Tackling a Swiss dive watch
Every time I start a new blog post I feel the need to open with an apology for my posts being few and far between. This is partly due to the fact that I’ve picked up a bunch of complicated watches which require a lot of work causing the jobs to drag on for months on end, and it’s partially because I don’t get enough time to engage in my hobby anymore.
Continue reading “Zodiac SeaWolf 702-946”Fixing my brother’s daily wearer
If you are a long time reader of this blog then you may recall a post made in December of 2017 regarding a similar watch which I restored for my father. I actually had set out to do two watches- one for my dad and the other for my elder brother with the intention of having both ready by Christmas Eve. Well, all went well with my father’s watch but my brother’s turned into a fiasco.
Continue reading “Seiko 7002-700J Diver”A look at one of the first automatic chronographs
Every time I try to reassure my spouse that I’m close to the end of my journey collecting and servicing chronographs I tick off the movements still on the “To Do List”- Angelus, Minerva, Longines, Eberhard, Citizen, Poljot… and it goes downhill from there.
Continue reading “Hamilton Chrono-Matic 11002-3”The Triumphant Return of American Watchmaking?
There was a time, believe it or not, when American watchmaking reigned supreme. It was back when watches made by Elgin, Hamilton, Illinois, and Waltham were the envy of the Swiss watch industry. This wasn’t yesterday but between one hundred and one hundred and twenty years ago; most people today probably don’t even know this.
Continue reading “National Semiconductor WM09N711”Service of a vintage JDM Seiko Chronograph
Well I’m still struggling to move through my backlog of watches awaiting service but that certainly doesn’t mean the desire isn’t there. I’ve got a lot of stuff coming which I hope to have posted at regular intervals and some exciting calibres to debut. Let’s keep our fingers crossed that the goods actually arrive on time and we can all bask in the nerdery that is my chronograph obsession!
Continue reading “Seiko 7018-8000 “One-Eyed Panda””Service of a vintage 1940’s chronograph
Well, a lot has changed since my last post. The pandemic hit, I moved into a new (smaller) home and I’ve spent most of the past year and a half working from that home. I also lost my workshop as a result of the move and am now setup in the garage; sadly, I’ve found the summer heat in there to be unbearable and thus my hobby now needs to wait until late fall or winter.
Continue reading “Jardur Bezelmeter 975-S”Fixing a vintage El Camino dashboard clock
With everything going on in the world today it’s probably not much of a surprise that I haven’t had the time I normally would to engage in my favored hobby. My family moved to a new home in April of this year which was a challenge due to the local pandemic response. I lost my workshop and have been relocated to the garage which gets pretty warm in the summer months. It’s also been the hottest year on record (again). Consequently I’ve avoided working on watches and clocks until it cools down a bit. Continue reading “Borg Instruments Clock”
Digging into Movado’s in-house chronograph movement
Since the day I set out on my horological journey I’ve worked on a lot of chronograph movements so it may come as a surprise, four years in, that there are still many I have yet to get my hands on. Beautiful movements by Minerva, Longines, and Angelus have yet to cross my bench as well sturdy workhorses from Seiko, Citizen, and Poljot. Today I’m pleased to check yet one more off the list and present a Movado Sub Sea chronograph dating from the 1960’s and powered by Movado’s own in-house chronograph movement. Continue reading “Movado Sub Sea Chronograph”
Restoration of a 1970’s era Seiko chronograph
Even though months have passed by since my last post on this blog I have been keeping busy. In addition to making accommodations at home and at work for the Covid-19 pandemic and moving to a new house, I’ve also been diligently whittling away at the backlog of broken watches on my workbench and today I’m pleased to tell the story of a Seiko automatic chronograph from the late seventies which I just finished servicing. Continue reading “Seiko 6138-8021 “Panda””
Reassembly of a vintage Venus 170 chronograph
This watch has been on and off of my workbench now for three years. In the beginning it was missing parts and that’s what kept it off the bench. Then it developed a problem which took forever to track down; I’d lose interest in fixing the piece and forget about it, then rediscover it at a later date. I have a lot of watches that have followed a similar path to completion, but this one is a bit special because technically it isn’t complete (but I’ll get to that later). Continue reading “Sprint Chronograph”
Lost Time 