So I have no current quarantine finds, but I do have a few that are under $60 that were fantastic bargains.

The first was my Mondia Chris-Craft - $37 shipped:



That was made probably late '60s as it still has "waterproof" on the back of it. Definitely during the time when Mondia was part of "Mondia-Zenith-Movado". Mondia though used A.Schild movements rather than Zenith, unfortunately.

The second is my previously mentioned Jubilee "All Stainless Steel" Skin Diver. This one is made in France with a Lorsa P75, whereas other versions of the same basic watch were made in Hong Kong and used seiko movements. It has an engraving on the back from 1972, but could have pre-dated this. I think I paid $53 for it last year.



My final entry for now is a rare one - it's a Pepsi Orient 200M diver from the 1980's. I believe it is a tritium dial due to the miniscule markings on the dial, although you wouldn't know by looking at it as it is still very white. These models were the precursor to the later "Mako" that was very popular. This is a 469EF3-80, 42MM and wears quite chunky on the wrist. I think I paid $64 for it. Given its rarity this was a steal.

 

I've not been doing badly on reasonably priced Helvetias recently.

As it happens the last 2 I've bought have helped me confirm my new, more accurate (hopefully), serial number lookup is right.

The first was £50. I was interested because of the, box, tags and guarantee.

No pic of the inside so no serial number to check. The ad said the guarantee was from 1986, but that's no 1986 watch. So either the guarantee doesn't go with that watch or it's a badly written 1956.





Got it home and opened it up. According to my look up serial number matches 1956 - result!

Second one was just a smidgen over £50 after converting from Euros.





Nice Helvetia 842 full rotor auto movement. Serial number on my lookup dates it to 1958. Quite early for automatic and date I thought. I hadn't seen the Kalendomat name before (though like buses there is another on eBay now). Can't have used it for long I thought. Looked it up on Mikrolisk. Registered 1958 - another result!

I'll take some nice pics when I have them both sorted out with new straps etc.

 

These are my buys today. Both came to £38 + auction fees. The ladies is a nice Mido, 18k with enameling (broken hour hand), and the mans is a Jupiter. Never heard of the brand, but leaf hands with subsecconds is a classic look, and the case looks in reasonable condition.

 

Won this the other day for $50 on the nose- didn’t buy it for the Accutron which was the featured watch in the auction

Will throw a battery in that gilded beast and see if it runs.

 

That Mido is gorgeous! Although the dial patina isn’t bad, I wonder if this is one of those dials where the eraser trick that @Archer showed on some early silver dials would work to clean it up. The hands and crystal are another story but that would make my lady gleeful if I were to present that to her all spiffed up.

 

A little gift for my wife $7.98 delivered. A surprisingly awesome unidirectional bezel that clicks very nicely

 

So picked this up for $15.50...yes, I did.


The watch is most likely a single jewel POS movement and wasn’t running but I wanted the bracelet.

a little tweaking and it should be a great fit!
Oh, and watch is off with my buddy to see if he can get it running or do a movement swap- it’s actually very attractive.

 

Very nice! Just my cup of tea

 

I was going to share this on the eBay values thread and had already started writing up the intro, saved the link and auction page header....but then just couldn’t let it go.

I have collected Gruens on and off for years and have never seen this case shape, “Switzerland” dial, 490SS movement and SS Guildite case... all the above and the dial style points to pre 1949 (which is when they stopped using “Switzerland” on the dial as far as I have gleaned)...but the case shape is so odd- a C-shaped in 1949?!?! Plus it’s large at 33mm+ and the case is unpolished. I normally wouldn’t buy a watch with dial marks like this, but I couldn’t let it go....for $39.50
Any Gruen experts please weigh in on this-it’s truly an oddity to me.

 

These two arrived in the post today for less than £50 for both of them together. Sadly the Bifora (which I like better, although I like both), seems to have suffered badly in the post - it stops every twenty seconds or so, and the adjustment of the hands is broken, so I am returning it. The H Samuel is running beautifully, though, and has a real charm.

 

I actually prefer the Samuel and was holding my breath while reading that it was not the one that suffered. Great score even for just that one- and it would look awesome on a Bonklip.

 

Wow, thank you! I'm embarrassed to say I had to look Bonklip up, but now I have, I agree, that's a great idea.

 

Absolutely period correct bracelet and can “butch” up any small watch.

The strait lugs on yours will blend perfectly without that big curved gap between the case and the endlinks.

 

What's great is that although it's tiny, it is really legible.

 

Another way of making them wear larger is a pull through or military style strap or a cuff.

 

I love the last one especially - saw further up you are a fellow Gruen fan.

 

The cuff is Fluco, they make them in a variety of endlink sizes. They are cheap and great for small watches or watches with fixed bars.
https://holbensfinewatchbands.com/products/fluco-vigo-riveted-cuff-black
I’m sure there are Fluco dealers wherever you are in the world.

 

For generic old swiss stuff? Oh man for that kind of money I could sell you good looking genuine and good running Omegas! You gotta tighten up that budget

 

Show me what you got for $250-350!! And you know I don’t dig on the crusty like you do. You know my PM

 

Polish up that check book big shot. I got two seamasters with your name on them! I'll dig them out and take pics for ya later today after I bring our kid to her orthodontist appointment. I also got a big size NOS '60's manual wind generic Swiss jobbie that only shows 24 hr time and has a rotating bezel for $50 that will really blow your skirt up