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gmmy775
·I had this item on a “watch list” on ebay for at least a year. Three or four months ago I saw that the seller, who was in Egypt, was lowering the price. So I bought it. Arrived in a couple of weeks and I was jazzed because of how attractive it was. Then I started the chrono and all that elation came crashing down. The chrono hand jumped all around and would reset in the darndest ways. This led to a back and forth for weeks with the seller, he initially offered me a hundred off, and I turned that down because of how much a chrono service costs here in the US. Finally ebay stepped in and told the seller to make me whole, or accept the return. I think he upped the discount to $250. Still wasn’t sure about it, but I kept recalling what I have always read on OF…dial, dial, dial. And this one has a pretty snazzy dial, so I took the deal.
Couple of days later I sent it off to my watchmaker. When he got it he said that it appeared that someone in Egypt thought they were a watchmaker, and didn’t quite know how to press the hands on correctly. So he did a full service and sent it back to me in a couple of weeks.
Easily a favorite watch, I just love old things that still got that pop. But it turns out that I like it so much that I rarely wear it. Cost a fraction of what I paid for my Speedmaster, but I put two long scratches in the Speedy's Hesalite within a week, because I was wearing it so much.
Had never heard of Kelek before this watch. After I got it back I bid on and won a slim Kelek manual wind dress watch off the Fellows auction. Very nice but it doesn’t have the impact of this one. Least I can do is share these pix with other watchophiles. I have tools to open up most watches, but after I get them serviced I rarely do take the back off, so the movement photo is just after service was completed.
Spec sheet:
Kelek manual wind 17j Valjoux 7733 Chrono No Date
Width w/o Crown: 37.20 mm
Length: 44.90 mm w/lugs
Depth: 9.55 mm wo/crystal, 13.35 mm w/crystal
Lug Width: 20.05 mm, lugs not drilled
Crystal: 32.95Dia mm, in watch. Domed acrylic
Crown: 5.10Dia mm, not signed
Engraving on outside case back: All Stainless Steel; Swiss; Water Resistant; Shock Resistant
Movement: Valjoux 17 jewel caliber 7733; unadjusted (before service); manual wind; 18000 bph
Timegrapher 1900 readings in dial up position: 0 to -2 seconds a day; 259 degrees of amplitude; 0.3 milliseconds of beat error; 48 degrees lift angle
Couple of days later I sent it off to my watchmaker. When he got it he said that it appeared that someone in Egypt thought they were a watchmaker, and didn’t quite know how to press the hands on correctly. So he did a full service and sent it back to me in a couple of weeks.
Easily a favorite watch, I just love old things that still got that pop. But it turns out that I like it so much that I rarely wear it. Cost a fraction of what I paid for my Speedmaster, but I put two long scratches in the Speedy's Hesalite within a week, because I was wearing it so much.
Had never heard of Kelek before this watch. After I got it back I bid on and won a slim Kelek manual wind dress watch off the Fellows auction. Very nice but it doesn’t have the impact of this one. Least I can do is share these pix with other watchophiles. I have tools to open up most watches, but after I get them serviced I rarely do take the back off, so the movement photo is just after service was completed.
Spec sheet:
Kelek manual wind 17j Valjoux 7733 Chrono No Date
Width w/o Crown: 37.20 mm
Length: 44.90 mm w/lugs
Depth: 9.55 mm wo/crystal, 13.35 mm w/crystal
Lug Width: 20.05 mm, lugs not drilled
Crystal: 32.95Dia mm, in watch. Domed acrylic
Crown: 5.10Dia mm, not signed
Engraving on outside case back: All Stainless Steel; Swiss; Water Resistant; Shock Resistant
Movement: Valjoux 17 jewel caliber 7733; unadjusted (before service); manual wind; 18000 bph
Timegrapher 1900 readings in dial up position: 0 to -2 seconds a day; 259 degrees of amplitude; 0.3 milliseconds of beat error; 48 degrees lift angle
