What Did you Buy Recently, Watch Related But Not A Watch?

This Omega book from John Goldberger:

https://leboncoin.fr/montres_bijoux/2609832240.htm

My leatherworking tools for strap-making have arrived!

Some watch ads I picked up for Constellations - first the big one, the full spread one for the Total Chronometer Look ones, and the MegaQuartz one. I would have liked to have hung them together but I didn’t want to put more holes in the wall.

I particularly like the ad devoted to the bracelet on the TCLs. There is no question about integrated bracelet origins.

A new home for some of my collection …

I think I am turning into a hoarder, no current need but the price was right… 🤨

Extra full case for the parts drawer. It has a couple of spring bar scratches on the back of the lugs, but otherwise looks like new.

Ooo, got any speedy mod ideas cooking?

Today's Arrivals.

Do not be fooled. These are all watch parts.

Curious the 1342. This has been in my watchlist for a really long time. I almost bought it last december when the seller offered it for 140. Recently the BIN was lowered to that price. Seller did not accept lower offers.

One thing that put me off was the giant crack in the crystal. Which turns out is not a crack, Just a really deep gouge. Might be able to wet sand it out. The actual watch does not look as beat up as I expected.

Last fall similar watches were selling for under 120. There were some auctions over the last 6 months or so, all going into the mid 200s. Most of these do seem to be service award watches. (My dad's was a comparable Whittenour from the 1990s)

I had got a really cheap movement last fall (or was it summer) which Was missing a few parts. I added up the total for parts sans case and it was close to 90$ no case dial or hands.

What I am mostly interested in is the reparability. The chip looks a lot like the motor control chip used to control cpu fans.

Somewhere there is a thread on this. The electronics on these are well documented schematics and all.

I do think though that I need to make a sticker (decal) to replace the continental group logo with this:

The rotor is a permanent magnet.

That screw is probably the battery clamp screw. There should be two of them.

I should probably get some fresh batteries. I noticed that unlike the other movement, there is no insulation sticker (1340.9032) There is a plastic ring.

I keep meaning to set up the bench supply for the other movement what I cleaned. That one had no clamp. I did get a clamp and some screws recently. I suspect I probably will down the road get the bad parts.

I probably will not try powering the new one till after I have cleaned it. These are fully jeweled movements, so there can be a lot of dirt in the bearings. Since the motor powers the system in reverse, the watch will stall if there is too much friction.


Recently I have been targeting screw assortment lots. Today's lot was 470 caliber screws, which should fit the 505. OFrei has some of the screws for like 8 bucks each. There are I think 5 bridge screws, so it adds up quickly.

It is going to be strange not having this in my watch list.

I did pretty well on my New Year’s resolution of not adding a bunch of Speedy stuff this year… made it all the way through Q1 before I gave up lol
This arrived today, because I “needed” another crater box 🤨

Yeah I buy too much stuff….
BUT
Couldn’t resist this pair of double-ridge Omega straps. Alligator and the ever elusive Sharkskin with fitted ends for Speedmasters. (20/16)

Finally !!!

The remains of the 552 arrived this evening. Stuck in transit since the first of April. I had to file a complaint with USPS.

In the meantime I bought a little 684. Really need a 681 as I think the rotor axle is different. That watch arrived amazing fast. Totally Random USPS is. (sayeth Yoda.) Supposedly the SF regional center (which includes Hawaii.) handles like 7,000,000 pieces of mail a day. So there are a handful of instances like mine on the searches since 2018.

The big watch came in a small package. And the little watch came in an eyeglass case. Which may be useful in it's own right.

Some more beauty shots. Nothing to write home about. The 552 is pretty well trashed. Probably worth more as parts than as a watch. There is a chunk missing from the case. But I want it for the Dynamic case anyway. Looks like someone tried to clean it with steel wool. Rotor axle is shot. They often are. Seconds pinion rusted and probably a bad canon pinion. Does have an Hour hand. The 505 came with an hour hand.

I did splurge on Dinamic hands from Switzerland. Those came yesterday. No sweep hand, that is going to be a challenge. I have a bunch of 470 and 550 parts, So it will be interesting to see what else this will take.

I do not think the 505 will fit in the 14700 4 case. At least not without help from Victor F. The 500 is larger than the 550. There is also no bezel.



Curious these projects are results of some dials (dyles) which I have had for decades. I was going to repaint them. Now I have an additional trashed dial to do repaint attempts. Taking steel wool to dial furniture is probably not the best thing.

The balance swings, but the watch is really gunky. The screws have corosion on them and look like they have not been touched in a long time.

The ladies watch on the other hand runs. Probably pulled from a gold case. Hands and dial look to be in decent shape. I prefer silver hands.

At one point last week, I had 19 items in my eBay shipping queue. There is a seller of 99cent parts assortments. By chance I won a lot of 68x calendar parts. Someone beat me on the date rings.

Also more chronograph parts. Springs what list for either 99 cents and sell for 3 to 7 dollars per lot (when you do not need them) or 60 dollars each when you do. No real point putting photos of them here. they look like paperclips. I even managed to score a rare Landeron Minute jumper. Sadly the val-23 minute jumpers are new style and I need old style. I scored a val-22 hammer spring actually two for one and cheap.

More will be in my landeron Rabbits thread ...

15x18cm Never seen another like it, and am quite happy to have found it...

Freshly arrived from Japan

Now I just have to learn how to read Japanese 😉

Mitsukoshi dial and handset (hands not shown). Super excited to get this project going 😎

Just need to sell a couple of things first..