Peter recently sent his watch in for a service and a new crystal. I’m a big fan of Rolex Submariners and this nice example from 1977 also happens to be my birth year!

It was running when it came in so it was thought that just a routine service was needed so I proceeded to disassemble the movement. Continue reading →

Brendan sent in this Rolex Prince from the 1930’s complaining that the crown felt detached from the movement when trying to set the hands.

The movement is removed from its case and the dial and hands are taken off to investigate what is causing the problem. I test the keyless works and it is observed that when the crown is turned in hand setting mode the sliding pinion falls below the intermediate winding wheel making setting the hands impossible. Under the microscope it is just possible to see the end of the stem moving about on the other side of the movement.

This is the iconic Seiko “Turtle”, THE classic Seiko diver. 

Although Seiko obviously designed this as a dive watch, it was also a great choice for a soldier in combat. It was immortalised in the film Apocalypse Now, where it was worn by Martin Sheen. Water resistant, with a simple robust automatic movement, a timing bezel and also a hacking feature for synchronising (and of course a G-shock wasn’t available back then!).  Continue reading →

Hello everyone, I’d like to introduce myself. My name is Ray and I have the huge pleasure of letting you all know that I am Christians apprentice.

I am 40, married and from Northumberland, I enjoy rock climbing, motorcycling and of course I am absolutely obsessed with wristwatches! Continue reading →