Hello all, I probably should have joined a few years ago, I'm sure I have read many threads found in these forums to assist in my research of a few calibres. I have a passion for watches, I am a hobbyist fettler and I buy and restore vintage watches in some of my free time. I restore them for my own pleasure, and to spend time constructively rather than doing other, less constructive things! My passion was borne from my father, I distinctly remember his Seikos as a boy, and I loved them. As I grew older, my interest evolved in its own right and I was able to purchase my first watch as a 14 year old boy. It was a Citizen, two-tone Automatic, the model escapes me. Not at all what I would like now, but I loved it dearly then. The feeling of it on my wrist made me feel a little special! Fast forward to my 30s, my passion (which remained) had the key elements to be gently practiced. I had performed much research, and had decided where my heart lay. I knew with certainty these three things: Seikos held a special place in my heart, Omegas from the 50s through 70s spoke to me about quality and classic to neo-classic design, and finally, I had a previously unannounced (and growing day by day) interest in Rolex, specifically the fluted datejust. It started with a daily SKX007 and a work SKX013, quickly followed by a '96 DJ SS with WG fluted bezel and went from there. I began by buying new and then jumped head first into vintage. To this day I have restored 7 of my own watches, ranging from minor to medium restorations, and continue to as time permits. Currently I have 4 pogues (!) And a Zenith defy on the bench in different stages. Any work on a watch is undertaken for my own personal enjoyment and not for profit, of course. I simply love the careful work and rejuvenation... but I am an enthusiast hobbyist and no more! Currently my collection consists of a Connie C shape cal. 564 (I received it today!), a Seamaster Cosmic cal. 565, a Seamaster Cosmic 2000 cal. 1012, a jubilee DJ, a GMT Master II, a 5646 GS, 2 x COSC KS (a 45 hand wind and a 56 Auto), a 36000bph Seiko Lord Marvel, the SKX007 and SKX013, a Seiko bought for me by a dear friend from Medina (Arabic dial and day/date) and an REC made from a porsche... amongst a few others. The wifey has benefited too of course, she sports an oyster banded DJ, Queen Seiko and a ladies Seamaster Cosmic 2000. I feel like my journey has just begun 24 years in, and hope that I can share in our collective passion here. Thanks for having me!
Example of my tinkering, Grand Seiko restore images detailing minor case work, cleaning and crystal replacement.
Welcome mate, lots of Australians here we actually run the site out of Brisbane / Gold Coast. Nice pieces
Cheers! I was reading a few profiles and had noticed the Aussie connection. Looking forward to speaking more with everyone! The Seamaster in your Avatar is similar to one of my two Grails! 18K Constellation in the arrow marker style. It will make me smile everytime we speak, haha!
The constellation I received today, before and after polywatch. She needs a new strap, a tizzy up by me and a professional service.
G'day mate and welcome to the forum. Nice collection you have there. Love the Grand Seiko. You'll have to pop up and few pics of the Pogues!
Pogues are currently sitting at about 25%, as I'm doing them all at once. I am forever chasing parts, which can be hard to come by! The Pogues are all heavy restoration jobs, as I am building them for my best friends wedding. They are presents for the groom, myself and the other groomsmen. The idea behind them was the amount of effort I put into making them for my mates, so unfortunately none are pristine! But all will make a great daily when done. I bought them as shells for the most part, and have been working them for a while. The case pictured was in the best condition. I have only refinished the polished sides. No dials were in practical daily condition, actually two of them had no dials! This was my first foray into stripping down movements and rebuilding, so I set myself a challenge to get them all working again for my mates and myself. To that end I bought some horribly rounded and overpolished examples, with non-working movements with a mind to bring them back to life and give them a use again. I suspect it will be some time before they are all done! Sorry about the average photo, I took it in poor light this morning before I walked out the door. The Zenith Defy movement is in there for good measure.
That's a really cool gesture! I like how you are prepared to give the watch restoration a go yourself. Keep us posted on your progress.
Hopefully with a little bit of practice and a few rebuilds I will be in a position to service my own watches one day, that is the plan in any case! I thoroughly enjoy the process anyway, frustrations, mistakes, successes and all!
I found a couple of Pogur images taken in better light. The first picture demonstrates the state of repair that I was buying he Pogues in, I think the example pictured was fully mirror polished with rounded lines. The second is all 4 cases refinished. Obviously material was lost on some of the worse examples, but they came out ok. Another picture of the Zenith, my father-in-law's, he bought it new and used it as a daily. He is a builder! This one is close to being done. A King Seiko I restored, case finished back to nickel and replated, new crystal. The Arabic dial Seiko, love the dial!