Post pics of your watches ***Please NO QUOTING PHOTOS***

pychofairy wrote: »

Lovely watch Cyrus. Well wear.
Can't help but say I'm absolutely raging because my offer was accepted first.
I had the cash ready and was in the process of arranging a meeting with the seller when he suddenly wouldn't answer my calls and the add was mysteriously withdrawn. Very poor and ungentlemanly form from "adamc".

Not to put a downer on Cyrus' new watch, but if this was the case I'd suggest reporting/flagging that seller for the relevant Adverts mods. To be fair they take that kinda thing from sellers pretty seriously.

oooohhh that's nice.

Ohhhh more my age speed.

Homer wrote: »

Came across this on adverts and couldn't resist as everything else in my collection is pretty new. Also managed to get it at what I think was a pretty good price!

Should I be depressed?

From what I've researched it is a brand that rolex manufactured in the early 1900's for the Australian market, and I am told this dates from 1928. It is in perfect working order although no original box or strap.

Yea AFAIR they were allied with Rolex until the 30's. Nice find as even most Rolex collectors won't have heard of this. Yours looks right for the 20's alright. I can't quite make out the hallmarks on the back plate, but that'll nail it down.

It's got a porcelain dial which looks in great condition. They have tendency to crack, but when they don't they look as new as the day they were made and will continue to do so for literally centuries. It's also got a so called military or trench watch dial, that would have been filled with radium for lume in the past. I see some of that is still adhering to the hands. Now you can be paranoid about it, but I'd not worry. Not unless you're opening the watch. Over time the dust can permeate through the watch if it's never been serviced(which is unlikely TBH).

Haven't checked to see how it is running time wise +/- but it is running on time for the last few hours spot on.

Fair play. Now remember it is a very old watch with an uncertain service history so if you can get it serviced by a good watchmaker that will make it even more reliable. I notice by the movement pic the regulator is hard over to the right(R/S, retard/slow) to slow it down. Common enough and usually easy enough to solve with a service. Hell you can even source new mainsprings for watches of this vintage. These watches were meant to be pretty much once in a lifetime type purchases and designed to be repairable.

As an aside, you'll often read on ebay and other sellers "don't expect an old watch to hold good time". Not true unless there's a lot of wear. They're jus covering their bottoms. Quality 15 jewel movements like yours from this time can be regulated to be very accurate, even close to (mechanical)chronometer accurate. My most accurate watch is a 1916 15 jewel longines "trench watch". It varies around 3 seconds a day, but hovers around bang on the money over time. My 1930's zenith with it's big oul pocket watch balance and really impressive work by an old watchmaker(sadly retired) was even more consistent(before it took one helluva knock ). Set it on a Sunday and the following sunday if it was out 3 seconds it would be odd enough. Indeed over a year compared to an unregulated Quartz that consistently gained a couple of seconds a week it would likely be more accurate.

One of the bars for the strap is broken so will need somebody to look at that?

Like Peasant suggested a decent jeweler would sort that quick smart. However it would require the movement to be removed because of the heat involved. This would be a good time for that service and maybe get a new crystal. You can get them handy enough too. I got one for a 40's watch for under a fiver recently.

Any ideas for a strap for it? It's going to be a keeper anyway and too small for my manly wrists

Thank god and scrawny genes I've not got that problem but I know what you mean. Watches back then were much smaller compared to today, except for very rare specialist stuff. Odd enough considering that wristwatches were considered girly up to and even after the first world war. Indeed one story tells of a Court judge in the US asking a lawyer to leave because he was wearing one(and wasn't an ex army man). And this was in the 20's. You would think they would have beefed up the size to make it more "butch" but no. Check out this ad from just after the armistice...


You'll note a few things aimed at "manning them up" 1) if yer man's wrist and hand was any hairier, he'd be in a zoo, or arrested for excessive onanism. 2) They write "the armistice releases them to the civilian". IE it's manly enough for fighting men goddamit! we have all these "wristlets" that we dunno how to sell and 3) "The handy extra watch for men". IE So long as you also have a pocket watch you're not a puff. What Alexander the Great, one of the best military men and fighters of all time, excessively concerned with his appearance and a "puff" would think is anyone's guess. The joke is if a man produced a pocket watch today people would assume he was a bit "odd". Swings and roundabouts.

As for straps? Originally it would have had a thin strap, either hand sown to the lugs or a one piece. Here's another ad from the great war teens era from Omega this time to illustrate(it seems they liked their straps long and going all the way around the wrist).


Doesn't really work today. I agree with Peasant. Something antique type leather in brown. To beef up it's size you could go for a cuff/trench/bund type style EG the bay or from this chap. The latter guy has some really nice quality stuff.

He's also trying to work out the history of early wristwatches like ours and well worth a read and if you have something from that ear worth sending him pics. I must do that myself.

The history of early wristwatches is surprisingly sketchy and surprisingly recent. EG Girard-Perregaux make much of the claim that they invented the first male and military wristwatch for the German navy(IIRC) in the 1880's, yet out of the 1000's they supposedly produced not a single solitary one has ever come forward and they don't even have one themselves. Odd for a supposedly official contract placed my a Prince/king IIRC. IWC say 1910 I gather, yet I've an American wristwatch from the previous year and I've seen again American wrist watches for men a little earlier than that. Then again IWC and others never let actual facts get between them and PR. IWC studiously avoid mentioning that the inspiration for their "big pilots" watch was a product of an order from Germany in the late 30's under a certain Austrian gent who shared a facial barber with Charlie Chaplin. Oh fcuk no. TBH I dunno why. I mean chances are at least one of us here drives a Beemer or a Merc and they made engines for fighter planes and bombers(bloody good ones too). Hell BMW's logo is a stylised propeller. Brietlings aviation history is so far behind marques like Longines and others they'd need the Hubble to see them. To be fair to Rolex and stylistically they never really appealed to me, they don't do this. They were one of the major drivers of the popularity of the wristwatch in the early days. They spotted that coming market very well. Hans Wilsdorf was the Steve jobs of his day. A clever bloke who while not really innovating themselves could spot the innovators and innovations and capitalise on it. And fair play.

The early wristwatch era is fascinating to me. And you've got a lovely part of that history Homer. Good find and good call and well may you wear! Cheered me up to see it among all these flash modern kids vying for wrist time.



PS I just pulled the trigger on yet another early wristlet myself. Needs some work but watch this space..