Been hitting garage sales and thrift shops a lot lately. No real guns to speak of (kids have put a real damper on that budge), but I can buy cheap things second hand.

Last 2 garage sale seasons and off season thrift shopping has resulted in what I have to now admit is a collection.

Prior to the Longines, the other watches were picked up because they are solid gold. I figure gold is always good to buy on the cheap. The Longines though, I just really really liked, and despite only being gold fill.

Without further ado:



Bulova Accutron in a 14k Case | Longines Mystery Dial, 1950s?, 10k Gold Fill | Omega Seamaster De Ville 14k case, 1960s? | Waltham Automatic, 14k Case | Rolex cocktail watch (?), 14k bracelet.

Paid $50, $200 (first watch I bought because I loved it), $400 (figured the gold was worth that, needs a small repair but runs, its my favorite), $10 (don't know anything about it, but hey, its solid gold), and ~$7.

The Rolex is I think also from the 50s, its crazy small, it was in a bunch of jewelry at a garage sale. I even told them I thought it was gold, but it was so small it was just part of the $7 I gave them for a pile of gold jewelry and silver holloware. They were from California, clearing out their aunt's house who had just passed and they didn't care even slightly about any of her stuff.

I hope someday maybe my daughter will appreciate it as their Aunt did.


Questions for you watch guys;

1) What kind of strap should I put on the Bulova Accutron? It's a big chunky thing, I am just not sure what would look right. Now that I am getting to be a watch guy I fear I may actually wear it from time to time.

2) Why do I love the dial on the Longines so much? It's mesmerizing, and I just love that its engraved.

3) Why does the Omega feel so right when I wear it? It gives me a similar feeling to my Registered Magnums for pure luxurious opulence, while somehow still not being ridiculous or showy.


I'd also appreciate any advice. I don't plan on getting really into watch collecting, but I found this box at a garage sale, put them all in it, and found myself well pleased with the result. Maybe too well pleased. I will doubtless grab more good watches here and there in my travels.

Here's some closer shots. I need to figure out how to get real glamour shots of these;







And I realized just now that I don't have a shot of the awesome back on the Seamaster. Its just so cool.

Mechanical watches have a "soul" that quartz watches lack. I am rocking Omega Speedmaster Professional (Moon watch) on a Forstner Komfit band. I also have watches from Hamilton, Tag Hauer, and even a vintage Citizen Automatic Diver.

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Only a cold warrior

I do like the old school, mechanical watches....and pocket watches. I only have one "good" wrist watch. It's an old Omega Seamaster from 1961 that I received as a gift back in my high school days....when dinosaurs and wind up Omega watches roamed the earth.

Had it serviced several years ago and it is still very accurate.

A few dents and scratches, but even with it's "sunburned" dial, it still looks great.

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Ret. LE, FA Instr, S&W Armorer

Nice watches!

1998 Omega Seamaster 50th Anniversary GMT with Bond Bracelet - bought it locally at a reasonable price several months ago. Had an issue that required service costing about half of what I paid for the watch.

Mechanical and automatic watches can be expensive to maintain but like the steel, hammer fired guns most of us admire, are worth it for the sheer wonder of the technology and workmanship.

Sent from my 6165S using Tapatalk

I like ‘em…just can’t afford ‘em.

My 27 year old IWC small Portuguiser (Ref. 3531)….

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Here is one of mine, a railroad grade Elgin.



Sorry, my mistake. That is not the railroad grade Elgin. That is my dress Elgin.

Kevin

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Unshared knowledge is wasted.

I love vintage mechanical watches. Bulova Accutron's are early electronic watches that use a vibrating "tuning fork". They predate quartz watches, were extremely accurate and are fairly collectable today.

Here's a few of mine...

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"I also cook."

Have 3 at a real old watch repair shop. Will know in a few weeks how they are. One is a watch my Dad wore in WWII that no other watch repair shops would even look at, will see.

Seiko Automatic Dive watches have been my everyday watch since 1988/89

I have one of these too but it’s in need of repairs…

The pins keep slipping out of the bracelet links.

40th Anniversary dive watch.

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With the exception of the odd Waltham and Hamilton, I have a nice collection of around two dozen antique Elgin pocket watches. My oldest is from 1875 and the youngest from 1925.

Elgin are great watches to collect - they didn't make the very best or the very worst. What they did make was nearly 65 million of them over the course of almost 100 years in the US, so there are plenty still out there as well as plenty of parts for repair.

Fun Fact - "Railroad Grade" watches were not the most accurate watches made. That goes to chronometers and deck watches that were used for navigation.

Watches and guns seem to go together. Anybody that cares for fine mechanical things should like both.

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"He was kinda funny lookin'"

That bracelet is unique to the watch. You might be able to get a new one from Seiko, but it'll probably cost around $100. They might offer just the pins, but you can use a screwdriver/hammer/steel plate and create a flat on the existing pins to hold them in place. Make the flat spot near the end of the pin and drive that end in last.

IRC, there's an arrow on the back of the links showing which way to dive the pins in. It's important that you drive them out the opposite direction.

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"I also cook."

I have seven mechanical watches. Some run, some don't. All are in a baggie in a dresser drawer. I appreciate fine mechanical devices as much as anyone, but for their intended purpose of telling time, I go quartz. I have a 20+ YO Swiss Army quartz (Ronda mvt) watch which is scary precise. Within a couple of seconds per month. No maintenance has ever been needed other than the occasional battery change.What Rolex (or any other mechanical) watch can match that?

Several YouTube videos on how to do all that.

For me, i confess that a major part of the fascination and admiration of the workmanship in the early 20th century pocket watches is inside the interior of the case.

It's amazing to me that these men and women could produce such beautiful and accurate timepieces and cases, both inside and out.

Truly incredible. This is an Illinois, circa 1923









Carter

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Ret. LE, FA Instr, S&W Armorer

I have my grandfather's Illinois pocket watch, guessing it is probably from around the 1920s. I occasionally wind it just to let it run a little. I have owned since he died in 1960. I no longer have much sentimental attachment to it so I might sell it soon. However, after looking on eBay, those watches don't seem to command much of a price.

I had my great-grandfather's Burlington (Illinois) pocket watch converted into a wristwatch by the good folks at Vortic in Fort Collins, CO a few years ago. Later, I had another one of his pocket watches, a Waltham, done for my dad. It's so cool to wear a 103 year old family heirloom on your wrist!

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I had a Zodiac automatic mechanical that my Brother-in-law bought in Greenland ( Sondrestrom Air Base) and gave me in the early 1970's. Great Watch. When the stem broke in the mid 1980's I went to a Seiko Quartz. Wore various Seiko Quartz watches until a little over a year ago when I bought an Islander dive watch off another forum classifieds and the Seiko went on the shelf. I really like a good mechanical watch, there is just something about them that a quartz watch lacks and I won't even discuss a digital watch. A Quartz watch may be super accurate ( mine stayed within 5-6 seconds a month) but a good mechanical is pretty darn good.

My Islander Northport, accuracy averages within + / - 2 - 3 seconds per day which is on par with the high dollar ones. Movement is a Miyota 9015 high beat auto winding.

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Sceva
OGCA SWCA NRA

Mechanical watches are a thing of beauty. I could easily see how people get into collecting them and easily spend way more than many of us do on guns.

I'm with Sistema 1927 and have an Omega Speedmaster "Moonwatch" as well. I remember seeing them advertised around the time of the first moon landing and told myself that I would own one someday. It took until 2021.....

Regarding that Bulova Accutron: I think a brown lizard or 'gator strap would look great with it. I understand that batteries are an issue, they take some kind of battery that is no longer available. However apparently there is an easy mod to get around that. I'd check on some watch collecting forums for the details.

I do have a railroad grade Waltham Crescent St. pocket watch from 1903 that is pretty cool. It has a glass crystal on the back to expose its movement.

Here's some pics.

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My grandfather's pocket watch is an Elgin from 1923/24. It runs perfectly.

[IMG][/IMG]

I don't have anything but mechanical watches - love them! No Quartz or batteries for me.

I have an identical match to your Astronaut, I bought it in the PX back in the early 70's. I tried a few years ago to get a new battery for it, just for demonstration to folks that never saw one in operation. Problem is that Bulova used a low voltage battery that is no longer available, they can put a battery in it but it will run fast. I can remember going over to a girlfriend's house and laying the watch on her night table, it was glass covered, in the middle of the night she wakes me up about a strange sound, it was the danged watch vibrating on the glass table top. They were great watches, a little on the clunky side but not as bad as most diver type watches.

While we are looking at the movements of watches, here is the backside of the Omega in post #2.

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Only a cold warrior

Correct batteries are available...

Esslinger.com - Accutron Battery

After you install the battery, you need to smack the watch to get it running. That activates the tuning fork.

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"I also cook."

I have a lot of watches, but this is my daily wear. It was my grandfathers and it is older than me (62). I wind it every morning and it keeps great time.

...pocket watches. I have a couple. If I decide to dump this ****** cell phone I'll start wearing one. Just need to get some vests.

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"He was kinda funny lookin'"

I have never had a mechanical watch that satisfactorily worked. I have a cell phone.

Yes.

My Seiko 5, while humble and hardly anything to brag on, is an interesting and useful timepiece.

Sceva, Post #25, that knife that says Tidioute on it, is that from a souvenir shop or did they make watches up there? It's nice the way the edge is on that knife. Nice timepiece, too!

I have an Elgin 21-Jewel B.W. Raymond pocket watch that was converted to a wrist watch by a group over in Ukraine. This was long before the war and sadly their business has since gone silent. It had been languishing in my display case until I read your post, so I took it out to wear for a while. It has a crystal on both sides so you can see the movement. My only gripe is that the case is absolutely not water resistant so I have to be extremely careful with it!

[/QUOTE]
Questions for you watch guys;

1) What kind of strap should I put on the Bulova Accutron? It's a big chunky thing, I am just not sure what would look right. Now that I am getting to be a watch guy I fear I may actually wear it from time to time.

[/QUOTE]
I put an age appropriate "Twist-O-Flex" on mine.

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I worked in Colombia back in the early 1970s and bought a Seiko 5 autowind there fairly cheap. I wore it until the late 1980s when it stopped running reliably. When I found out what it would cost me to have it repaired, it got demoted to the dresser drawer. Sold it on eBay maybe 15 years ago.

Invicta autowind watches use Seiko movements. I inherited one which runs fine and looks good, but a little too clunky for me to want to wear. Sort of a Rolex diver clone. Probably one of the best as it has a decent movement. Not a Rolex, but then it is only a few percent of a Rolex price.

I still have my father's Bulova Accutron, non-working. I haven't been tempted to get it repaired, doubt I would wear it if if I did.

I have a couple, but Omega's my favorite by far.
Speedmaster Pro- Hesalite sandwich


Cartier Roadster

Omega Speedmaster Triple Dates

TAG Cararera

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Dave Ramsey Cultist

Have you Omega Speedmaster fans seen the newest version with the white dial ? I think it is stunning. It is available only with the Sapphire sandwich setup and costs about a $1100 premium over the standard version. I don't wear my standard Speedmaster that often so it would be hard to justify buying another. And I don't have $8100 burning a hole in my pocket anyway.....

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Great Eastern Cutlery. Makes knives under the GEC Brand ( Stainless and Carbon) Tidioute Iron Works brand (carbon Steel) and the Northfield Cutlery brand (stainless)

Small runs of very well made knives. The one shown is a # 06 model called the Pemberton and the shape is called a Coke Bottle. ( Doc Pemberton invented Coca Cola) from 2019

Great Eastern Cutlery - Great Eastern Cutlery

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Sceva
OGCA SWCA NRA

It's a nice watch, but I like the traditional Speedy in black myself.

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