I was cleaning out my father in laws garage after he passed and found what looks to be an old German military field watch (honest to god) in a coffee can full of nails.





I was in rough shape but I don't want to do something dumb, however I did let my watch guy clean the movement (no photos but he told me it was a nice Swiss movement in quite good shape which surprised me given the condition of the outside of the watch. I let him put a new crystal on it since you could barely see through the old one (hope that was ok). I have not tried to buff or rub the back The back case is badly pitted and the lume is all but gone from the minute hand. Nevertheless, I put it on a NATO strap and think it looks pretty good.



My question for you folks who have more experience than I is, should I try to do anything about the hands, or just accept them the way they are? Any other thoughts (even if they are, "why did you replace the crystal you idiot?").

 

Nah ... it’s a cool old watch just the way it is .. I’d have sprung for the service too. It’s a family relic too..

 

nothing wrong with replacing the crystal. it's a replacement/service part at any rate.

you probably want your watch guy to stabilise the remaining lume so it doesn't drop off the hands and contaminate the movement (don't know if it's radium or another type of lume).

after that I'd leave it alone and put it in the rotation.

 

Thanks for the advice. Given the age of the piece, I'd say radium is likely. Out of curiosity. How does one "stabile the remaining lume"?

 

Very nice watch.
PARA is the name of the manufacturer - PAul RAff - http://raff-gmbh.de/
and BRUCHSICHER means shatterproof.

 

I've had a great deal of success in polishing out acrylic crystals. I ran across a pack of nail polish sanding boards years ago that do the job quickly and leave the crystal looking brand new.
Four graduated polishing surfaces per board. A final finish if needed is PlastX automotive tail light and head light cover polish. its a liquid and easy to use by hand, no need for a polishing wheel.

One of the first watch tools I bought was a case back/crystal press, haven't had to replace a crystal yet, other than putting one back in when it popped out.