Post pics of your watches Part II

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.

Can't go too far wrong at 16 quid.

Wearing this this again today

Wibbs wrote: »

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

Thought I'd show the engine under the bonnet and try to explain what's going on.



A Zenith Calibre 15/16 IIRC. Antimagnetic, 16 jewel with fine cam regulator and Breguet overcoil. Originally with the fourth wheel driving the seconds hand in a subdial at 6(or 9) which had been the way with pocketwatches before them and the vast majority of wristwatches when they came along, because well, it's easy, the fourth wheel is right there ready to drive the seconds hand. You see a few rare examples of early trench watches with centre seconds, often in smaller ladies sizes for nurses. Most of these Zenith Pilot's watches came with the standard subsecond(very rare ones had no seconds), but some got this complication to allow for more precise timing and more at a glance indicator that the damned thing was still running. How it works is:



Where the fourth wheel on the left would normally drive the seconds in the subdial, power is transferred through the third wheel to a seconds gear(that extra gear on the top right), with a spring to keep it under tension, driving the centre seconds hand through the minutes. They have a slightly different less smooth sweep if you look closely enough because of this arrangement. Later on it was actually Zenith who came up with the direct centre seconds we see in all watches today.

Funny enough it was considered enough of a complication that Patek outsourced its construction of their indirect seconds to another movement maker(whose name escapes Valjoux/Lemania?). Though for much of their history Patek were actually a high class finisher of bought in movements. Chronographs in particular. They didn't build their own until this century. Longines were the first to bring an inhouse wristwatch specific chrono movement to market in 1913 and were the inhouse chronograph marque for much of the 20th century.

Indirect seconds were seen as such a PITA that you see the evolution of the "Doctor's watch" layout in the 20's and 30's.



Where they kept the basic subdial seconds layout but enlarged the dial around it. the Rolex Prince another example from that era. The above Gruen is fancy in one way, it has an early date window function.

That's about the most legible and usable Daytona dial in my humble.

The hands are from the very earliest of the Vostok dive watches. I see what you mean about the Sinn though.