Bought this lovely wee Rotary Aquaplunge - arrived this morning. Still looking into it but I believe it's from the early 1960s. There was a time when Rotary were supplying watches for the British Army so there's a decent pedigree there - even if the brand has lost its way a little now.

Would welcome any links for information on the history of the brand if members know of any. I've searched myself, of course, but there doesn't seem to be a wealth of info out there.

Anyway - for the shoddy pictures. Will need to get a more appropriate strap for it - and the polywatch will be getting an outing later (dial is clean). Not completely uniform ageing of the lume (5 - 8 are a little darker) but all in all I am very pleased with it.

That seconds hand

 

Soooo Citizen, How come the day doesn't change at all and the date change at 6 instead of at 12... Where the hell is my trusty Seiko??

 

A NOS MG 3306, cal. 8001 and a MG 1167 cal. 9001

 

DOH!

Incoming!

Elgin Veritas 376 circa 1915...

 

Little eBay jobbie, a little rough around the edges, which I love, I couldn't resist the price for this cheeky beater.

 

For my chronostop[emoji3]

 

Lovely. If you find another... give us a nudge.

 

A friend HAD to sell this, so i helped. I'm such a nice guy...

 

Got home to some boxes. I needed a new strap for my Lange 1 so I got a Camille Fournet. Felt it needed a deployant, too. I think the brown looks a lot classier than the black strap it came with.




And that's a box I ordered from somewhere in Switzerland.



This was an impulse buy that also came in. Love it. Every pilot should have one.



Also got a new link for my BLNR, but that's boring.

 

I picked up this Seamaster 2577-22. I had been looking for a vintage Seamaster for a couple of years and this one came along at a great price.

 

Casio W217H-1AV. It's a 43mm F91 new from Casio. Cost twice as much as the F91, but it is almost twice as big, so there ya go.

 

I've got thirteen watches at my side as I type that I bought today. Most are silver trench watches from the mid teens to the early twenties and only three of them are running out the box (that's about par for me - you know, you've got 6 ongoing projects, three watchmakers who are going to send bills to you soon and so you just go buy more broken watches). Two are going to be straight flips and will pay for the rest.

However, there was one that I bought that I hadn't seen before. It's a strange little beast because I would put money on it being rose and yellow gold on an enamel case yet it's not marked. Neither is it signed. Of course, it's not running either. This one didn't talk to me. It shouted. It yelled "buy me and make me tick again!". The clasp is the best dating clue until I can identify the movement - the "trombone" clasp puts this smack bang in the 1940s (and might explain the lack of marks). Yet the movement is downright cheap and nasty. There is an "A" on one of the bridges and "191" can be seen beneath. The maker's mark on the clasp appears to be "MORAT". I'm sure @Syrte will love this one. So ... here's the photos (and sorry that the lighting doesn't show the colours to their best, this really pops):



Here's the rest:

 

Yes it's totally lovely. Seems like silver and enamel to me, the darkened metal being silver of course-- somehow I feel you might want to keep that black patina as it does have quite a bit of charm. At least don't remove it before you know what it is. Because it's a lady's brooch and those types of frills were very enduring I find it very hard indeed to date it, although the style of the case, hands dial and movement look more like 1920-- it could also be even earlier, or later in the 1930s.
Really hard to say.

However 1915-1920 would place it right in the same period as those other watches, which would make sense if they were a lot.
Dibs on that strap at the bottom, I really like old vintage straps!!!

 

The trombone clasp only started to be used in the 40s. Now, it may be that the clasp is a later replacement and the watch itself is earlier - the lack of marks makes it hard to tell, but the clasp is a perfect colour match for the flowers in each corner so Im inclined to think that it's all correct and from the 1940s. However, the body isn't silver - that's just the poor photo. It's black enamel with yellow and rose (gold?) embellishments. This is a better photo for the colours:

 

@jimmyd13 I'll admit I have no idea what a trombone clasp is but now that you mention it it's clear to me the style of the clasp with its straight deco lines and the style of the watch with its curvy frills is completely different, and I would find it likely a 1920 styled watch was later outfitted with a 1940s clasp. Both very pretty, and a really nice combination in any event.

 

... and the scales fell from his eyes! Of course you're right - it's late deco on the top and nouveau beneath. Ah well, it's not the worst crime ... I might find an old broach to butcher in my collection of bits or just leave as is. First is to get her ticking.

Ninja edit to just say that this image shows a trombone clasp: https://i.pinimg.com/originals/12/c2/de/12c2de6d4e99297aec8ca62eab518cc8.jpg

 

42mm stainless steel Apple Watch(first generation).

 

Hey by the way, there's a rectangular black 1930s watch in your first photo that looked interesting...

 

Yes, it's a sweet little thing; running strong. The dial's refinished but it needs nothing more than a clean ... it owes me £25 - want to give me a small profit on it?

 

Appreciate, but I'll have to pass -- might need to pare down more than add....