Roamer Searock 1972c Restoration

Posted on 06/07/2011 by robswatches

Here’s a restoration that I did recently. I regret that I started work on the case before I started documenting progress with photographs so I have no pictures of the original condition, believe me, it was bad.

I Start with the main plate after it had been cleaned.  The balance assembly is in place, next is the incabloc jewels and setting the hairspring.  The centre wheel is put in place, the centre wheel bridge and then the train wheels.

Next is the mainspring and it’s assembly. These are the parts before being installed.                                                                                                                                                                                                      With the mainspring in place we now have power and the pallets can be installed, then the balance.   All runs well and the watch can be timed and tested in different positions. Any problems with timing will be picked up here but there will be a final timing just before the movement is cased.   Now the automatic mechanism is put in place, four wheels and their bridge is screwed down.  The last thing to be screwed in before the rotor is the rotor bearing. This has 7 steel ball bearings in this model but in the 44 jewel version they are ruby balls. The bearing is held in place with 3 screws.                                                      Now I can flip it over and start on the dial side.                 Here is main plate and in the next pic, the parts that will be installed.                                                                                                                                           Three screws hold the date plate in place and all is secure. The dial and hands await.

Now to the case. The perspex glass and the case wasn’t just scratched, it was gouged. I find that if I buff the glass too much that hairline cracks can appear so I couldn’t get the finish that I would have liked. The case could handle a good deal of cutting back. The back is another story. Like the rest of it, it was rather rough but here the more I cut back the more definition is lost.

With the case and glass finished the movement can be fitted to the case, the case ring, seal and the rotor attached to its bearing. I made a mistake in putting the rotor through the cleaning machine because the chemicals ate away all the nice printing on the rotor…..grrrrrr not happy with myself.  Put my mark with the date inside the back, screw the back on, and that’s it! 

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Seiko Automatic 1975

Posted on 29/06/2011 by robswatches

  

This is a beautiful example of an all original Seiko automatic from 1975.

Not a good contrast between hands  and dial (the only criticism I can come up with). The dial colour is beautifully subtle metallic gray with typically highly polished luminous hands. The sweep hand has a unique square luminous dot near the end. The markers are raised and also well polished and there is a chapter ring that matches the dial colour with luminous dots on the hours. The band is nicely integrated and has a unique pattern.

Inside is the legendary 7005 movement, possibly the most successful automatic movement ever, it’s derivatives are still in production today.

Signed four times, completely original and in perfect condition, I smile every time I look at this one.

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Swatch Mc Killop 1995

Posted on 25/06/2011 by robswatches

 

This watch is unusual among swatches because, not only is it mechanical but the back is actually removable. I think Swatch do this only to the mechanicals.

Swatch started deviating away from it’s original concept of keeping it stupidly simple around 1990. The first automatic was seen in 1991. This model, the Mc Killop, the name is inspired by the tarten strap, is from 1995 and the timing is by the amazing ETA 2842. I see this movements and/or its varients in watches 20 times the price. It is signed three times including on the glass and I love that.

About the Swatch brand

The original swatch range was introduced in 1983 with two styles, a large and a small for women. They came in various colourful designs. They were not repairable; the case was an entire single unit. The only maintenance possible was a battery change and a strap change. At A$50, they  where cheap, and were an instant success, possibly the greatest success of all time. During this period the biggest and proudest names in the game were one by one going to the wall, Swatch was there gobbling them up until Swatch controlled virtually the entire Swiss industry.

 

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Seiko 6138 Chronograph 1977

Posted on 25/06/2011 by robswatches

 

This watch is a little substandard as far as condition goes but it’s the only Seiko three register chronograph that I have so here it is.  (Not any more! I now have another, that has been posted)

The Seiko 6138 competes squarely with the more sophisticated Swiss Chronographs that were on the market at the time. Unlike the 6139 which was aimed, by price, purely at the mass market, this has two sub dials making it a 3 register, rather than the 6139’s 2 register and has auxiliary manual wind. These extra features make the movement quite bulky, 8mm thick compared to 6.9mm for the 6139A. But bulk in the 70s was good. In fact this watch has a ridiculously thick glass to match it’s thick case making it a hulk of a watch. This movement was made from 1970 to 1977 and this watch is 1977 so it was amongst the last of the Seiko mechanical chronos.

The glass has been replaced and is pristine but the dial is poor, faded with the chapter ring and tachymeter ring faded and possibly affected by moisture damage. It is signed 4 times and would have been a head turner in its day….but not any more.

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Bulova Chronograph 2006

Posted on 21/06/2011 by robswatches

  

In 2007 my retail business became Bulova agents and I chose this watch for myself to wear. I have a lot of personal watches but at any one time I have five in the bedroom from which I choose to wear on the day (I have five dayly wearers because I have a nice box in my bedroom that holds five watches). When I get sick of one it goes back into the collection and I look for another to replace it. So after 4 years, I look in my special box and, probably breaking the record, my Bulova Chronograph is still there.

This one uses the ETA 251-282 movement, three register chronograph with a dedicated seconds hand, and split time hand. In all this watch has 7 hands, 4 operating from the centre.

This is a special watch endorsed and signed by 2nd man on the moon Buzz Aldrin. This is to publicise Bulova’s involvement with NASA. Bulova has always been in the shadow of Omega when it comes to being associated with space exploration. Omega was the official astronauts’ watch and when Armstrong took his small step for man, he was wearing an Omega Speedmaster. Buzz Aldrin did not, because his Speedmaster was left back in the module. But Bulova played a huge part in providing the vital accurate official timing for the entire project through it’s state of the art, Accutron technology.

This watch is big and tough, it has a solid good feeling integrated bracelet, a nice, big screw down crown and a sapphire crystal that after the extensive wearing I’ve given this beauty, is still unmarked.

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Longines Dress 1977

Posted on 21/06/2011 by robswatches

This is a nice watch, one that I would have been happy to wear anytime from it’s conception in 1977 to the present day.  But I haven’t had it that    long, about 18months in fact. And when I bought it, it was not in good condition; no crown, not going, stained dial and scratched. Nothing that couldn’t be fixed.

So, fix it I did. But it did prove more costly than expected. The movement needed two new train wheels (unexpected), the crown was expensive, the glass had to be cut, but, on the positive side, the case polished up beautifully and the dial cleaned up nicely as well.

In 1977 Longines were developing quartz technology and had made some innovations in that direction, but, being a conservative high grade Swiss manufacturer, they did not abandon their image and here was a perfect example of non compromising quality.

It has a  nice contemporary shape, very plain, no date or second hand allowing it to be very thin. The L847.4 in house movement is only 2.5mm thick! This movement is beautifully finished with a micro regulator. The wheels seem a little light and therefore doesn’t have the robust look of counterparts like Certina or Zenith but it is, after all, a dress watch.

It sits beautifully on the wrist, signed three times, very thin, simple and just plain beautiful. More than good enough for my collection.

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Omega Dynamic 1970

Posted on 18/06/2011 by robswatches

DSCN6996The Dynamic is a badge that Omega has used a few times in the past. Perhaps best known are the 70’s series of Dynamics (first issued in 1969), with the typical oval shaped cases. Back then they were no. 1 on Omega’s sales list.

There were several case options but the oval shapes that I have here was by far the most popular, and they are popular to this day. Omega propaganda said that this case was ergonomically designed to sit perfectly on the average wrist; Yeah, right!! It has a monocoque case meaning there is no back. This is not new to Omega, it was used in some Constellations of the mid 60s. But!…….wait a minute! Looking underneath, we see something that screws off and looks like a back to me! In fact, it is there to hold the band in place.

The movement used in these is the workhorse of Omega Autos, the fabulous 752 and its variants (752 is day/date with quick date change, they also used the date only version and the wind up version).

Up to this time, Omegas where conservative, very stylish and practical. Popular with Doctors and accountants. The Dynamic was a clear shift down the sports path. They where distinctive, water resistant and tough.

They came with a strap or a bracelet.  I don’t think the original straps were leather. I’m going on memory from way back and I can’t find any info on this.  I remember some more
propaganda that said it was some special material that they developed. Anyway, leather is not too good for watches that are all purpose. And the strap turned out to be their weak spot. Standard straps would not fit the Dynamic, so it had to be original, and boy, when Omega have got you by the nuts they know how to squeeze hard. And when you have a heavy stainless steel watch with a strap that narrows to 14mm, it iDSCN6681s just too narrow at the buckle to last.

So, the first of these I brought was all original with a strap but only date, no day. The dial seemed a little faded.

Another came along, this one I should not have brought. Repainted dial (a bit dark), non original glass and non original strap.

Another came along. A 752  auto (day and date) this one in poor condition but all original with a bracelet. This was a perfect restoration job and, if I say so myself, I did a pretty good job of it. This is the only one I have now, I sold the other two, but I have added a matching ladies version. This is the only ladies watch that I have in my collection

As I said earlier, the Dynamics, as an Omega line, have resurfaced in the years that followed but they were like the Ford Mustang; they keep on re-releasing versions of it  but it’s the original that has that something special that made the name a legend.

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Bulova Accutron 1974

Posted on 14/06/2011 by robswatches

 

In 1974 quartz watches had just entered the scene at the very top of the market but stories were filtering down about this technology’s impeccable accuracy. This was serious stuff for Bulova who had for the previous 14 years the only worthwhile electronic watch on the market.  The Accutron’s only claim to fame was its accuracy, matched only by the very best chronometers but now there was a serious rival on the horizon.

So Bulova renamed this accutron the Accuquartz cashing in on the latest word in advanced technology. It also has a quartz crystal looking thing on the dial.

Bulova went on producing the tuning fork Accutron until 1977 but this is the only example I have seen with Accuquartz on the dial.  Bulova must have very quickly dropped this laughable attempt to confuse the consumer into thinking that instead of 14 year old tuning fork technology they were actually delving into the latest quartz technology.

This uses the latest 2242 (which has hardly advanced at all since the original in 1960)Has very nice hands and dial with day and date. It is signed four times; the dial, movement, back and clasp. The crown is not original and not signed.

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Seiko Duo Divers 1984

Posted on 14/06/2011 by robswatches

 

It’s hard to find a quartz watch in my collection but this one warrants a place.

It’s a 1984 Seiko Duo Divers watch, rated to 150 meters.

Duos, the name that Seiko called this type that combined digital and analogue displays made the watch very versatile with several functions. This one, (calibre H558) features; complete calendar, stopwatch, alarm and dual time. It also has a light to illuminate the digital display.

Seiko made a complete range of duos, from dress watches to everyday to special purpose watches such as this one.

The large black plastic trim made this watch very distinctive but was also it’s downfall, it was easily damaged and over time became brittle and would crack, bear in mind that this type of watch appeals not only to the amateur diver but also to the bloke that is going to subject it to some rough treatment.  This watch could handle just about anything that was dished up but the black trim didn’t.

It also another claim to fame. In the 1985 film, “A View to a Kill”, James Bond was wearing this Seiko in some scenes

This is a rare perfect example of this model, note the original plastic on the back.

 

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Tudor Prince 1980

Posted on 14/06/2011 by robswatches

  

On the 6th March 1946, Hans Wilsdorf, the co-founder of Rolex some 40 years earlier, launched a new watch that would sell at a modest price than Rolex and yet one that would attain the standards of dependability for which Rolex is famous. The new watch was called Tudor This Prince is a typical Tudor, it has Rolex  written all over it (literally and metaphoricaly).  The main difference is the movement. This 1980 watch uses the ETA 2784 automatic movement which is given an extra polish.  Just about everything else, from the date bubble to the serial number between the lugs, is Rolex.

The Tudor brand is no where near as popular as its big brother, probably because they are not cheap and for the purchaser who is in a position to consider a Tudor, he would likely go the extra few K and get the prestige that comes with a Rolex.

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