quit wearing watches when I realized I can no longer go anywhere with out my #$%$#$%^ cell phone!  Then along came the issue of bifocals and wearing a watch for days without being able to see what time it is because I didn't have my glasses with me. And what about that ghostly looking white mark left when you get that summer tan? And the nasty smell of a leather band when it gets sweat soaked? I just can't get into collecting things that I can't ride or drive. | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
I have two "classes" of watch. There is the uncovered and covered. For uncovered, I wear an Ironman or G-Shock or other watch that I don't mind crushing. Otherwise, I have watches that I only wear when I can "cover" them with a cuff. During the summer, I don't wear a watch as much for the reasons you have listed. | ||
| Rocketman |
My favourites thus far in this thread, or mail from Ft, has to be these two. I'm not a fan of white faced watches but this is a princely exception.  Rocket | ||
| Rocketman |
And this has so much style it just exudes class even on the wrist of a pauper I'd guess. As bold as it is (was) there still seems something understated about it, which is cool. Maybe in 1969 it was a completely different story though, and it wreaked of wealth.  Can anyone throw up a good image of the Heuer Monaco like Steve McQueen wore in Le Mans, or was this it? Rocket (Message edited by rocketman on December 07, 2006) | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
That is it. That IS the McQueen Monaco. 1969 was the end of the battle to bring the first automatic chronograph to the market. The McQueen Monaco represented all that was fast, performance, and cutting edge. That watch had the 17 Jewel Caliber 12 Heuer/Breitling movement. In 1969, it was the best you could get!   The movement in this watch is HUGE. The watch face measures 1.77" inches wide and 1.89" tall. If you're a buck thirty soaking wet, don't bother! | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
This watch:  Is unique in that it tracks, years, months, days of the week, days of the month, lunar phase, leap years, and of course the time accurate to within +/-6 seconds per day. That kind of precision from gears and springs is amazing to me. Amazingly, it was completely Y2K compliant! | ||
| Tleighbell |
Saw a little clip of a Swiss watch being assembled in a Future Shop the other day, just a demonstration clip for the big screens. I don't know what it was called or how to get to see it but I suspect it might start some heavy breathing among the contributors to this thread. I could stop by the store and try to track it down if anyone is interested. | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
Mmmmmmmmmmm! Swiss Porno!!!!!! In High Def even!!!!!  |
