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Post pics of your watches Part II

Wibbs

And we're onto a new thread... Here's to the next 10,000. My first post in the last thread featured this watch I'm wearing today as it happens so seemed appropriate.

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Cyclingtourist

The NATO on my Pamphibia didn't really suit it so I bought this rubberised strap on Amazon from a crowd called 'Spaghetti Cactus, strap up let's go' (designed in UK) for what worked out just under €16 with prime.

Feels super comfortable.

Cyclingtourist

Seagull 1963 Panda (RS/HKED version).

banie01

unkel wrote: »

You're not the only one. The Milgauss wears small too. Gorgeous watch, arguably the classiest watch Rolex have made. But if you have big wrists and want to wear it as a daily watch, it's just too small. In my humble of course.

I moved my comment over to the chat thread, just incase you are wondering where it went

unkel

banie01 wrote:

Everytime I see that Milgauss I drool

Due to an essential bit of travel today, I got to try on my FILs Daytona today, 116500 ref.
Absolutely lovely watch but after having one on my wrist for an hr or so...
I have opinions that may be controversial.
I think it's too small. It wears beautifully, it's super comfortable but it falls into a strange place between sports watch and semi-formal

You're not the only one. The Milgauss wears small too. Gorgeous watch, arguably the classiest watch Rolex have made. But if you have big wrists and want to wear it as a daily watch, it's just too small. In my humble of course.

Birneybau

'kin hell Frank.

I'm dying to get a Milgauss.

hitemfrank

scwazrh

micks_address wrote: »

I did see some folks try and sell theirs on tz forums around same time for a tidy profit

Sure there would be no one on this forum that would try and profit from it

Wibbs

Fitz II wrote: »

Wibbs....bunch of cal 352 parts here maybe of use?

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Girard-Perregaux-Quartz-Cal-352-For-Parts-Watch-Vintage-For-Repair-Broken-Watche/143799398798?hash=item217b1cb18e:g:W9UAAOSwoblfkJb0

Cheers for that F!

Given the state of disrepair I'd bet the circuits are shot. The mechanicals and the stepping motors are probably ok(the latter being the best ever fitted to any quartz imho), but the seller's off his rocker at that kinda money. Three working ones would be around that in an open auction. The one on the right is a rarer type, maybe 5-600 for a working one.

Luckily I got spares a few years ago and have four working watches, two of which I'd happily cannibalise for this particular one because of its rarity and a bit of a sentimental attachment too

as I looked for one for more than five years, while posters on other forums were telling me they were prototype/advertising only models. Though of the ones out there whose history is known all were owned/presented to Motorola employees, the chipset supplier, so logical enough. I think they were too wacky even for the 70's and especially because those GP quartz were an expensive watch at the time, so people would be more likely to go for more traditional looks in that bracket.

micks_address

micks_address wrote: »

It’s my old watch Stowa flieiger which I bought in their used and checked sale and passed on at same price.

I did see some folks try and sell theirs on tz forums around same time for a tidy profit

micks_address

Trigger Happy wrote: »

Thats a lovely watch CT. What is it?

It’s my old watch

Stowa flieiger which I bought in their used and checked sale and passed on at same price.

Cyclingtourist

Trigger Happy wrote: »

Thats a lovely watch CT. What is it?

Stowa flieger that I bought from a fellow forumite (M's_A)who passed on the price reduction he got on it from Stowa.

Trigger Happy

Thats a lovely watch CT. What is it?

Cyclingtourist

mailforkev

Funky, reminds me of...

Fitz II

Wibbs....bunch of cal 352 parts here maybe of use?

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Girard-Perregaux-Quartz-Cal-352-For-Parts-Watch-Vintage-For-Repair-Broken-Watche/143799398798?hash=item217b1cb18e:g:W9UAAOSwoblfkJb0

Wibbs

Hadn't worn this in a few weeks and missed it, but it had stopped. Figured it was overdue a battery change...

Sadly not. It seems there's an issue with it.

Oddly enough looks to be not the quartz movement, but the date mechanism being gummed up and the keyless works, both known weaknesses and both designed and made by JLC of all people. Luckily I have spares for both as I try to do for early quartz, but usually because of fear of the leccy bits failing, not the mechanical.

Problem now is to find a watchmaker I can trust with that scarily rare dial(fewer than ten known).

cnocbui

IrishPlayer wrote: »

Wearing an appropriate watch for catching up on videos

It is amazing how small the watch looks compared to modern/20th century ones. But people were a lot smaller then. I've been to loads of military museums around Europe in particular, and am often surprised at how small the uniforms were for the average soldier. Even WW2 uniforms are tiny, so perhaps 'small' watches wore a bit larger when the men wearing them were themselves much smaller.

Lol. My father was a good 4" taller than me at 6'. I still have his RN woolen jumper which is in incredible nick. I used to have his sheepskin lined leather flying boots also, but they were too big for me and were missing when I cleared out my mothers house after she died.

But people were slim, before processed foods became a norm, you can really see it in music videos/films from the 60's and early 70's.

Pablo_Flox

pjdarcy wrote: »

Ball Engineer M Marvelight 43mm

Lume shot please!

dakar

I’d kinda forgotten about this one, my first ‘proper’ watch. Gave it a bit of a refresh with a NATO and its back in circulation.

IrishPlayer

Wearing my Nov 66 Dolphin Bell-Matic this Friday, hope everyone is well

fulladapipes

I seem to spend a lot of time in front of my fire:

Cyclingtourist

hitemfrank

pjdarcy wrote: »

Tritium filled, glass tube hour markers. In-house movement (cal. RRM7309-C)

It came on a steel bracelet but I didn't like the clasp so I swapped it for a leather strap.

The board now has a second, slightly larger Ball. We are now anatomically correct

The clasp is the reason I swapped mine to leather as well.

pjdarcy

Ball Engineer M Marvelight 43mm

Tritium filled, glass tube hour markers. In-house movement (cal. RRM7309-C)

It came on a steel bracelet but I didn't like the clasp so I swapped it for a leather strap.

hitemfrank

Trying the Tressa on a Barton sailcloth today

I may pick up a President style bracelet soon to complete the gold plated nonsense. If only I could find one at 19.5mm

micks_address

micks_address wrote: »

Yes I’d love to know where to source the strap

Looks like this is it

https://www.atelier-romane.com/

Rallye patina Cognac For Ω Buckle 18 mm
€130.00Price

Wibbs

I say this ...

Wibbs wrote: »

You do see a similar design minus the bezel made by Helvetia, who also seem to have been the main brand that produced this design at the time.

... and IP goes and fires up a pic of an actual example. Psychic or wha?

Wibbs

fulladapipes wrote: »

It is amazing how small the watch looks compared to modern/20th century ones. But people were a lot smaller then. I've been to loads of military museums around Europe in particular, and am often surprised at how small the uniforms were for the average soldier. Even WW2 uniforms are tiny, so perhaps 'small' watches wore a bit larger when the men wearing them were themselves much smaller.

Well IP's particular 1930's design for pilot watches did come in a few sizes. I've seen 28mm up to 45mm from different brands. I'd reckon most were nearer the 40mm. I'm wearing my version today. The one on the right.

Zenith Extra Special with centre second "complication"...

It's measures out at 43mm, not including the sticky outie crown(for winding while wearing gloves). The Longines on the left is 35mm, though actually has a slightly larger dial area. The dial area in the Zenith is smaller down to the rotating bezel. This particular design was the first to feature a rotating external bezel and pointer on a watch(for measuring flight intervals). Nobody has figured out where the design came from or who was the first brand to bring one out. The earliest dated example I've seen was a very late 20's Zenith. You do see a similar design minus the bezel made by Helvetia, who also seem to have been the main brand that produced this design at the time. Interestingly the only main Swiss brand who didn't were Rolex. I suspect because Rolex were more a British market watch, whereas this design was very much a European thing appealing to European tastes. British watch tastes were quite staid and you can even find WW1 Trench style watches still being made and sold into the late 1930's.

The size of these type of watches was also down to fitting a pocket watch size movement into a case. The bigger movement meant bigger (antimagnetic)balances and more power reserve which meant more accuracy. Longines Hour Angles/Weems and German Military B-Uhr(Laco, Stowa etc) would be other example of bigger watches using that principle. Again more a European mainland thing. Examples of issued British and American navigators watches were almost always smaller, even much smaller. 35mm, or in the case of one run of Longines Weems for the US market 28mm. Even the original Longines Hour Angles which were 40mm+ crept down under 40mm for the US market. It seems legibility wasn't so much a concern. Same for issued military watches for land and sea forces. Most were 35mm or under, though the slightly later British "Dirty Dozen" WWW issued watches were 35-37mm.

However that was an actual "tool watch" and wouldn't have been seen very rarely if ever in civilian life. It would have been deeply unfashionable, because most men's watches at that stage were like you note smaller, between 30-35mm, made of gold or gold plated and mostly 30's art deco style Tank watch designs. Men were generally thinner of wrist alright, but even so smaller was seen as better, except for very particular purposes(pilots and divers like the Panerai).

IrishPlayer

fulladapipes wrote: »

It is amazing how small the watch looks compared to modern/20th century ones. But people were a lot smaller then. I've been to loads of military museums around Europe in particular, and am often surprised at how small the uniforms were for the average soldier. Even WW2 uniforms are tiny, so perhaps 'small' watches wore a bit larger when the men wearing them were themselves much smaller.

They had a great exhibit featuring some uniforms and watches at the Aeronautical Museum Methodius Vlach, fantastic place that along with the Škoda Auto Museum I visited made for a great trip to Mladá Boleslav :cool:

micks_address

Trigger Happy wrote: »

Looks really nice.

The one thing that jumps out at me is that while the indices have that really good patina the hands don't which indicates new hands on an old watch - enough to put me off the head - but love the strap.

It might be the camera angle though.

Yes I’d love to know where to source the strap