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The old wedding watch

CBM1590
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My wife bought me this watch before we were married…which makes this watch at least 35 years old. I wore it in our wedding and in our first years of married life. It eventually died and I put it away. A battery or a trip to a jewelry store was out of the question for us at the time. In a word, we were graduate school dirt poor.

This old Lorus quartz hasn’t run or been worn in several decades or longer. First order of business is to put a new battery in it and see if she will tick. If so, I’ll need a new crystal. Any inexpensive and timely way to get that done besides sending it to a watchmaker? While not an expensive watch, it’s worth to me is more than money could buy.

IMG_5990.webp
 
Canuck
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I know how you feel about your Lorus. I have a sentimental favourite, as well. An Accutron 214, acquired in 1964, worn on our wedding day in 1966, worn at Expo ‘67 when we got caught in a torrential downpour in a lineup to get into the Czech pavilion, worn on the christening of our son in 1971, worn on our 50th wedding anniversary soirée in 2016, worn on our 59th anniversary soirée, and today, sharing time with about 60 other watches. Looks and runs like new. The watch (top), and at our 50th anniversary party.

IMG_0313.webp IMG_2860.webp
 
Duracuir1
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Canuck Canuck
I know how you feel about your Lorus. I have a sentimental favourite, as well. An Accutron 214, acquired in 1964, worn on our wedding day in 1966, worn at Expo ‘67 when we got caught in a torrential downpour in a lineup to get into the Czech pavilion, worn on the christening of our son in 1971, worn on our 50th wedding anniversary soirée in 2016, worn on our 59th anniversary soirée, and today, sharing time with about 60 other watches. Looks and runs like new. The watch (top), and at our 50th anniversary party.

IMG_0313.webp IMG_2860.webp
I knew you had a son… is that your daughter? 😁
 
redpcar
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CBM1590 CBM1590
My wife bought me this watch before we were married…which makes this watch at least 35 years old. I wore it in our wedding and in our first years of married life. It eventually died and I put it away. A battery or a trip to a jewelry store was out of the question for us at the time. In a word, we were graduate school dirt poor.

This old Lorus quartz hasn’t run or been worn in several decades or longer. First order of business is to put a new battery in it and see if she will tick. If so, I’ll need a new crystal. Any inexpensive and timely way to get that done besides sending it to a watchmaker? While not an expensive watch, it’s worth to me is more than money could buy.

IMG_5990.webp
Getting it to run will be the easy part. Sourcing that crystal will be time consuming.
 
Canuck
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ExpiredWatchdog ExpiredWatchdog
How many times have you serviced the Accutron?
I’ve owned the Accutron for 61 years. I have serviced it, and parts have been replaced, although the movement is original You want a complete service history? Why do you want to know?
 
ExpiredWatchdog
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Canuck Canuck
I’ve owned the Accutron for 61 years. I have serviced it, and parts have been replaced, although the movement is original You want a complete service history? Why do you want to know?
Nothing personal, I figured that you would have serviced it yourself, at least in its later years.

I was just thinking hmmm, sixty plus years, five years a service, man, that's a lot of takeaparts. Congrats on the continuous duty.

My oldest is a '64 but I'm sure is spent many years in a box before I bought it a couple years ago. I now own four but one's a parts watch.
 
Canuck
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ExpiredWatchdog ExpiredWatchdog
Nothing personal, I figured that you would have serviced it yourself, at least in its later years.

I was just thinking hmmm, sixty plus years, five years a service, man, that's a lot of takeaparts. Congrats on the continuous duty.

My oldest is a '64 but I'm sure is spent many years in a box before I bought it a couple years ago. I now own four but one's a parts watch.
I haven’t serviced it in the 21st century. That I can tell you. I am the only one who has ever worked on it. It may get used about 30 days out of the year, mostly on special days. Up until I had amassed quite a number of watches starting about 1975, the Accutron was my daily driver. As a daily driver, it might have been given regular maintenance, perhaps every five years. I have replaced the circuit assembly and the index wheel over all these years. But it has always been very reliable. Today, I have about 20 or so Accutrons….214s and 218s. And parts enough to build more if the spirit ever moves me.
Edited:
 
TIMElyBehaviour
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Check what movement is in it, you may find a new replacement for small change on eBay.

My daughter had a 1980’s Mickey watch and craped out. $20 Aussie and I had a new fresh Movement. Worth a look
 
HamDoctor
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Maybe you'll even find the very same watch on eBay, with an intact crystal? I'm certain it would be cheaper than sourcing the crystal itself ... But if you do have the model number, you can find out the parts number of the crystal ... Jules Borel has a list of parts that are older than dirt, and more obscure than the sun at midnight:
http://cgi.julesborel.com/cgi-bin/matcgi2?begin=PUL_&end=PUL_&label=Calibres_Manufactured_by_LORUS

Not that they necessarily have them in stock, but having a parts number is half the search, often enough. Good hunting!
 
Waltesefalcon
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I also suggest going to Ebay. Finding cheap parts and parts watches is still possible there if you are patient.
 
C
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I had one with a similar dial layout, and the thin hands always caught light in a cool way. Yours looks like it cleaned up nicely—love the character it has.
 
C
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C Cheesedata
I had one with a similar dial layout, and the thin hands always caught light in a cool way. Yours looks like it cleaned up nicely—love the character it has.
My wedding watch belonged to my grandfather too, and I had a similar situation with the crystal. I went with a basic acrylic replacement that kept the vintage feel without overdoing it. I’ve seen people match vintage watches with simple mens wedding bands for a cool, understated combo. It's kind of nice to tie in old and new like that, especially for meaningful pieces like these.
 
Larry S
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Take it to a watchmaker who will change the battery, Crystal address issues and replace gaskets. A mall battery changer will not do this. Should be under $250.
 
CBM1590
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Nine months later and the watch is up and running. I replaced the original battery, gave it a decent cleaning, polished the plexi, and put a band on it I that had I had laying around. It’s back on the wrist and ticking.

It’s the first real watch I ever owned. That it was a gift from my wife before we were married (and well before the advent of the internet) she did well shopping in rural Appalachia with little money to spend. Not worth much to anyone else but me but it has made me smile and remember our early days. Cheers.
IMG_0948.webp
 
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