Plastic Tissot watch movements arrived.

... from Latvia, not Finland.


Still the price was right.
Not sure why the BIN was in pounds and not euros? eBay said the listing was Finland. Well at least they did not come from Moscow like another Finnish Item I once ordered.

Curious the sold listing still shows the seller's asking price. Not the accepted offer which was much much lower. Not even a strikethrough. Not sure then how much trust then can be placed on sold listings.

I was expecting my offer to be rejected as ridiculous. Well I got what I have wanted ever since my mentor told me about them back in the 1990s.

The plates seem to be held together with what look like metal pins. One of the movements is missing the motion work. The stem is a split stem. It is broken on the more complete movement.

The movement missing parts does not wind, there is no ratchet action. The balance swings free on both. I was able to put a short wind on the more complete movement and it runs. Fun to watch the balance swing.

Since the ratchet spring is missing on the other There might be a way to take these apart.

There was a gray case thingy. This seems to fit over the dial side. Not sure if it really goes with these or was some sort of shipping protector.

I was able to grab a screenshot of Ranfft from the archive.org site.



No datasheet on watchguy.co.uk

Not that I actually expect to open these up. They are perfectly amusing just the way they are.

If I was clever I would put one into an apple watch case for display.

Others have done it. I actually am inclined to put the Val-22 into one of the cases.

This would be more as a way to display the plastic movement.

I have a swatch from the 1990s with an automatic movement in it.

Spent the evening once again reading the reviews of this technology. The main feeling one gets is this is a toy. Not a serious watch methodology. It really reminds me of a fidget spinner.

I do collect betlach (EB) and Rhonda movements. Especially when they have Snoopy or other Peanuts characters. Such make for nice costume watches. Still it does hurt when one looses one. Even though I have a box full.

I also have a toy clock, what one can take apart and re assemble.

If my mentor was correct metal watches will last 500 years on average if maintained. Plastic watches on the other hand just seem so temporary. It is going to take a lot of effort to get people away from single use plastics mentality.

Ceramic also suggests fragility. Even if Ben Franklin's sparking plug was made from such material.

One really has to admire the ingenuity of the tool and die makers, what could design dies with that level of precision. I have considered making a small shot machine, which uses recycled shredded soda bottles.

I have made paper clocks. Even scanning the plans into the computer. Back when the NAWCC was active, I contemplated making a working gingerbread clock for the Christmas party.

I have also seen and made paper pipe organs. So anything can be adapted.

Supposedly James Ferguson 'carved' wooden watches in the 18th century. I have seen wooden watches in museums (I think Russian.)

Rock crystal plate watches also fascinate. Not to be confused with the Tissot Rock (and wood) cased watches. Which are also on my someday list.

The teaching models cut from acrylic are something I am always considering making for myself.

Then there is my avatar which is a model of a shock proof system which can be taken apart. There is even an example pivot under the regulator.

https://www.instructables.com/Mechanical-Apple-Watch-From-Real-E-Waste-Apple-Wat/

I do not think the rock watches can be opened to replace the dial or hands.