New guy from Toronto looking for vintage watch

amcclell

I am really not sure what to tell you. I don't have much experience with the FEF 390 movement but after a brief google search of "Tudor FEF 390" a couple of the hits identified parts availability issues with the autowind mechanism. In most cases, I recommend thay you search google and see what comes up. Use the brand, calibre and words like service, parts available, problems, issues, etc. That is what most of us do. Here is one related to the 390.

https://www.watchuseek.com/threads/vintage-tudor-subs-serviceability-of-cal-390-vs-eta-2483.4267346/

The Tudor Prince watch may be fine, but on the other hand, there may be parts with borderline wear, that will give you grief. Until your watchmaker looks at it, you have no idea. The autowind systems on watches have moving parts that wear and it is not uncommon for rotor bushings/bearings, or reverser wheels to wear out and need replacing.

My Solar Aqua is the same case size as the Tudor that you have linked to, except mine is a manual ETA 1182, which has fewer moving parts to wear out. In a 1952 watch, that is a plus for me.

I don't just rely just on the internet. I was looking at an old Rolex early 1960's Air-king a while back and I went so far as to email my watchmaker to see if had many issues getting parts for this movement and he indicated that in most cases, he can get what he needs.

If you are looking at watches from the 50's and 60’s, some of the good movements I would have confidence in are:

OMEGA: 5XX, 7XX, 2XX, 6XX are all good. For a daily wearer, 3xx bumpers may present parts availability issues.
Rolex 1520, 1530, 1210, 1220 are good
Variety of ETA, A. Schild. And Felsa movements will be found in many secondary brands and are fine.
Perhaps someone can suggest the good Longines movements or ones to avoid, if any.

Good luck with the search and don't be afraid to use google to pull up lots of discussion threads from the various watch forums.

Dan S

These Tudors are nice, and it's clearly you are drawn to them. As you may know, the staining on the dial is radium burn. The condition of the case is accurately described in the listing IMO.

watchyouwant

All numbers? Not afraid of Radium? Small size ok ? You have one hour to bid on my all original Omega from the 40's. Will be cheap. eBay. Search for watchyouwant. Is the cheapest one there. Good luck ! Kind regards. Achim

watchyouwant

154277444157...... You searched for sellers ? And did not come up ? Strange.....

Dan S

Take a look at Omega ref 2179 examples. The military issued ones might be out of your budget, but you could probably find a civilian piece that would work. I'm not sure if it's what you're looking for, but maybe. They often have all arabic numerals, but they are lumed, and they sometimes have a distinctive radial orientation. Many people like them.

Dan S

Did you happen to see this one? It's quite small and a bit polished, but not bad overall, and it's well-priced. Good quality and supposedly serviced. It seems to meet your requirements, and it would get you into the vintage watch market at a low cost of entry. Personally, I think you are being a bit narrow in your thinking and ruling out many of the best watches, so it might be good to buy something less expensive first. That way, if your tastes change later, you won't take a huge loss.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Longines-1200-Vintage-Mens-Watch-Pre-Admiral-Serviced-Stainless-1960s/224304023927?epid=1928598675&hash=item34398fc977:g:-v0AAOSwBcZfkaye&LH_ItemCondition=3000

dmcleod

If only it shipped to Canada...

dmcleod

Still looking for the right watch.

I came across this one being sold by a dealer in Canada, which would be rather convenient for me. The thing that seems odd is that the dial is signed Tudor and yet the movement is signed Solar. From previous posts in this discussion I learned that Solar are Eaton's house branded Tudor watches. So I am a bit puzzled why they don't correspond.

ROLEX "CASE REFERENCE 7965 " TUDOR "PRINCE MODEL" ROSE GOLD FILLED ROLEX SIGNED CASE AUTOMATIC AND WELL SERVICED 1961
STOCK NUMBER # TU8010-----First of all the scan does not do justice to this original black dial Tudor Rolex wrist watch. The back of this case is worn and water tight for sure as it has been tested for such. This is a rose gold filled Rolex signed Oyster case with a Rolex screw down crown, From lug to lug this Tudor is 40mm long and wide less the screw down crown it is 34mm. The back of this case is stainless steel and signed Rolex as the scan shows you and there are no personal engravings on this case. The case reference number is 7965 and the case serial number is 289,300. The case serial number places this Swiss Rolex factory wrist watch to the year 1961 and as it has been well serviced as it keeps great time. The hands are original and I re did the luminous material so they glow bright at night and the color is exactly as the original color. The dial is original never cleaned nor altered. The movement is spotless and it is a full automatic oscillating weight movement caliber 2472 with 25 super clean and inspected Ruby jewels. A few flicks of the watch and the balance takes off perfectly as it is that clean. The band is leather never worn at 19mm in width. This is a classic 1961 design and runs like a top ;-)
1550.00 USD