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

Cienciano

sparrowcar wrote: »

Postman had a little Russian number for me yesterday. Binned the tin cheap bracelet that came with it but the watch itself is a serious bit of kit for the money.

Tried a few different straps on but it actually goes well with most colours.

All for €75 delivered (5 weeks)

They're unreal for €75. If that was a microbrand starting out they could charge €200 and people would be happy to pay it.

Thirdfox

The thing is they would have to charge €200 for it since the tooling costs and low quantities made (comparatively to Vostok) would push the price up

Cienciano

Thirdfox wrote: »

The thing is they would have to charge €200 for it since the tooling costs and low quantities made (comparatively to Vostok) would push the price up

Hey, you don't need to justify the price for your watch, I know you're not making a profit!
But on vostok tooling, here's a nice insight into the place. Video is in russian, but still interesting to see.

Thirdfox

Cienciano wrote: »

Hey, you don't need to justify the price for your watch, I know you're not making a profit!

Just in case I get misquoted - I certainly am making a profit - I can't run the risk of making a loss on any project if I set margins so thin that I expect 0 profits to be made at the end.

If no profits are made no money can be put into future development either.

And I'm not taking a 0 "salary" at the end of this (hopefully - all depends on numbers of course - R&D fund comes first in priorities) I've actually spoken to a reviewer (off record) in terms of the finances so they know my plans. Anyway this is very OT for this thread - just want to make sure no-one is under confusion that Sólás is a non-profit project (I think it wouldn't be exactly fair to expect that either as that would value the roughly 1000-1500 hours of work (pleasurable work ) I estimate I'll have put in by the end at 0)

What I meant was simply that larger brands have economies of scale that micro-brands don't have when starting off (not commenting about Sólás at all ) - it could mean that an individual making exactly the same thing could need to charge double because they are producing smaller numbers/need new moulds etc. while making the same profit as Vostok does on the Amphibia. Purely explaining the economics of why someone might need to charge double for the same thing (though you would hope it's not exactly the same - since it'll be a fake then :P )

banie01

Had a fairly laden down postie this morning.
Seiko Arnie I bought a few weeks ago and the Invictas from tmg.

Now considering the Seiko was €350....
This is a very long way from being the worst €500 I've ever spent

The young fella has 2 new watches, and I have a couple of beaters that are far too good for what I paid for them and my very own Arnie

Birneybau

Delivery today. Da Arnie. Thanks Wibbs.

oxocube

Came this morning after 10 weeks of post from Mother Russia :rolleyes:

Might not be a keeper as I've come to the conclusion that I like only sport watches :P

Hard to get a good shot of the dial but it really pops in the sun

Cyclingtourist

My newly acquired Seagull 1963.

Feels quite comfortable on the supplied NATO but I have a leather two-piece on order. I particularly like the dial colour. Crown is a bit undersized for hand-winding but otherwise I'm very happy with the watch overall.

tedpan

Was going through the attic and found my Grandad's old Cyma Automatic, it wasn't my style when he gave it to me and has been up there for years. Now I have better taste and think it's pretty smart, even with the small scratch on the crystal. It still has the original strap from 1968 and seems to be keeping time, probably needs a service! Looking at the dates on the back (1929-1968) I'm guessing it was actually my great grandfather's watch unless my granddad started working when he was born!

Thoughts or advice on servicing?

Thirdfox

I used John in the past - he's quite busy the last I spoke to him though:
https://thevintagewatch.net/

tedpan

Thirdfox wrote:

I used John in the past - he's quite busy the last I spoke to him though:

Cheers, I'm going to use it for a week to see how it performs. I don't think it's had much wear and has been in a box since 1980. I'm guessing it has never had a service..

Thirdfox

It looks in great condition! It's always a debate with these things - do you want to service it if the servicing cost might cost more than the watch itself etc... not saying that's definitely the case but if it's running well and you want to wear it rather than "preserve" it necessarily then it might be worth considering keeping it as is.

tedpan

Thirdfox wrote:

It looks in great condition! It's always a debate with these things - do you want to service it if the servicing cost might cost more than the watch itself etc... not saying that's definitely the case but if it's running well and you want to wear it rather than "preserve" it necessarily then it might be worth considering keeping it as is.

Cheers, was having similar thoughts.. To be honest I'd be happy enough if it runs well enough to wear on the odd special occasion.

redlead

tedpan wrote: »

Cheers, I'm going to use it for a week to see how it performs. I don't think it's had much wear and has been in a box since 1980. I'm guessing it has never had a service..

Scratch on the crystal aside, it looks in great condition. You might as well just get that replaced as it would make a perfect dress watch. 18k gold too! It reminds me of the Omega Geneve.

The exact same one is up for sale on chrono24 for about 800 bucks with the same dates on the back - Findo Eskimo Frood Ltd. Is that the same as your one? It might suggest that the date on the watch is related to the company and not the actual worker it was presented to so could be your grandfather's after all.

tedpan

redlead wrote: »

Scratch on the crystal aside, it looks in great condition. You might as well just get that replaced as it would make a perfect dress watch. 18k gold too! It reminds me of the Omega Geneve.

The exact same one is up for sale on chrono24 for about 800 bucks with the same dates on the back - Findo Eskimo Frood Ltd. Is that the same as your one? It might suggest that the date on the watch is related to the company and not the actual worker it was presented to so could be your grandfather's after all.

Cheers! I had a look and it seems to be identical. My one is from the J Lyons company in the UK, the message is similar and just a year out on the dates. The Cyma must have been the corporate choice at the time. I will never sell the watch but am glad to see it has some value. Wonder how much a new crystal would cost..

redlead

tedpan wrote: »

Cheers! I had a look and it seems to be identical. My one is from the J Lyons company in the UK, the message is similar and just a year out on the dates. The Cyma must have been the corporate choice at the time. I will never sell the watch but am glad to see it has some value. Wonder how much a new crystal would cost..

I actually googled the company name out of curiosity because I never heard of it and I think it was a division of J Lyons so it would make sense that they were both offering the same watch. It looks like a domed acrylic crystal on it which wouldn't be expensive but the problem is getting one to fit. I never heard of the brand before to be honest so not sure how easily available they would be. The chap in KK that TF linked would be able to let you know. Other than that, you might be able to polish it out yourself.

Thirdfox

Toothpaste or polywatch (if you're fancy) will polish out scratches from acrylic crystals - mind you I've never done it myself - but if you search I'm sure you'll find tons of Youtube videos on how to do it.

hitemfrank

It's stupidly simple.

Put Polywatch on acrylic. Rub with clean cloth. Repeat if necessary.

tedpan

hitemfrank wrote:

It's stupidly simple.

hitemfrank wrote:

Put Polywatch on acrylic. Rub with clean cloth. Repeat if necessary.

Lovely! Haven't had experience with acrylic crystal, will definitely try that.

This is it

Can move to another thread but quick question, is there an easy way to remove what looks like a blemish from sapphire crystal? Got a quote of approx €200 from Watchfix but if there was something I could try that is very low risk I'd like to try it.

Thirdfox

Replied to you on the watchmen thread

tedpan

Quick update on the Cyma, it seems to be running well(hasn't lost any time in the last 5 hours). There are a few quirks, when setting the time the second hand doesn't stop so can't align the second hand to the 'actual time.' Also, there's no quick set date option so you have to manually roll the crown 24 hours for each day, will leave it as it is for now so as not to put stress/damage the internal movement. Really liking it so far, it's a pity that it was locked away for so long..

Edit, Further updates..

1. I ordered the polywatch, cheers for the advice guys!
2. I took the watch off last night and it's still keeping perfect time 11 hours later. Very pleased with the reserve!

blue5000

tedpan wrote: »

Quick update on the Cyma, it seems to be running well(hasn't lost any time in the last 5 hours). There are a few quirks, when setting the time the second hand doesn't stop so can't align the second hand to the 'actual time.' Also, there's no quick set date option so you have to manually roll the crown 24 hours for each day, will leave it as it is for now so as not to put stress/damage the internal movement. Really liking it so far, it's a pity that it was locked away for so long..

Try change the date by winding the hour hand past midnight to 3am then back to 11pm then forward again to 3am. It might go forward a day each time you pass 12 without having to go the full 24 hrs

hitemfrank

Playing about with an app on my phone during a quiet spell in work this morning.

Birneybau

What's the app?

hitemfrank

Pixlr

There are ads and a lot of stuff is locked behind payment (mostly frames from what I can see) but for doing collages and colour editing it's easy to use and free.

893bet

Mine for a few weeks. Swapped with friend for my PO as he wanted to try it.

banie01

That's a really stunning piece 893bet.
Very nice indeed!

That said, aside from the Grand Seiko loveliness!
I am a fan of a crown at the 4.

893bet

banie01 wrote: »

That's a really stunning piece 893bet.
Very nice indeed!

That said, aside from the Grand Seiko loveliness!
I am a fan of a crown at the 4.

It is tasty but not for me on a permanent basis. Wonderful finishing as expected. Bezel catches the light in a lovely way as seen in the first image.

Weighs a tonne!

banie01

893bet wrote: »

It is tasty but not for me on a permanent basis. Wonderful finishing as expected. Bezel catches the light in a lovely way as seen in the first image.

Weighs a tonne!

In the 1st photo, I actually thought it was a 2 tone bezel.
Is it spring drive?