What Caliber is Your Watch?

[feralmerril]

I like fine guns. I never got into buying anything better than a casio. I read this stuff about buying $4,000 rolexs and getting $500 tuneups ever so many years. To me it looks like "a playboy statement" to say the least. I am a refined disearning fellow who has made myself super rich, infidel!
A $35 casio will keep as good if not better time wont it? Sorry maybe I am not understanding something here. Why not just get a fancy exspendsive watch band for our casio?

 

[Jeff423]

Why not get a set of custom inlaid grips for your High-Point?

 

[Ben_hutcherson]

A $35 casio will keep as good if not better time wont it? Sorry maybe I am not understanding something here. Why not just get a fancy exspendsive watch band for our casio?

Some of us just happen to enjoy watches.

Sorry, but I find it kind of funny that folks make comments like this on a gun forum, since a $200 Hi-Point or $300 Taurus accomplishes much the same thing as a $2000 1911 or a high end S&W revolver.

There's nothing rational in liking high end watches, just as there's nothing rational in needing more than one or two guns to hunt and defend yourself with.

 

[gaijin]

Unfortunately for my wife, I collect mechanical Swiss watches in addition to Nihonto (traditionally forged Japanese swords) and firearms.
There is something intriguing about a man made, mechanical watch that is capable of accuracy of 10 seconds in 24 hrs. (which is 86,400 seconds from memory).
Here are a few:

IWC "Aquatimer" and Rolex GMT ll (with some Baer pistols):

Rolex "Sub" (and Baer "CVll"):

Early 60's LeCoultre "Memovox" (with DWM 1916 P-08);

60's IWC Rose Gold cal 89 (same P-08):

60's IWC cal 854 (Turnbull USFA "P" model):

50's IWC cal 83 (Hizen Masahiro wakazashi):

 

[Mule Packer]

Here are some I carry. Nothing fancy...but functional.

 

[feralmerril]

I knew when I wrote that, that it would bring smoke in the autotorium. Probley well deserved too. I will say with a wristwatch people can see it where most people dont see my fancy guns. Yesterday I went on a group ATV ride. One of the guys knows I am into guns as he is. None but he and me know that we discretley CC. He took me aside at a rest stop, called me aside from the group, pulled a beautifull colt SAA out from under his shirt to show me. It was 38-40 and engraved, looked new! Probley a minimum of a rolex in cost! He didnt want to show it to anyone but me, also there were a couple kids in the group. Guess we are what we are and like what we like.
I was packing a nice old M&P as I dont like scratching up my exspendsive classics or getting them dusty.

 

[Texas Star]

I knew when I wrote that, that it would bring smoke in the autotorium. Probley well deserved too. I will say with a wristwatch people can see it where most people dont see my fancy guns. Yesterday I went on a group ATV ride. One of the guys knows I am into guns as he is. None but he and me know that we discretley CC. He took me aside at a rest stop, called me aside from the group, pulled a beautifull colt SAA out from under his shirt to show me. It was 38-40 and engraved, looked new! Probley a minimum of a rolex in cost! He didnt want to show it to anyone but me, also there were a couple kids in the group. Guess we are what we are and like what we like.
I was packing a nice old M&P as I dont like scratching up my exspendsive classics or getting them dusty.

How much money do you have in the ATV?

 

[feralmerril]

Two rolexs.

 

[TAROMAN]

.45 what else?

.45 what else?

S&W Mumbai Lamplighter Tritium

 

[JeffNW]

I really like mechanical watches esp. old ones, although I've also got a Citizen Titanium Eco Drive.

The watch on the top left was a gift from my mom to my father(newer strap). The Elgin pocket watch in the foreground was given to my father for his Lutheran Confirmation by his grandfather(newer watch chain). The GMT in the middle is my daily wear(caliber 3186).

 

[therevjay]

I like fine guns. I never got into buying anything better than a casio. I read this stuff about buying $4,000 rolexs and getting $500 tuneups ever so many years. To me it looks like "a playboy statement" to say the least. I am a refined disearning fellow who has made myself super rich, infidel!
A $35 casio will keep as good if not better time wont it? Sorry maybe I am not understanding something here. Why not just get a fancy exspendsive watch band for our casio?

As far as accurate and reliable you are 100% right. I can see though why it would be nice to have a really NICE watch.....Just...Well....Just because it's nice, even if it doesen't tell time any better (or maybe not as well) as a $29.95 Timex or Casio. You can't live forever, and not all fun toys go bang.

I have a Croton which is really dirt cheap compared to the others talked about here. Although at the time I bought it, $350 seemed like a fortune. I thought it was REALLY cool 'cause it has a crystal back and you can watch the little gears move, doesent need batteries, has no day or date to mess with, and most important (to me) is very simply styled. (You don't look like somebody with a fake Brietling or Rolex)

 

[feralmerril]

I probley have a dozzen or so watchs laying around. I inherited 4 or 5. I dont know their worth if any. One russian pocket watch and a german one that my uncle took off soliders. On the russian one I asked him how he come by that? He just laughed and said, hell! The first russian solider I seen I couldnt reconise the uniform and thought he might be a jap! I never knew if he was serious on that one or not.
Another I was playing a slot machine next to some old guy and he run out of money. He tore a nice looking citizen off his wrist and said gimme 10 bucks. I gave him a roll of quarters. I did have a waltham gold pocket watch that my gr, gr, grandfather brought back from the civil war and gave my g,g,grandmother. I checked the numbers and it was in the early 1860s. I also had another I inherited from the 1880s and gave them to my daughter to pass on to my grandaughters.
I also have a inscribed buliva acutron I was given from my uncle. He was given it for his 25 year companys service. That was moms brother. My dads brother was the companys top foreman and gave him the watch. It needs fixing.

 

[Walter Rego]

I'll play. Here is a Waltham Model 1892 Crescent St, size 18, manufactured in 1903. It is a Railroad Model and lever set. The rear of the case is glass so that you can see the beautifully engraved and engine turned movement. I've done a little research online, the Crescent St. was the 2nd to the top of the line Waltham movement. It cost about $40 in 1903, almost $1000 in today's dollars. That was for the basic movement, and of course the cost could go up depending on what type of case (gold, sterling silver, engraved, etc.) that the movement was installed into by the local jeweler. It keeps good time.

 

[Ben_hutcherson]

Here's another prize of my collection. This is the "little brother" to the one I pictured above, and is a 16 size movement rather than 20 size. These are a fair bit more common than the 20 size, but they're not easy to find in this condition. The case on this one is 18K gold.

 

[Ben_hutcherson]

I love 18 size Illinois Bunn Specials also, and really any high grade 18 size(and 16 size) Illinois watches. This is my favorite 18 size Bunn Special

And for those of you interested in such things, here's another angle on an Illinois Sangamo Special I serviced a few months back

(And where's Charlie Sides to put my Illinois watches to shame )

 

[skennedy]

I could have bought a few expensive 1911's for this one, but I collect watches also. This one belonged to a friend that passed away in 2011.

 

[Ben_hutcherson]

For those interested in such things, here are a few "on the bench" photos from this evening.

The first is the hairspring and balance cock from a Hamilton 987 movement, a 6/0 size wristwatch movement. The hairspring is sometimes called the heart of the watch-it and the balance wheel form a harmonic oscillator that provides a(hopefully) stable frequency for the watch's timekeeping. To provide for the best isochonism(frequency stability independent of the amplitude of vibration) and positional stability, the hairspring needs to be perfectly concentric through its entire arc of vibration with respect to the balance wheel.

Unfortunately, someone has manipulated this one such that it was badly out of shape, and I've been trying to wrestle it back into shape. Typically, I will do this with the spring removed from the balance wheel and mounted on the balance cock, and manipulate the spring until the collet(center part of the spring) is centered over the balance jewel. The job is complicate by the fact that the regulator-the arm with two pins sticking down-can be adjusted to regulate the timekeeping, and the hairspring needs to stay concentric through the entire motion of the regulator.

I have this one close, although it's not there yet. To give a sense of scale, the hairspring is shown next to the tip of a sewing needle-a tool which is tremendously valuable in several ways when manipulating springs

The next is the balance jewels out of a Bulova 11 ligne wristwatch movement. One of the jewels has an apropriately-sized drop of oil on it. Shown next to the same needle for size comparison.

 

[Ben_hutcherson]

I recently inherited a late model Rolex Daytona. It is 18k yellow gold, gold band, oyster and diamond face. My uncles had purchased it a few years ago and probably wore it two or three times. It now resides in my safe as I try to figure out when and where I would wear it.

Is it better for the watch to leave it in it's box or to purchase one of those winders to keep it running?

Regards.

Bob

In general, sitting is not hurting anything and the watch will not wear while not running.

With that said, many folks will say to wind it up every month or two to keep the lubricants moving. I'm doubtful as to whether or not this actually accomplishes anything, but it certainly won't hurt. With automatics, it's probably better to give them a few shakes or even wear them around the house for a few hours rather than winding with the stem.

 

[tompehret]

"Hunter" refers to the case. A Hunter case has a hinged snap closing cover that you open to see the watch dial. By the way, they should never be "snapped" closed as this wears down the latch. Rather, push down the opener button on the winder stem and close them. Just like a revolver should have the cylinder put back into battery by hand pressure and never a flick of the wrist. What's engraved on it doesn't matter, just as a train engraving doesn't make a watch a railroad quality piece.
A hunter case watch movement also has the winder at the 3 o'clock position, just like a wristwatch. An open-faced pocket watch has the winder at 12. I've run across open-faced pocket watches with the winder at the 3 which could mean that the watch has been re-cased. A serial number search on line will usually tell you how the watch left the factory; movement and case details are available for the better and better-known American brands like Waltham, Hamilton, Elgin etc.
One of my nicer wristwatches is a 1912 Elgin which left the factory as a ladies' pendant style in a hunter case. Somewhere along the line is was put into a wrist case. This was common during WW 1 when wristwatches became acceptable for use by men.

 

[DCWilson]

My watch is .45 caliber.


It looses one minute every 45 minutes.

So is that considered sub-MOA accuracy or the other kind? I'm so confused.


The last time I was in a timepiece store the head honcho, completely misreading my interest and resources, tried to show me some kind of modern tourbillon thing that I still don't understand. The price tag was $220,000. Holy moly! Do you know how many top grade complete Registered Magnum packages I could buy for that?.

I told him politely that my mother never wore a watch because she had perfect time, and I inherited the trait from her. He left me to talk to some Newport Beach dude in $400 shades and an Izod shirt who was flipping the Porsche fob on his key ring back and forth. He had the vibe of a guy who really needed to know what time it was.

Old joke: Railhead Porsche boy gets coked up, goes out for a spin, rolls his car at high speed through an intersection. He manages to crawl out of the wreckage and looks at the mangled heap, starts screaming, "My Porsche, my Porsche!" A good samaritan runs up to him with a tourniquet and yells, "Forget the Porsche, your arm's been torn off!" Porsche guy looks down to where his arm used to be and starts screaming, "My Rolex, my Rolex!"

(Insert rimshot/cymbal smash here.)