Crown Day!

[automatico]

Crowns...wear 'em if you got 'em!

Q...Why am I posting all  this watchjunk?

A...Because I have hunted two days for the escape wheel and train wheels for my 5500AK project. ..seven or eight hours total (while cleaning my 'shop' up a little).

I finally found the parts in one of my parts boxes, hiding in a small clear plastic cup inside a dental floss box!  Like a dumb-azz, I hid it from myself by putting it in the dental floss box.

Q..Why put the parts in the dental floss box?

A...To keep the lid from coming off the small plastic box containing the parts.  It has happened before.

Anyway, while digging through a bunch of stuff (including a bunch of crowns), some TC crowns turned up in the mix.

 

New Genuine...

They all are the older style for  watches made before the 'monobloc' crowns came out.  Some owners want the older style crowns to keep their watch like it was when new so I keep them for repairs.

Do not have any monobloc crowns or watches that came with them unless my 14010M AK has one.  I doubt it does because it has the old type bracelet with removable hoods.

 

Take offs...

Some good, some not so good.  I posted these once before iirc.

 

TC 'Trophy' Crowns...

These crowns are very good except the clutch springs sometimes get weak.

'Trophy' = they are getting hard to find so I figure I might win a Trophy for finding mine.   Ha!

I got them October 5, 2012.

 

No comment.

 

Happy Crown Day!  

[freddy333]

I feel your pain (but the suffering is worse because I lack such an extensive collection of new/NOS Rolex crowns).
If I gave an AD $10k for every time I have hidden an important Rolex part from myself, I would have enough to merit the privilege of buying a 116500 at retail.

[JSebWC]

Wow that's quite the crown collection.!! 

[automatico]

"I feel your pain (but the suffering is worse because I lack such an extensive collection of new/NOS Rolex crowns)."

"Wow that's quite the crown collection.!!"

 

Yeah, it started years ago (take-offs piling up), I never imagined they would ever be worth anything.  The nos crowns were purchased back when I had a parts account with DRS in NYC and later with RWC Dallas.  I do not take in repairs now because of the parts situation and buy a 15xx powered watch now and then that needs parts, c/o etc. and get it back to good condition, finally ending up with a few pretty good 16xx DJ and 55xx AKs.

 

Today ratty rolex 16xx DJ and 55xx AK watches cost more in bad condition than first class examples did a few years ago.  Rotted out cases and bad dials being most of the problem today...along with finding period correct bracelets in usable condition.  I sent 6 or 8 bracelets to Michael Young in HK 12 or 15 years ago and they turned out fine but I am not going to take a chance with them making the round trip today. 

 

It seems like the vintage rolex hobby is expanding and contracting at the same time...

Expanding because of increased demand.

Contracting because of insane parts prices and fewer repair shops willing to work on older watches.