Month: April 2018

Navitimer 806 Restoration: Part One

A 1967 Breitling restoration project

In October of 2016 I purchased a second vintage Breitling Navitimer which I knew would be a long term project. The watch consisted of only a Venus 178 movement, dial, slide rule, and hand set. I would need to service the movement and find a case and strap for it before the project was complete. I’ve continued working on this project off and on now for a little over a year and although it’s not yet complete, I have enough documented to put up a blog post or two detailing the journey thus far. Continue reading “Navitimer 806 Restoration: Part One”

Kerr-McGee Accutron 2181

Service of a 1975 Bulova Accutron

Here is yet another Bulova Accutron 2181. This one came to me as a toss-in with a second Railroad Grade Accutron I purchased for restoration. The dial is customized featuring the Kerr-McGee logo and on the caseback is the engraving “Presented to Willard Lane 25 years of service 1976 Kerr-McGee”. I don’t know much about Kerr-McGee outside of the Silkwood incident so I’ll refrain from opining. Continue reading “Kerr-McGee Accutron 2181”

A Second Francis Barker Mk III Compass

Restoration of a 1943 CKC Mk III compass

Well, here we have another Francis Barker Mk III prismatic compass. I hadn’t intended to service another of these as parts are difficult to find and proper disposal of radium paint can be problematic, but with the holidays fast approaching I wanted something exceptional to gift my nephew and a prismatic compass fit the bill. Continue reading “A Second Francis Barker Mk III Compass”

Ernest Borel Valjoux 23 Movement

Resurrection of a dead chronograph movement

This post pertains to a Valjoux 23 chronograph movement which was received in the same freezer bag from China as the Universal Genève Uni-Compax I recently serviced. The bag contained multiple chronograph movements which were all in bad shape. I actually received two Valjoux 23 movements, but this one had a working balance and Incabloc shock protection thus making it the better candidate for restoration. Continue reading “Ernest Borel Valjoux 23 Movement”