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”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”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”
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”
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”
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”
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”
Service of an Omega 176.0012 Speedmaster
It’s been a long while since I’ve worked on an Omega but fortune smiled upon me late last year when I found this 1979 Omega Speedmaster Automatic in need of aid. The seller stated the watch was non-operative on account of parts missing- specifically the Balance, Pallet, and Balance Cock. Continue reading “Omega Speedmaster Automatic”
Servicing my mother’s watch
This watch belongs to my mother; it was a gift from my father many years back- a Christmas gift I believe, although I may be mistaken. She delivered me the watch along with a few others for replacement batteries. Sadly, I didn’t have the needed power cell on hand and had to place an order for it. Instead of twiddling my thumbs while I waited for the delivery I decided to give the watch a good clean. Continue reading “Gucci Bangle Watch”
Conclusion of the Navitimer project
This is the final chapter of the Breitling Navitimer Restoration Project which began in 2016. As you’ll recall I had serviced the movement and repaired the damaged case; I had also repaired the hour and minute hands which were bent and needed new luminous paint. Continue reading “Navitimer 806 Restoration: Part 3”
Lost Time 