Drove over to Otto Frei this afternoon to pick up a few things. I decided to get the Bergeon starter oil kit as the stuff I have is at least 20 years old. Bit pricey, but cheaper than getting the bottles individually, and it comes in a rather nice storage case. I also got the small 4039 movement holder, as I acquired a few ladies sized movements in the last week or so. Otto Frei is only 17 miles from where I live. Sadly they no longer do walk in sales. They do however offer curbside pickup. So I saved a few bucks on shipping. One has to satisfy that immediate gratification. If I calculate things right, the round trip would be 34 miles, which should be about 1 gallon of gas and about 2 hours of driving as there was moderate traffic. I also placed an order earlier in the week with Esslinger as they have a better website than Frei, although their prices are a bit higher. Ironically I found a set of incabloc settings for 5.69USD. These are 'for practice.' They come in packages of 5 which is a great deal compared to what people want for a single spring on eBay. -j
nice haul, I wish my local watchmakers supply store had those sets, I'm glad to see the 4039 works for you too!
One of my old textbooks states the oil will last a long time. I do have stuff from 25 or so years ago, which does not have the dates on the bottles. On the other hand the new stuff is only a tiny amount about 1/10 of the old stuff 2ML vs 20ML. The new stuff also has colored dyes to tell what oil and grease goes where. I did have a bottle of 'Chronometer' oil which has since dried out. I always liked the packaging. Who knows how old this was when I got it sometime in the last century. -j
It’s funny how we balk at the price of little tiny containers like this, but in terms of scale of use it’s like gallons. I still have a bottle of Photoflo I bought during the Clinton administration- first term. 5-10 drops at a time…I don’t think I’ll ever see the bottom of that bottle.