Matthew sent this lovely Tudor in for a service. The luminous compound on the hands is a bit brittle and has come off in places, but the case and dial are in very good condition.
The 9 carat gold case was made by Dennison in the UK.
You can see where the luminous compound has come off the minute hand.
Having removed the old compound, I apply new white compound.
The movement is an AS1187. Tudor uses standard Swiss movements, rather than Rolex movements, to make a clear distinction between the two brands.
The escape wheel has a bottom cap jewel (the top isn’t capped).
The balance isn’t shock proof, but has fixed jewels.
And we’re ready for the cleaning machine. Even though the mainspring is in there, I found a new one that is close enough to the original – a 1.6 x 0.105 x 300 x 8.5.
And here it is going into the barrel.
The base movement is back together, and the balance is swinging very nicely.
Not bad considering the age of the movement!
With a new black strap, the watch is looking great again. I love that dial…
Beautiful dial.
That AS1187 movement also comes in a 17 jewel version.
Here’s my less pristine example:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/nickant44/9650199197/in/photostream
Notice that it also has ” Adj” engraved – presumably adjusted to maybe 3 positions.
Interesting that the movement for this Tudor is an earlier version without shock resistance.
Tudor made some lovely watches… and still make nicer ones than their parent company! I do prefer their old logo to the new one that looks not unlike Bart Simpson IMHO…
Is replacing lume on hands a difficult task?
You just have to practise a bit… When I started off, I made the mixture too thick. You have to make it quite liquid, so that the capillary effect holds it between the opening of the hand to create a nice surface.
There is a description with some pictures here:
http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Budget_Watch_Collecting/Repainting/reluming_hands
The lume is applied to the rear of the hands. This would only apply if the hands are punched through. 😉