I have a late 1940s Seiko that I just got in yesterday, and I'm pretty sure somebody tried to oil it (liberally) with olive oil about 50 years ago. The whole movement side was covered in a thick layer of a dark neon green substance that had basica…
Continue readingAligning Hairspring Collet to Jewel
So this watch showed up with a pretty jacked up hairspring- two significant bends out of flat, with several smaller bends out of round, and a couple coils touching. I have worked it into flat and what I believe is a good enough roundness to run, except…
Continue readingObscure 1950s Chronometer Seiko In “Women’s” Bundle
Recently, my attention has been drawn to pre-international market Seikos- their relative obscurity and huge production numbers within Japan make them a fantastic value, and the period form the late 30s to early 50s is really where Seiko becomes a bonfi…
Continue readingSecond Overhaul- Free Rusty Junk Seiko!
I posted a few weeks back about my 1930s Alprosa I overhauled using a budget watchmaking kit I put together. You can check out that thread here-
My First Overhaul! | Page 2 | WatchUSeek Watch Forums
Since then, I have been tinkering with some broken …
Continue readingVintage Staking Set Guidance
As I'm becoming more interested in the hobby, I've decided to start keeping an eye out for vintage staking sets online. Frankly, though, I have no idea what I'm looking for exactly. I expect that they will likely need deep cleaning, poli…
Continue readingBalance Pivot Sanity Check- Tavannes cal. 365
So I've got a couple Tavannes cal. 365 movements on the bench, one with an antishock setting on the balance cock and one without. Both were running (albeit poorly) when received, and both appear to have an identical jewel setting on the base plate…
Continue readingAlprosa Rectangular (Enicar) Movement ID
Hello, I was looking through cheap watch listings looking to salvage a good vintage 16mm strap, and I ended up buying this Alprosa for ¥5000 (≈$32). I did some research on the watch afterwards, and it turned out to be a lot nicer than I expected! I have read that Alprosa is a sub-brand of Enicar, and is typically Swiss parts cased and/or assembled in Germany. I initially assumed it was a 1950s women’s watch, but I now believe it is a much earlier men’s/unisex model- I’ll lay out what I know…
Continue readingMy First Overhaul!
TL/DR: I spent a little money and overhauled a ~90-year-old watch for the first time. My reflections and mistakes below.
As someone who has been solely interested in vintage watches, I have felt like my biggest roadblock so far has been my inability t…
Continue readingFinally Burned by A Japanese Dropshipper..
Well, I’ve been pretty lucky with 20+ online purchases so far, but the other night I bought a vintage quartz watch (will update with details pending judgement) described as in fair condition, with no remarkable defects or flaws and a new battery. the seller also mentions that he is selling it because his fashion tastes have changed and he no longer wears the watch. Well, turns out it doesn’t work. There’s also some faint signs of water damage on the dial that were not visible in the photos…
Continue readingGreat (Non-Military) Watches of the 1940s?
As a collector of mostly dressy and gold watches, I have noticed a 1940s-shaped hole in my watch box. Military designs don’t do much for me, but it seems that the new designs of the 1940s were almost completely dominated by military-style watches, like…
Continue reading