automatico

Blasts from the Past... L to R...14K Hamilton 'Wesley' from the 1940s, 9K Buren Grand Prix from the 1930s, 14K Pierce from the 1920s/30s, 14K Lord Elgin with 'step side' case from the 1950s. The Hamilton looks like new. The Buren has a 15 jewel high grade movement with 'three finger bridges' and uses a 'sew on' or one piece strap, the strap bars are soldered in the lugs. The Pierce has 15 jewels iirc and is in fine condition. The Lord Elgin is in fine condition except for the 'age spot' on the dial, it has not been wet as far as I can tell. The dates are a guess and info on the Hamilton and Lord Elgin can be found but I am too lazy to chase it down. Many Hamiltons have the model name engraved inside the case back. After the current 'Gold Rush' pans out, there may not be many of these old classics left.

I might have posted this before, can't remember. Anyway, this is from the early 1990s iirc, can't remember exactly when either. I have more, maybe I'll post a couple with dates. NOS Slinky w/box, American Racing magnesium/aluminum wheel catalog from the 1970s, Baylor 17 jewel RR style watch from 1970s, radiator tube from a WW II Lockheed P38 Lightning fighter plane, candy cigarettes from the 1970s (leaning over, far right), Bob Marley coffee cup from Jamaica etc. P-38 Lightning. Lockheed P-38 Lightning - The American Heritage Museum

NOS 14K Bulova from early 1980s... Original strap with 'homemade' 14K buckle... A jewelry repair friend and I made 5 or 6 of these buckles 20+ years ago. The buckle body was an unsigned stainless steel accessory buckle, the A-tron symbol was from an old buckle and attached to the steel buckle, then a mold was made from it. It took all day to make them. 4-17-24 Misc. gold buckles... The six bags at the top are from past watches. There is another box of gold buckles, .925 silver buckles, buckle tongues etc. somewhere but can't find them. Buckles in bag on bottom right are 16mm. Used to buy 14K buckles at watch shows, eBay etc. for $30 or $40 each...now they are $100 and up. Examples: eBay 115922672197 196346821333

Horo is right. Vintage Omega Rules: Rule 1: Nothing Fits. The part might look right, but it usually won't fit. Rule 2: Many 'front loader' dress Seamasters have rusty movements. I call them 'Rustmasters'. Q...How do they get rusty? A...The two piece crown wobbles, the gasket wears out, and water gets inside. Rule 3: Stay away from them unless they are complete, running, and oem spec...or cheap as dirt. Something else...on many models the crystal helps hold the bezel on. The crystals are 'mushroomed' at the top. If that is not bad enough, most no longer have oem spec crystals (no 'shroom top) so the bezel falls off.

"I want to share my latest project. Not ready yet but gives a clue how it comes out." Looks like it's off to a very good start! My abandoned '1675/16750' project from 10 or 15 years ago, in shady B&W... In living color... Still nos, came with new Swiss ETA 2836/Asian 24H conversion. Abandoned because...closed 6/9, crystal is too tall, crown is 6.0mm, not 5.3mm, dial is fair but not properly signed (guess where). Would make a better 16750 than 1675 with the 28,800 2836. Probably a vintage submariner 1680 case. Better off with a Raffles case. Otoh...bezel turns both ways, no clicks, bezel insert is Ok and mounts flat in bez body, good spacing on lug holes, Ok to drill them out. Did I ever get started on it? Not yet. Will I ever finish it? Probably not. Crown pulled out to stop it from running. Pics taken 4-12-24.

"5513 Comex with gen dial"

I'm planning the same build, only I can't decide between the Yuki or Mochacha dial. Yuki dials are fine, the prices are Ok, and I would like to have one for my SD except... "Flat rate shipping cost: USD 48.00 to worldwide." It would be Ok if ordering 4 or 5 dials...unless they try to charge $48 for each dial. This Higher and Higher priced 'hobby' is beginning to $Burn Me Out$.

Regarding uncommon vintage submariners... This is not about the milsub, but a '5513' type case can also be used to put a 'pre COMEX 5514' submariner together if anyone does not want to hunt down the $$ milsub case, dial/hands and bez insert. I stuck a couple 'precoms' together using '5513' cases and non-operating H2 valves. The fixed spring bars were made using stainless steel rod stock similar to eBay item 284520669214 or a bracelet can be used. A short piece of SS rod can be polished on one end and pressed into a hole drilled in the case for the He valve: I'll leave the fixed spring bar installation details out, but it was not too bad. Imho, a bracelet is a better choice for a '5514' anyway. A regular '5513' dial or COMEX logo dial can be used along with a standard bezel insert. I would like to have a milsub but already had the '5514' COMEX parts. My COMEX dials are not too hot, but I already had them too. rolex 5514 - Search Images (bing.com)

Stuck this together in late 1990s, Croton/Nivada base with quick set Swiss ETA. Stainless 36mm screw back case with GS Ever-Tite acrylic tension ring crystal. Dial refinished by an outfit in Atlanta, GA (no longer in business). Genuine Ingenieur... Fine watches...except for no parts. Vintage IWC automatics had a winding setup using the same principle as the Seiko Magic Lever. Images from Connoisseur of Time.

Here is most of what is left of my vintage Omega 'collection'. May it RIP. Iirc, I do still have two or three running Omegas somewhere, one being an old bumper wind Seamaster. Used to wear a vintage Omega now and then before parts went n/a. It has been said that Omega (back when it was Omega, not Swatch-O-mega) went down the street with wheelbarrows, buying parts from anyone who had them. Then they all met in a back alley and stuck watches together using the parts. Of course it was just a joke, but after working on them... Even if two Omegas look exactly alike...they are probably not alike. The 5xx movements were their Heroes. The 1000 series was their Downfall. Imho. Quartz watches were rapidly killing off mechanical watches back then anyway. Today's Coax is cool but who is going to fix it when it blows up? Not Uncle Bob's Watch Repair down the street, all he does now is swap out dead batts because he can't get parts. Oh, I forgot...Swatch-O-mega Inc. will fix it for only $950 (just a guess). Plus tax and shipping charges. It's no wonder why replicas are such a Big Hit today. Color me cynical. Just a little bit. Ha! Omega's Biggest Mistake: Calibre 1000 (youtube.com) 4-19-24...Pic of the old bumper wind Seamaster mentioned above... Ratty redial but the watch is in good condition, no case corrosion or rust on movement.

Another Gold Rush deal... Rolex rivet bracelet 7205 with 71 end links for £3,769 for sale from a Private Seller on Chrono24 £3,769 (4762 USD) "Very rare" "Worn with little to no signs of wear"

It might cost a LOT less to buy another case. By the time your case is totally taken apart, polished, detailed and plated, you might be in Deep $$ Water. Example: The last YGP over steel Prez (with Asian 21 jewel mvt) I bought was $99 iirc. Do not know how good the plating is because I never wore it. Also...if you get another case, be sure it has the 'half hooded' lugs if yours does, or the bracelet will not fit. Btw...I kept an aftmkt 18K Prez case that I got in February 2001 but the dial seat is about 1.5mm too big to accept oem dials. It weighs a hair over 30 grams so I've been thinking about scrapping it...30 grams 18K gold is over $1600 today and a jeweler friend will pay 85% for it = about $1350. Why in the world they made the dial opening too big I'll never know.

"An interesting item, but definitely a case for buy the seller before you buy the watch." Yeah. Prices like that give me a rash. After all, it is an obscure watch with maybe three (3 ) buyers in the whole wide world at that price. So, a buyer better like it 'cause they're probably stuck with it. Imho. I peg it at $3K to $4K...but I admit to being cheap and stuck in the past. What really bothers me is I have a pair of 14K Bulova automatic 'Beau Brummel' watches, one yellow, one white, and the yellow one is MIA. Or is it the white one? Bulova - Beau Brummell Series | Watchophilia.com

FS : 6429 Explorer COMMANDO - Vintage Rolex Forum (tapatalk.com) Only 46650 euros. ($50,405 USD) Shipping included, no box/no paper. It has been said: "There is a cowboy for every saddle." This looks like a bareback ride to me. Not saying it is not 100% genuine and original...it just seems pricey since they probably sold new for a few $100 bills. Besides...this watch is basically unknown and very good fakes are not hard to find, diluting the original examples. Or...someone pays the $50K price and sticks it in their safe. A few years later they drop under the radar and their goofy grandson pawns it for $200 to buy 'medication'. This happens every day in many variations. I've seen it happen. Imho...basically unknown 'collectorcrap' like this is better flipped while they are Hot rather than saved in case their value drops. If I wanted one of these watches to wear...I would use an aftmkt dial, hands, similar case, and go with an ETA, Seiko etc. movement so it does not end up being sold as 'genuine' down the road. Fyi...the 6429 has cal 1220 that runs at 21600 bph and many older 34mm 64xx watches have cal 1200/1210 and run at 18000 bph. Escapement parts for the cal 1200/1210 are getting hard to find and relatively high $$. The 6429 and most 64xx have 34mm cases with 6.0mm crowns and are basically identical in appearance except for dials/hands. The Rolex Reference 6429: Small, Simple And Scarce - Hodinkee rolex 6429 6422 watch for sale | eBay Heritage Time Works pays tribute to the Rolex Ref. 6429 "Commando" - Acquire (acquiremag.com)

I do not have a horse in this race, but I wonder just how good a properly oiled etc. Daytona clone movement really is? If they are pretty good, maybe just go with the clone in original condition, hope for the best, and leave the 'suicide buttons' alone unless something really needs to be timed. Relatively low cost insurance... Buy another similar movement for parts if trouble arises later on. If the clone movement is running fine and you are Feeling Lucky... Buy a lottery ticket. You might get Big Time Lucky, then go out and buy twenty steel or 18K Daytonas for your RWG friends. Next day...after realizing the question was not about a Daytona clone movement. From what I have read, the 3235 clone seems to be pretty good and being a lot less complicated than a Daytona movement, I would definitely stick with an unaltered clone and see how it goes. Since I never have owned one, a few things that might cause trouble are the winding rotor bearings, reversers, setting and date works. Maybe not.