In my mind, I've always wanted to have an alarm watch. I started out with an Oris Wrist Alarm, but it was too small and too gold for me to wear. And I never did. The alarm sounded nice though. Next was a pilot-cased Omega Memomatic, but that too did not work out and was never worn as well (turns out I have yet to see a pilot case Omega that liked my wrist). Both are now on the chopping block. The past couple of weeks, I came upon a JLC Memovox that I was able to pick up for (what I believe) was a steal. Its a combination of 2 (what I believe to be) uncommon variants - a blue panda sunburst dial, and a "speed beat" movement. The size at 37mm suits modern sensibilities. Problem is that it's not running, and the dial is a mess. So I figure as a project, I'll try to rescue this watch - if only to gain experience and figure out what's entailed. This is what it looks like now: This is what I think it has the potential to be: I have absolutely zero experience in this sort of restoration. Been asking several watchmakers for dial restoration recommendations, and they are all recommending me to a guy in Seattle. Said guy tells me he has experience with sunburst dials. So the dial goes to him (cross fingers!) As for servicing, I am still looking for a competent watchmaker who can handle this under $500. I'll be updating this thread with the progress I make. Suggestions are always welcome!
Have you asked for a refinishing quote from JLC? Might be a good idea just to see. Under $500 for a service. Depends what it needs.
OK it arrived along with my IWC 521 "shark fin lugs". Some dings on the case, but it looks to be unpolished. Hands look to be relumed, but lume on the dial is intact. The watch is keeping respectable time, but the alarm is totally non-working. It is indeed a sunburst design on the inner and outer dial. What is promising is that the silver outer dial is pretty much free of the damage on the inner dial. What I thought was corrosion creeping into the outer dial was in fact yellow lume on the hour markers. Regarding the inner dial - it does not even look like corrosion - it looks like flaking paint. Is this how these things are made? Do you think it's possible to just have the inner dial refinished, to save the logo and other text on the outer dial? As a bonus, it looks like it came with the original bracelet like the one below:
Don't touch the outer dial. It looks fine to me. Try to locate a new inner, rotating, dial. I think they could be found, aswell as outer dials, at least a while ago
Very nice watch. I would definitely look for a replacement disk. If you got a good deal, do the right thing with it.
So update: my watchmaker has sourced a mainspring for the alarm, so good. As for the dial, its grown on me so I may just stick with it.
Hi, I am currently restoring a Memovox too - doing everything myself, as usual. I have one with a different caliber (489) but the principle is the same: hard to find parts! So I bought new parts when available and a donor when I could not find the parts or when they were too expansive - about 100 euros for a 4th wheel... I would try to find an inner dial as said above, maybe on a donor movement if you need some other parts.
