she was born before WWII.. always brave, always humble, I've met people in recent years, those whose life she changed when she was a teacher.

I've heard from others about what she did during the war .... she was old enough to follow instructions yet young enough that she was safe from the prison guards. She used to sneak food to the British POWs during WWII after the They had surrendered Singapore to the Japanese.

It was exactly one year ago that I got a call that she didn't have much time left on this earth...I was 10,000 miles away from home but fortunately I managed to spend her last 7 days with her.

I've never been been one to deal well with grief, trying to find a way to move forward with healing. I was fortunate enough to have a wife to knew when I needed space and when I needed support. I've spent some time trying to dedicate something to her. Something I would have with me for the decades (hopefully) to come.

Some of you might know that this hobby of mine is 2 fold. There is the part of me that likes having a few vintage pieces and then there is a part of me that likes to build / make watches (long story).

I decided to create a timepiece that encompassed a blend of both of us. She was born in the 30s so I looked for inspiration from that era....

- the case: i was headed towards a modern day sized bubbleback but decided to go the path of the zerographe after I managed to get a machinist friend to help me with the bezel.

- the dial: an inspiration from 30s

- the movement: It was down an 8 day or a single button chronograph.... both weaknesses of mine. I decided to go with the 8 day in the interest of retaining the screwdown crown for water resistance. She is a Felsa 4100, freshly serviced and keeping time within well within 1 minute over 7 days.

The only thing left to do for this project is to make a small inlay in the case using a small piece of jewellery that she gave me years ago. I have carried it in my wallet the last 25 years but I think I could use the chain loop for the inlay.

Everything about the watch I love... from the quirky bezel, the high dome plexi to the vintage 8 day movement.

 

Outstanding!

Do you have any build pictures?

 

a one off?

 

@redpcar .. yes I only got one done. One of the more challenging parts of the build was finding the 28mm 8 day movement. Through the few years of hunting, I've only managed to find only one. The movement is a double barrel that comes in 2 vatriations, a 28mm (no seconds and a 31mm with sweeping seconds).

@ahsposo unfortunately I didn't take many pics along the way. The movement was gummed up but relatively clean. Below are the 2 variations of the dial I had made. I decided to use the less busy dial as I didn't have a seconds hand. I did manage to find an old pic of the bezel after it was freshly machined. I initially had her polished but found that a brushed finish was less distracting.

 

Wonderful and memories are everything

 

Nice outcome, it looks about 80 years old .

Who made the movement, it's not familiar to me.

Edit: Not Felsa, I should say what brand was the movement?

 

My sympathies for your loss and a wonderful way to remember your mother.

The watch geek in me wants to know, though, do you mean to say you had a machinist friend re-create that bezel? it's wonderful work if that's the case.

 

My sympathies to you; thanks for sharing this project and it's back story with us. I think that's a great way to commemorate your mother, certainly one of the more unique and personal ways to remember a past relative I've seen. The final product looks outstanding, too.

 

Thanks 80YO looking was a goal...The movement I actually found on eBay. It wasn't cased nor engraved with a brand. A lot of digging around and I fortunately learned it was a Felsa and managed to get a new (long) stem

Thanks jimmyD. Time .. hobbies .. family ... sharing does help heal. Yes the bezel was recreated from a block of metal.

 

This reminds me of a US show I love called "counting cars" in which many customers are looking for tribute builds of either family heirlooms or grail cars/trucks. I love this story, the watch is super cool and you sir are very creative. Great way to remember your mom. Sympathies on her passing.

 

Wonderful story of your mom and your act of creation. Thanks for sharing.

 

Let me know if you have a spare case/bezel/dial combo. Looks like a cool project.

 

Sorry for your loss but what a wonderful project to remember your mom.

 

Fabulous tribute. You should be proud. I'll bet your mom is proud from above.

 

I wished I had made more bezels in this instance I used to make multiple items ..bezels..dials spacers etc in the past for these projects for just in case.

The problem I encountered is that my vision of what the end product looks like in real life didn't always materialize. As a result I've generally cut back on making multiple pieces. I still do with the dials just in case I mess things up when painting or finishing the dial.

 

Heartfelt sympathies for your loss, and thanks for sharing your moving endeavor; it's a very nice looking watch.
will you post a picture of the piece of jewelery you're planning to include on the watch?
Best regards,
S

 

Well......kinda ..... it's from a cross about 1/1000th the size of what's in the pic. Lol. and since it's always in my wallet.... I'm using a piece of gold from the mounting loop.

 

now I'm blind... thanks.

 

I haven’t been here frequently since selling my 2 vintage Omegas… I hope everyone here is doing well.

I was surfing the web when I saw this thread I started 5 years ago and I figured I should give an update.

I wasn’t completely satisfied and there were little things that resulted in little wrist time. Over the last 2+ years, I’ve given her an overhaul. Here are some hilights:

first was a new dial.. painted

lumed


Then a new bezel and low domed AR sapphire


new hands


Because it has been 5 years, she just got a service..

interesting thing about the movement is the double barrel with a spring on each side of this barrel


Cheers