What did I just Buy?

[smithrjd]

View attachment 2630 I was looking for a beater watch, found this one. Has everything I like, GMT, World Time, Chronograph. Marcel Sport? It is Swiss, but doubt Jean Marcel, Marcel Druker etc. Anyone recongnize this one? Ebay quick buy... Decided to take a chance at $75.

 

[dsio]

I have not got the slightest idea what that is lol but it certainly has a bit of everything

 

[Steve]

Wow that thing could tell you the weather !. 😀

 

[smithrjd]

It is a bit complicated.. It appears that it is one of Marcel Drucker's watches from the Marcel Watch corp in NJ. Has a rather odd looking movement as well. Very little info on the vintage Marcel's.

 

[smithrjd]

Well more research.. Not all that good. Appears to be a Rego 147 pin lever movement. It runs but may not be worth servicing.

 

[ulackfocus]

Ouch! I was wondering why the subdials were positioned in such strange places.

 

[smithrjd]

Well I sent the pictures to my watchmaker, and it is original all swiss etc. Kind of a Swiss Timex.. He will service it for $65. There are several makers with the same watch, Ciema, Lucerne, Sicura, Endura, Lord Nelson and some others. It is actually a Cronostop as opposed to a true Chronograph. One button starts the second hand, one stops it. No reset. The minute and hour dials track with the main hands. This one is odd in that it has a inner GMT ring that can be set. It will be a GMT anyway. It is kinda unique and for the money I can live with it. Guess it pays not to make snap judgements on ebay...

 

[smithrjd]

I will be able to listen to my Soccer Timer 861 go tic tic tic, and listen to this going CLANK CLANK CLANK....

 

[smithrjd]

This will be my one and only 1 jewel movement watch....

 

[ulackfocus]

1 jewel - they splurged! 😜

 

[smithrjd]

As our English friends would say "Built to a price"...

 

[ulackfocus]

Yes, but it's a nice looking watch. For the price it's a cool novelty. If you start getting sucked into this hobsession you'll find yourself buying little distractions like this. You never know if you'll like it if you don't try it. Hell, I never thought I'd like Breitling until I saw the Chronomat Evolution 5 years ago. Went to an AD, found out it was too big for me at 45 mm, and fell in lust with with the 39 mm Chrono Cockpit. Still have that watch - the longest tenured modern watch in my collection.

 

[dsio]

On the upside at least the non jeweled bearings look solid enough, on North Korean watches they simply nail them into the main plate. With rusty nails.

 

[smithrjd]

Well I still like the look, learned a bit as well. Not all Swiss watches mean a good movement. It is funny, a Zodiac Chronograph with the same Valjoue 7750 movement as my early Breitling Chronomat is about 1/3 the price. Will most likely stick to known brands from now on.

 

[dsio]

Yea that's true, on the plus side of ETA movements, you know if its really an ETA movement its a well built piece of kit with plentiful cheap parts and ease of servicing.

 

[smithrjd]

If the watch was not in good shape I would have passed. One of those 15 minute things. Great dial, good crystal, and bezel. No regrets, for what it is it's about as good as they get. I am pretty sure that I am one of few who has one LOL. I tend to keep things, Have a couple of other watches, a Seiko diver from '84 my Dad's Longine and his Whittnauer. Actually found the links that my Mom gave me when he passed, so I can actually wear the watch.

 

[smithrjd]

Well back in the day these were very well respected watches, just look at the offering price. With a 5 year guarantee

 

[ulackfocus]

Nice find. You're becoming one of us. Vintage nuts dig old ads. Got a handful of Longines' magazine ads in .pdf format myself.

 

[a1watch]

As a collector, you have an excuse to have a little of everything...So enjoy it and remember that the only person that you have to please is yourself

 

[smithrjd]

It was interesting to research this watch, a very long history starting in the 1860's with Roskopf. He wanted to build a watch for the working man. Priced at a point that anyone could afford it. His answer was the Pin Pallet or Pin Lever watch. Literatley over the years millions upon millions were made. US companies included Ingersoll, Watertbury, US Time, Timex, Westclox, and Bradley. Swiss makers included Rego, Bettlach, Baumgartner, R Lapanouse, and Oris. Oris was from the German speaking part of Switzerland. Some regulation did not allow them to make a high quality escapement, They added jewels to the Pin Pallet/ Pin Lever escapement and supposedly make one that meet COS. Much to the chagrin of the French speaking Swiss makers. Happy to have a good example of a high end cheap workers watch.