I’m very partial to Alpina watches. Both the design and the movements have a simplicity and clarity that I like. This is very much true for this little gem, that Anders from Norway sent in.
Service: Alpina calibre 592R
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Author Archives: Christian
Service: Omega Constellation calibre 354
Another day, another Constellation. Gold case, and a 354 bumper movement, so what’s not to love? The dial has a bit of patina, but I always quite like that, as it adds to the charm of the watch.
It needs a service, so let’s go! Continue reading
Service + Repair: EternaMatic 2002 calibre 12824
This Eterna came all the way from Norway, and it needs a fair amount of attention! The calibre 12824 is pretty much an ETA2824. It’s not working, so let’s see what’s up!
Service: Avia / ST96-4
I got this watch from Chris (not our Rado collector Chris), as I repaired his CWC quartz watch. Chris is very well known in the world of Turret clocks, and you could say that he’s the UKs leading expert when it comes to them.
The Avia doesn’t work, but with a bit of luck, it’s just dirt … Continue reading
Service: Cordura Sea-Gull – Baumgartner 158 31/7
This is a watch you don’t see every day… From the heady days when the pin pallet escapement was still widely used. Not only in the British watch industry, but the Swiss were still at it as well. Not long ago, I did a 21 jewel pin pallet movement, a Starlon watch. This lovely Cordura has a 17 jewel pin pallet movement, made by Baumgartner, the 158 31/7. These were the days when some manufacturers claimed that the pin pallet escapement was superior to the Swiss lever… one of the reasons being that the pallet stones couldn’t get dislodged during servicing. A bit feeble as a reason for superiority I’d say, but a nice try 
Continue reading
Service: Certina blue ribbon calibre 25-651
If it’s a Certina, it has to be Joris’! Well, not exactly, but it belongs to a friend of his, and there is a long story involving bicycles, watches, and other things… The gist of it is that Joris has to have the watch fixed, and will get a bicycle in exchange. Continue reading
Service: Longines Ultra-Chron calibre 431
Steve sent me this lovely Longines Ultra-Chron. Ultra because the calibre 431 beats at 36,000 bph, so 10 beats every second.
The rotor of the auto winder blocks sometimes, and it needs a service. Continue reading
Repair: Fake Breitling
Once in a while, I indulge in the rescue of the odd fake, and it’s time again. Daniel sent me his fake Breitling, and it doesn’t move at all…
This is a pretty cheap fake, e.g. there is no real chronograph function. Note that the little hand of the 3 o’clock sub-dial is missing. Continue reading
Open The Floor!
With a solid 400 visits per day, this blog has a very regular following, and I’m very grateful that you have stuck with me so far.
I would like to open this blog once a month (or more often if there is enough material) for all of you. Rather than me pontificating about my work, it would be interesting to hear what you are up to. There are lots of you that have sizeable collections, and most of you know more about one particular brand that you collect than I do.
We would all profit from a little exchange of ideas, and that’s just what I would like to do. If you are interested in writing an article for this blog, just post a reply with what you would like to write about, and I will set you up an account so that you can write your own post.
I’m very much looking forward to see what interesting stuff you will come up with!
Christian
Restoration: Zenith Respirator Kennedy calibre 2542PC
Rob sent me this Zenith Respirator, which he was given. We don’t know anything about the history of the watch, but the 2542PC was built between 1964 and 1969, so we can date the watch. The design goes along with that date range …
From what you can see from the outside, this doesn’t look too promising – you can already see flakes of rust on the dial. Continue reading
