Visited the largest flea market (in the world?) Friday and picked up a few bargains. $10 each! Also picked up 30 vintage NOS straps for $1 each. Granted, the watches didn't look like this. Spent all day today cleaning them up a bit. The Omega bracelet has only one end piece. I spent over an hour going through boxes of junk looking for the other with no luck. If anyone here is in need of a 1068 No. 12, let me know. Otherwise is going in the parts box. It's not possible to cover Roundtop in less than 3 days. I gave it one. My biggest quandary is what to do with the gold Hamilton on the upper left. Turns out it is 14K and scales out at $277 melt value. The favorite for me is the Helios "red line". It was a basket case and has a wacky Phoenix movement (at least I think as there were no markings other than Helios). Hairspring was jacked and I managed to bend it well enough to regulate. One of the worst jobs to attempt........for me. I picked up a ton more of junk watch parts but nothing worth showing. Love digging for treasures.
Shit! I've been meaning to get over there. Now I have another reason. Have you been to First Monday in Canton?
I used to live in Dallas for 25 years and religiously went to Canton. So much that I would visit the watch dealer's houses before I hit the grounds. It's less than a tenth the size of Roundtop. Sellers come from all over the US to set up at Roundtop. It's crazy there.
The top left is a Alpina if I recall correct Rensie was the American branding @noelekal has one of these I think
@redpcar Well done! Love the Antarctic. The Art Deco numbers are wonderful. What size is it?. If you will wear the gold watch then keep it, otherwise scrap it and put the money towards getting a watch you will wear and enjoy.
Antarctic is 33.3mm in diameter. The Hamilton is $277 in gold + movement. If I sell it complete on ebay, would I get 277+40(movement value)+ebay fees? $350 total. I'm guessing no (sigh)
I read on the web(I know, I know!! always dangerous) that Rensie was a Jeweler in Germany or Switzerland. I Have a Angelus Chrono with Rensie at the bottom and Angelus at the top. (Mods can move this discussion to a new thread if it becomes a full blown HIJACK)
Nice finds, Looks like you had a great day If you're not into the Hamilton for more then $10, I would hold onto it as gold is better then cash.
Thanks for the reply. Yeah I guessing no as well :-( But hey any profit will help to keep alive another old watch
All good, I know they couldn't call the it the Alpina in the US in the early days. Rensie may have been the distribution company. Off to work , but I will find the info tonight as it was by Alpina themselves ( could be another name that started with a R )
@TexOmega Rensie is not a easy one as there are so many different pieces of information about their origins- German company , west German company ?? But most have a strong link to a US distribution company Found this a while back and have seen it linked in several eBay adds Rensie Watches were quite prized in the mid-20th century era and are still prized by collectors today. The brand Rensie stands for Eisner spelled backwards. Rensie was the trademark of Paul V. Eisner & Co., New York, the noted importer and wholesaler of Swiss watches. In the 40s and 50s they advertised in major magazines such as "Life" with men's and women's watches ranging from $24.75 to $1,000 Rensie. Some models, especially in the latest 1940s and into the 1950s, had some nice movements from J Straub & Co. and were identical to some Alpina watches. Sold by better jewelers throughout the USA, Rensie Watch Co., Inc. had its headquarters at 580 Fifth Avenue in New York City. Life magazine add https://books.google.com.au/books?id=mk0EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA7&lpg=PA7&dq=rensie watch company&source=bl&ots=y8d__0-X2X&sig=r1w8a-DURP_lTk3QWzKWdyFcYRc&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjHwKbo7YfTAhVIfrwKHQqTCl84ChDoAQgbMAE#v=onepage&q=rensie watch company&f=false
Why does it seem all big flea markets call themselves the worlds largest. We have three in our region here in Florida that made the claim, actually they used to...now they don't anymore. Could it be the REAL worlds' largest sued them to remove the claim? I wonder where the actual worlds largest is?
BLASPHEMY! Everything is bigger in Texas. Honestly, I don't know if this is the biggest in the world but it is the biggest I have seen........and I have seen quite a few. Insane was my first impression. My first trip, I spent the entire day in one area then went to drive home the opposite direction I came and bwuahahahah! 10X more people selling. Now, I try and hit a different area each time I go. It occurs twice a year and people come from all over the US to sell. I ask all the sellers where they are from and none from Texas yet. Crazy place.
