Mechanical – Lost Time

Seiko 7018-8000 “One-Eyed Panda”

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!

Jardur Bezelmeter 975-S

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.

Borg Instruments Clock

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”

Movado Sub Sea Chronograph

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”

Seiko 6138-8021 “Panda”

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””

Sprint Chronograph

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”

Omega Speedmaster Professional

Rebuilding an 145.022 Speedmaster Professional

Although this is another Omega Speedmaster chronograph, it’s a little bit different from Moonwatch I did back in 2016 and the Speedmaster Automatic from earlier this year. This is the modern version of the Speedmaster Professional which is powered by the Omega calibre 861 chronograph movement. In outward appearance it is no different from earlier Moonwatches, but inside you’ll find Lemania’s most up to date hand wound chronograph movement. Continue reading “Omega Speedmaster Professional”

Bulova A-11 & American Strap Co.

Adding the proper strap to the A-11

As I stated on my most recent post, I’ve begun searching for the proper bracelets or straps for each timepiece that crosses the workbench. Prior to the 1960’s most watches were sold with simple leather watch bands although some brands (Hamilton springs to mind) designed metal bracelets for their watches during this period and those bracelets were tailored to the timepiece. From the 1960’s forward, it was not uncommon for stainless steel watches to come with stainless steel link bracelets. Many of these bracelets have not survived the test of time and if you can find a 50+ year old timepiece with its original leather strap you almost certainly want to replace it! Continue reading “Bulova A-11 & American Strap Co.”

Favre Leuba Bivouac 53203

Service of a 1961 altimeter watch

Almost two years ago I placed a post on the blog detailing the service and repair of a vintage Favre Leuba chronograph that I’d purchased from an antique dealer. I commented at the time that I had become aware of the Favre Leuba brand when I read about their “Bivouac” model which had the ability to inform the user of his or her altitude in addition to the time. Today I’m happy to be able to tell the story of my Favre Leuba Bivouac, which I’ve been working on for the past three years. Continue reading “Favre Leuba Bivouac 53203”

Gallet Multichron 12

Service of an Excelsior Park chronograph movement

Slowly but surely I’ve been working my way through the various chronograph movements from the Golden Age of Chronographs. I’ve worked on the Valjoux, Venus, Landeron, and Lemania movements and today I can strike the elusive Excelsior Park movement off the to do list. Continue reading “Gallet Multichron 12”