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Watch treasure hunting report

RES13
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Visited the local farmers/flea market yesterday to shop at the Amish market, only to find out they were closed for Ascension Day.

The trip wasn’t a total loss as I was able to pick up some obscure to me branded skin divers along with a Bulova that resembles one my father used to wear.

First is this Bulova Accutron Snorkel. I paid more than I wanted to, however nostalgia got the best of me on this one. I bought it to give to my dad, however he told me he has enough watches. It wears well, so I wasn’t upset that he passed on it.

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Next are a pair of well loved Helbros skin divers. One is marked made in West Germany, the other France. From what I could find online, Helbros was more of an assembler than manufacturer. Both are around 36/37mm.

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Next is a Helsa, a sub brand of Ollech and Wajs. Cool dial, but the skinny lugs throw me off. I originally thought this was a re-cased dial and movement, but this is the original case to the dial/movement. Swiss made, ~37mm chromed case on this one.

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Here is a ghost bezeled Hilton diver. I could not find anything on the brand and only one listing of a comparable watch, but has a cool look to it. I do find it strange that it has a tachy on the dial, that would be tough to actually use. Swiss made, ~36mm on this one.

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Last watch is this Mitchell. This company apparently was a French fishing reel company that made watches for a short time. Very cool dial and hands. ~37 mm chromed case without crown.

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While I didn’t get the cinnamon buns I was craving, I did pick up some cool pieces.

If anyone has any info on these, I would love to hear about them.

Bobby
 
Losi11
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Picked up this Tissot RockWatch at a flea market yesterday for a very reasonable price. I have been meaning to buy one of these for a few years but didn't want to pay the prices on Ebay. Pretty cool history and design. There are a few good articles on it online if interested. The case is of course entirely made of granite from the Swiss alps. It feels well put together too (i think it has a sapphire crystal). This particular example is in great shape even with its original band. Don't know why, but there is something about these watches that I find very cool. Thought I would share this in the treasure hunting thread.
7C7E2C66-FB62-4278-9738-683678753288_1_105_c.jpeg 5E87E77C-BDDA-45F6-84F9-42C04CC75572_1_105_c.jpeg IMG_5037.jpg 50A7BC14-0914-4AF3-B286-4ECA6316053A_1_105_c.jpeg
 
Bruce235
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Losi11 Losi11
Picked up this Tissot RockWatch at a flea market yesterday for a very reasonable price. I have been meaning to buy one of these for a few years but didn't want to pay the prices on Ebay. Pretty cool history and design. There are a few good articles on it online if interested. The case is of course entirely made of granite from the Swiss alps. It feels well put together too (i think it has a sapphire crystal). This particular example is in great shape even with its original band. Don't know why, but there is something about these watches that I find very cool. Thought I would share this in the treasure hunting thread.
7C7E2C66-FB62-4278-9738-683678753288_1_105_c.jpeg 5E87E77C-BDDA-45F6-84F9-42C04CC75572_1_105_c.jpeg IMG_5037.jpg 50A7BC14-0914-4AF3-B286-4ECA6316053A_1_105_c.jpeg
My brother has two of those. He does wear them because the straps broke. Looks like replacement straps may take a little work.
 
Archer
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Bruce235 Bruce235
My brother has two of those. He does wear them because the straps broke. Looks like replacement straps may take a little work.

If the movement fails you have to break the crystal to remove the hands. So yes these have some maintenance issues for sure...
 
Losi11
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Archer Archer
If the movement fails you have to break the crystal to remove the hands. So yes these have some maintenance issues for sure...
Dang, I guess that makes sense because the dial and the case are made of the same piece.
Now I am nervous. 🤦
Edited:
 
Archer
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Losi11 Losi11
Dang, I guess that makes sense because the dial and the case are made of the same piece.
Now I am nervous. 🤦

Try not to let the battery go dead and leak. That’s what craps out a lot of quartz movements...
 
blufinz52
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ErichPryde ErichPryde
Where did he go? Seemed quite knowledgeable.

He left the forum quite a while ago. I too thought he was knowledgeable and made positive contributions to any thread imo.
 
ahartfie
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Is that Brimfield?
 
kyle L
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ahartfie ahartfie
Is that Brimfield?

Yep Brimfield - not too many watches honestly, but I seemed to have missed the good stuff by a day or two. 🙁

Best thing I saw was an old Tudor Sub for about $6k, gone when I circled back in an hour or so!
 
JwRosenthal
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kyle L kyle L
Yep Brimfield - not too many watches honestly, but I seemed to have missed the good stuff by a day or two. 🙁

Best thing I saw was an old Tudor Sub for about $6k, gone when I circled back in an hour or so!
Yeah- never do the circle back. I have lost many at antique gun shows that way (oh, I’ll think about it while I roam). I finally learned my lesson and several years ago was at such a show and one of the vendors was a collector (not a dealer) who was pruning down his 60 year collection. He had a stunning 1936 Browning Superposed Skeet (factory 26” barrels with open chokes) and the second I picked it up I knew I had to have it, but didn’t have enough cash. I was NOT gonna ask him to hold it as then it would be a gonner, so as I was holding it, I called my friend who I came with and told her to hustle over to where I was as she had her checkbook (and I was obviously going to pay her back when we got home). As I was standing there with this shotgun in my arms another attendee asked me if he could see it- I said no. He then asked if I was going to buy it, I said yes. He then asked the seller if he could see it as he was ready to pay cash for it. Right then my friend came and I had her write that check right in front of the asshat who was trying to jump my claim.
 
kyle L
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JwRosenthal JwRosenthal
Yeah- never do the circle back. I have lost many at antique gun shows that way (oh, I’ll think about it while I roam). I finally learned my lesson and several years ago was at such a show and one of the vendors was a collector (not a dealer) who was pruning down his 60 year collection. He had a stunning 1936 Browning Superposed Skeet (factory 26” barrels with open chokes) and the second I picked it up I knew I had to have it, but didn’t have enough cash. I was NOT gonna ask him to hold it as then it would be a gonner, so as I was holding it, I called my friend who I came with and told her to hustle over to where I was as she had her checkbook (and I was obviously going to pay her back when we got home). As I was standing there with this shotgun in my arms another attendee asked me if he could see it- I said no. He then asked if I was going to buy it, I said yes. He then asked the seller if he could see it as he was ready to pay cash for it. Right then my friend came and I had her write that check right in front of the asshat who was trying to jump my claim.

Luckily it was out of my budget anyways 😁
 
RevZMan123
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blufinz52 blufinz52
He left the forum quite a while ago. I too thought he was knowledgeable and made positive contributions to any thread imo.
"Left" ... He was unceremoniously removed.
 
RevZMan123
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kyle L kyle L
Hit the flea markets yesterday morning 😀

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Best thing I saw today was a custom watch made out of yuperlite but they wanted $1250 for it.
 
Canuck
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Archer Archer
If the movement fails you have to break the crystal to remove the hands. So yes these have some maintenance issues for sure...

I’ve had success with these by removing the back, removing the stem and crown, putting the case back on again, then a short burst of compressed air through the case tube will pop the crystal out. I only do this at customer risk in case the crystal breaks! Of course, this must be done in a sealed plastic bag in case the hands go flying.
 
JwRosenthal
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Canuck Canuck
I’ve had success with these by removing the back, removing the stem and crown, putting the case back on again, then a short burst of compressed air through the case tube will pop the crystal out. I only do this at customer risk in case the crystal breaks! Of course, this must be done in a sealed plastic bag in case the hands go flying.
This sounds like working on a vintage British car. Tools needed, wooden mallet, rubber mallet, safety glasses, fire extinguisher,
 
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