I love a watch with a story, and this one certainly has one!
The crown on the dial and the Arabic writing are the clue. The owner of the watch, Michael, was working for the Zoological Society of London in the late 70s and 80s. Part of the job as a senior staff member was to take a turn at being duty officer at the London Zoo over weekends.On one occasion, Queen Noor of Jordan visited the Zoo with her children, and Michael was asked to show her and her family round the Zoo. He remembers her as a truly charming lady, but he wasn’t so sure about the female bodyguard. The following Monday after the visit, a representative from the embassy presented Michael with this watch and a personal letter from Queen Noor. Queen Noor wrote to him asking advice about whether or not she should accept a lion cub as a gift for her children.
The watch has been well worn since then, and is in need of some attention.
The case back, which holds the movement, snaps into the bezel. There isn’t too much dirt here considering the age of the watch, and that’s a good sign.
Close-up of the dial. There is a scratch between the centre and the date window, but otherwise, the condition is good considering the age of the watch. Now I would really like one of my Arabic speaking readers to let me know what the writing under the crown says!
That’s what I call “barely moving”.
An old friend, the ETA 2824.
Balance and pallet fork removed.
The mainspring looks a bit tired, and I will replace it as usual.
The bottom plate. You can see that I have already removed the balance jewels.
The movement taken apart and ready for the cleaning machine.
The new mainspring and the barrel.
Epilame treatment for the escape wheel, pallet fork and cap jewels.
The base movement is back together and beating, and looking very nice.
I adjust the beat error and beat rate, but will do a fine adjustment after the watch has run for a day. Very good performance compared to what the watch was doing before the service.
And the bottom plate is back together and ready for the dial.I give the crystal a light polish as it has a lot of scratches, and put the watch back together. The design clearly makes this watch a child of its time, and with the story behind it, a great watch to have!
I have a watch and I wanna sell it
Go on, then!
Hello, could you please tell me the mainspring size/code for Favre Leuba 111 automatic?
There’s no information on GR.
Does anybody know how much this watch is worth please I also have one
I have one watch in Oman
Please can anyone tell me the exact type of gasket I need to replace on caseback of a 1970,s FAVRE LEUBA SEA RAIDER, 36000 hi-beat ?, watch is keeping excellent time but a very small amount of moisture got in, dryed out now, would you advise full service needed and how much should that cost ? thanks for any help, Tom, UK.
You can buy gaskets by size at cousinsuk.com.
Usually, a service is called for once a watch got wet, but considering the value of the watch, I would just continue to wear it.
Best regards,
Christian
I have one on these watches I would like to sell, where would you suggest I try?
Favre-Leuba/ETA2824
eBay?
Thank you
Hi
I want to know the address of Favre-Leuba in Athens Greece.
Thanks
Hi
I want to know the address of Favre-Leuba in Toronto Canada.
Thanks
hi
Interesting reading about the Favre leuba , I have one with a similar story, I was given one as a thank you by if I remember correctly, the sultan of Brunei royal family.
I would like your opinion on it and think it would benefit from a clean and service
Many thanks
Depends when it was last serviced… If it’s over 10 years, it’s definitely time. And if the Sultan of Brunei gave it to you, it should well be worth it!
Love the story too. I asked my Arabic speaking colleagues and apparently the writing is the name of the previous Jordan king: Hussein bin Talal.
Thanks for asking your colleagues!
I’m sure he’d never sell it but the story and the letters from the Queen(if he kept them) would really up the value of this beautiful watch!
You don’t hear so much of Favre-Leuba these days, but it looks like they are still going. This one is nicely styled… I rather like it 😉