Help I am addicted to eBay ...

Did it again;

Yesterday I missed out on some lots, with conservative bids.


Was sort of looking forward to playing with these parts. I have a bunch of misc bumper parts. Mostly I wanted the case.

So of course I went for the rebound. I have become quite fond of these 550 movements. So in the last second I hit the bid button and won this instead. About the same price I wanted to pay for the other one.



So if one misses one, there is always something else. I have been wanting a SS cased automatic. Down side it is not a parts puzzle.

Of course I am never satisfied till I get a loose parts assortment.



A couple weeks ago I wound up with a 660 rotor assembly (which is smaller than the 671/681) I already have a lot of ladies movement spares. These are not as fun to work on as the larger 28mm movements.

Now comes the waiting.

This mornings haul, from the 99cent no reserve seller.

I bought other misc 342 parts from the same seller a few weeks ago. I think some of the parts I am missing are in this lot. Most interesting is there are two minute hands in this lot. I think the other only had an hour hand.

Funny how this works. I was desperate for a 470/505 sweep pinion, and paid max price a couple weeks ago. Now I have three more on the way. Probably willl not need them but that is the way collecting (Hoarding) works. Decided to go for the crystals. I used some of my generics this week. Probably will not fit anything, but the price was right.

Missed out on a 501 connie project. That will be a thread of a different color.

This weeks binge. I need the case clamps to finish the 2577. Could not resist the quartz stepper motor. I think I have three levels of bidding. Min placeholder bid, I really want it, and I do not want someone else to have it. This is a good example of all three. The only Items I need are the case clamps. Over the last few months I paid premium with long waits for 470/550 parts. Then these come up and I get them for minimal bid. I did not get the click springs. (which fly off to conventions in foreign lands.) Which only bothered me after the auction ended and they went more for the minimal placeholder bid.

The motor, is an outlier. I wanted the packaging as much as the part. I got two watches working. So do not really need it. I have not tested it yet. It is more the anticipation. The looking ahead to the possibilities.

I was unsure if I could recover the winding pinion on the 500. Curious how when I bid this one I got the other one out undamaged. This is a part what is good to have on hand as it is most likely to be damaged. I have also been finding pallet forks in short supply. So one can never have too many in the spare parts department. Cannon pinion also tend to go missing a lot. Finding the right height can be a bit of a challenge.

I keep thinking I have enough projects. Then something will come along which is promising a challenge. Where one puts the puzzle together. The "Candy Sparkle" has been ticking since 2AM. There is something so satisfying when the parts fit together and the watch comes to life.

Now if I can just find motivation to start sewing straps for them.

This one did not last long. I grabbed it as soon as I saw it.
Interesting that it was not an auction. Were this a NR 99cent start, it would probably go for two or three times the amount. A single part especially the minute jumper (which is the part I need most) can easily sell for this price.

I think this is the same seller I got the Val-22 from after watching it nearly a year. That one is still in pieces, since there was a mix up on the replacement center wheel. Somehow I have not been motivated to install that wheel. Went down the 500/550 rabbit hole instead. Not to mention some side tunnel explorations of quartz movements.

Curiously I went overboard on clutch wheels last week. Not one of the parts this mess is missing in this lot.

A few months back I did get a bunch of misc parts. So the watch breeding program is progressing.

If I was clever, I should re-pivot some of the tick tock parts from the other val project watches, what were replaced. Not sure why it is so hard to fix the swing over microscope mount on the lathe, then replace the foot treadle. I guess the robust supply of parts feeds the addiction. Which gets a fix with the waiting and refreshing the tracking state several times a day. Zooming in on the photographs and anticipating the puzzle being assembled.

... and so the endless cycle continues ...


I needed the strap hold down ring. Now I have another case. May have a useable movement, but no dyle and hands. When will it ever end. And why can I not breed 861 or 321 movements or cases?

The Val-23 third wheel arrived in the mail. And I only ordered it Monday. Stuff I ordered last week is now due tomorrow or the next few days.

This weeks impulse. Amazed that it went for my minimum bid. Not really antique. A lesser known caliber, which is the quickset date version of the non automatic 601. Sadly someone already snagged the quickset parts. Probably why it went so low.

I am still waiting for the Canadian parts, which is the set lever pressure spring. This watch does seem to contain that part and less that that part alone. Many of these parts are compatible with the 550 and the 563. I did get a train wheel bridge for this series and almost bid for some plates which I think were 610 the non quickset. Of course, as parts watches go this has that part. So it really is treading water.

This is also an example of how poor photography makes for an unattractive auction. I almost did not bid thinking this was a ladies caliber. I do not think this is a well known or popular movement.

It might be possible to cut the missing quickset parts on the fiber laser. I have been playing around with scanning in the data sheets and tracing over them with lightburn.



These graphics look to be hand traced for engraving rather than photographed The shading is too uniform and there is distinctive contrast. Most likely these were done with an optical comparator as the watchmaker was expected to lay the part over the graphic.

The online and faxed versions do not have this sharpness. Even using the phone as above adds distortion. The USB microscope photographs are saved as .bmp which does not seem to be supported for upload.

On occasion there are still a few things here and there worth bidding on. Did not think I would win this for a halfhearted minimal bid at the last few seconds.

I think the last five or 6 impulse bids like this failed, or I forgot to bid.

Mostly I have not been reporting the little things like I used to. Still there is that adrenaline rush when one adds another rat watch movement to the collection. What I really wanted was the dial and hands. Fairly beat up, but better than no dial and hands. There are also a few springs pawls and screws what do not turn up often.

There has been a real dearth of this sort of thing in the last year. Perhaps it is seasonal, since it is fall season now.

The real excitement though is the waiting, watching the tracking. Anticipating the arrival. I did get a 2247 case last week and a 550.1107 clutch wheel both should arrive today. Could really use a half dozen or so 1107/1108 setting parts, as these are the most likely to rust along with the stem. Probably more like a quarter dozen. I lost count how many rat movements I currently have.

There always seems though to be one part what prevents stuff to fit together. With these parts I probably could get another bumper movement to tick.

It is also interesting that there are few listings for time only movements like 26.5 T3 or 268 movements are ever listed. Mostly it is automatics like this one.

Spent the weekend cleaning off the bench so I could see what the new 354 parts I got earlier in the week were. Disassembled it, then went through the box of 33x/34x/35x parts sorting everything.


There may be enough here for one complete movement. With the new one I have 8 serial number plates. There are 5 base plates. What is mostly lacking are the tick tock parts. Only one balance, and a really tangled hairspring. I have at least three other bumpers which are complete and ticking. Also a 28.10 movement.

Surprisingly the new movement came with a case back. 2635-7. I checked the listing and it is not in the photographs. Not sure how one would go about locating a midcase, crystal and bezel. Dial is acceptable. Parts have a light rust on them, which is better than the 550 where most of the steel parts turned to dust. (what is left of that one is in the blue box in the back.)

Somehow I do not see my eBay addiction waning anytime soon. Especially when 99cent starting bid job lots show up.

Here is today's 3 buck POC watch.


I have had a curiosity how these jump hours worked. For a pin lever the EB8800 has a great finish and bult quality on the stamped out parts. Getting that level of precision stamped out parts is difficult. The mechanical watch reduced to the bare minimum of functionality. Unlike the Canadian/US Timex the plates are fastened with screws and not riveted. These were made to be repaired and serviced. (and bring in repeat traffic to the retailer.)

Sometime it would also be fun to find the chronograph variation. I have some of the date ones, which are fairly nice (albeit loud) watches.

Someone does not quite know how to spell. Probably have sold quicker had they spelled something that could be searched. I found it as it was coming up for rollover today. Will see what I actually get, seller does have some reviews and the usal sycophant comments.


I just happen to be in the market for a hairspring. Hopefully the seller will pack it well so it arrives in one piece. I also see it has a swan regulator. So it is more likely to be from a 343 or a 354. Missing roller jewel should not be much a problem.

This odd lot should arrive early next week as well. Listed as 550 parts, should also have some useful 34x parts as well.



seven serial number plates and now 7 canon pinions for a buck. What is not to like ...


do not be deceived. This is all illusion. Would be cheaper to just purchase a 300$ beater from the recommended vintage thread. Why I am not blanking some of the prices. Shipping cost are often many times the value of the parts received. This part of CA has a 10 percent sales tax, so one pretty much has to calculate an extra 20 percent when bidding. And for domestic. International is even worse.

I think 2026 will be much like the second half of 2025. More job lots of random parts.



This movement disaster just arrived. It has a motor. Will be interesting to see if that is any good. Was really cheap. There is a 1342 without a motor, but the seller did not like my lowball offer.
I got a bunch of 1345 hour wheels a few weeks ago.
I have been enjoying the rust rat quartz connie when I forget to charge the apple time sink. Sometime I should see if I could track down the missing date corrector button.

I have a bunch of plates and other parts stuffed in a box somewhere from this restoration. I still think is may be possible to use a modern micro controller to power one of these. These quartz watches are a lot of fun to work on. I see the Contenetal Can quartz watch needs a new battery, has it really been two years since I replaced it?

The parts arrived three days early. Looks like there is some useful stuff there. One could spend the same for a single part so I am happy.

Now to figure out on the time management and sneak up on the projects and avoid social media.

Never rains but it pours.

I have been watching some click screw listings to replace the two that shot off somewhere. I also got two spare pawls in the prior week binge.



One of my favorite lot/estate sellers had a whole slew of 330 automatic parts this weekend.



I got about half the ones I bid on. Interesting how I either won or lost them by about a dollar. The whole lot cost about what one or two of the parts would cost in desperation. Of course, one of the lots would be 22 or the 2800 screw. So with the earlier order from Friday, I should be getting 26 of this item. Somewhere the two that shot about should be somewhere around the bench (provided they did not get stuck to clothing or swallowed. (they are smaller than sesame seeds. or cupcake sprinkles.)

Most of these items are the ones that get lost/damaged in the automatic section. The rotor jewels being the most susceptible. Especially the upper bridge. This is a difficult part to match. Looks like the watchmaker wrote down some cross reference numbers, So will be interesting to see if they fit.

Since I favor rusty basket cases, springs are also something that tends to be high on the want list. Although In practice I only have a need for two or three. The bumper springs are prone to rust and tarnish, so having some nice ones is a bonus.

I missed out on the ratchets and clicks themselves. Even though these lots usually sell in the 35 range, that adds up quickly. I have ratchets, although I would have liked the pawl center rings (1405), which would match some of the ratchet driving gears (1410) These vary in height with the different 33x bridges. I have a few from earlier binges. (never the right height.)

So it seems when it comes to spare parts it is feast or famine. At least they do not take much storage space.

I think that is what keeps me going.

I have some 752 parts listed this week. So far only 4 views. I rarely sell anything. Not really sure how to promote the auction. I doubt anyone here would be interested in them. 236564953316 is the number for what it is worth. It includes a bunch of wheels what had probably been damaged by a rundown mainspring. I am probably too honest in my description. I salvaged the parts common to the 56x calibers for other projects. Ironically this would be something I would probably bid on myself. If anything I list it to encourage others to list similar collections of parts.

Well my experiment did not sell. Even at 99 cents. Tough crowd. It is a buyers market.

Because of shipping I limited it to US only. That probably reduces a lot of the potential market.

It does still get the adrenaline up, waiting to see if it does sell.

I suspect others do need the same parts I do. The date set yoke what I attempted to make with the laser gets listed (unsold) for around 80 bucks. Every now and then these turn up in estate sales or junked watches.

The wheels for the most part are common around all the 55x derivatives. In this case the unique wheels have bad teeth. A lot of sellers do not disclose this.

There was a thread at the time of writing this speculating on the honesty of dealers. This makes it harder on the occasional seller who wants to do right. That others have salted the well, makes it all the more difficult.

Of course since I am an addict, I simply made an offer on another quartz dial. Still to early to expect a reply.

Hopefully all the ca 330 springs will arrive tomorrow. Looks like they took a day trip to San Francisco, I guess for some site seeing. Latest tracking has them back in Oakland.

I keep thinking of Willy Wonka wondering

I'm a little surprised they didn't sell! Though, they ARE parts that don't seem to break as much. The durable parts (plates, barrel, etc) tend to be the ones everyone has, fragile parts (small pivots, hair spring, etc) are the ones everyone is lookign for 😁

I got my consolation prize on order. Hopefully it fits the movement I have.

Most of a 1345 movement showed up a few weeks back. I could try painting the dial blank I made which measures the same 27.5mm. Eventually I do want to try that again.
What ever they did in the 1970s/1980s the dials tend to stay fairly clean.
Quartz stuff is pretty hit and miss. The electronics are what tends fo fail most often. 134x movements are mostly mechanical, although they do have that weird magnetic coupling.

The tricky part will be locating another day wheel. Crown may also be an issue.

As for the recent auction, I did include the day disk as a sweetener. Guess it was not sweet enough.

This weeks Haul ...



more 56x junk parts.

Decided to go for this as there are at least 3 items I can use. This listing was a stale BIN. Do not really think there is much of a market at the moment for this sort of thing.

Ironically my 75x plates did not sell again. Can not say that this is a consolation or not. I do so love the unboxing.

Next week I should get some 55x center jewels.


Surprisingly enough someone else wanted them. At least I was the first bidder.

I just can not say NO!

Saw this empty case last week, and locked in an early bid. Someone jumped the value last night. So I got all hot for it. Noticing that it was a connie case. I have homeless 501 and 564 movements. So I bid all out at the end of the auction, and won.



Of course silly me, I forgot to do my research. On winning the bid I looked to see what movement would fit.


Once again I wind up with an outlier. Interesting one the giggle search lead back to an article on these forums. https://stories.omegaforums.net/the-constellation-cal-712-ultra-thin-167-021-chronometer/

So I have another interesting example, and another rat movement to search for. Looks like nothing in my collection of incomplete movements will fit.

I am starting to think though that this is some sort of quantum wave collapse, that the 712 movement did not exist until I won the auction and checked the number again. My reference binder GF-620-3 only goes up to like the 601 movement.

There are movements listed, but way outside the lunch budget.