Watches N+1…

I always take two watches on holiday, a beater and a nicer watch. No diving for me, even though most of my watches are 200m rated….they only meed to be waterproof to survive me floundering in the pool.

I’m on holiday now, got my Smiths Commander and my Seiko Diver Chrono.

watch box for home and a watch roll for travelling

I was going to use a broom handle this morning for display purposes 🙂 And I can just take the drawer on Holiday! Not sure the ‘collection’ is worth a special box to be honest!

@simondbarnes – ah hah right well you’ve motivated me to take mine in tomorrow!

Feel like I need to dig out my Animal watch, I reckon it’s getting on for 30 years old now

Today is all about clocks and watches as I’ve finally roped someone into coming to the Museum of Timekeeping with me at the BHI, Upton.

I think that there are some George Daniels creations there so thought I’d get the coaxial out.

<p style=”text-align: left;”>That’s lovely pisco. Can’t tell on my phone (and with my colour blindness), is the strap blue as well?</p>

I don’t know much about watches (as my photo on the last page shows), but ^^^ is indeed lovely!

My local Timpsons were unable to get the back off the case of the Animal watch. Might try a different jewellers but assume they all use similar tools?

That’s lovely pisco. Can’t tell on my phone (and with my colour blindness), is the strap blue as well?

Thanks! It’s black, but still goes nicely with the watch as the blue-fired chrono hands look black in most lights. It originally came on brown alligator.

Suprised that Timpsons couldnt do it tbh.  Assume its the same back as the Animal on the previous page?

Anything like this should do the job, unless it has somehow seized or something?

Absolutely lovely that chrono pisco, beautiful!  Have fun and tell us about it after please.

<p style=”text-align: left;”>Absolutely lovely that chrono pisco, beautiful!</p>

+1, stunning looking watch.

lol I didn’t check the opening times, and it’s only open on a Friday morning! It’s only a five minute cycle away, so I’ll probably go solo one Friday soon.

@pisco – they had a 4 plug version of that but without the long handle. Fella reckon case was seized on and couldn’t be shifted. For a fiver i might get the tool and have a go myself.

Well, as it turns out, because the Upton village fete was on, the museum was open, and at half price entry.

Obviously it’s properly geeky, but I love talking escapements. The volunteers were very helpful and knowledgeable. However, one chap, in reference to the lever escapement, said that old watches had this (true) but any modern watches with this are now made in China. “What about today’s Swiss watches?” I asked. “They will all be quartz nowadays”??

Anyway, it’s got a nice variety of craftsmanship, engineering, and lots and lots clocks

regulated by a ball rolling on a tilting tray

Nerdy escapement working models

Love the Accutron – my dad’s in front of me as I type. Really cool but required amazing tolerances to work.

Fabulous pisco! Never mind the less expert expert!  You’re pics remind me,  I forgot to say,  I went up the Queen Elizabeth Tower at the Palace of Westminster a couple of weeks ago,  got to see the clock for it striking a quarter hour and be in the belfry for the next,  ear plugs were provided!  The clock has a gravity escapement and its regulated by adding or removing old pennies from the top of the pendulum weight.   There were specific weights for that job but they got lost.   They were found again during the recent refurbishment but they have stuck with tradition and still use pennies.  The clock was built by Denison, I’m yet to look up if that is the same family that makes watch cases.

I am of course talking about the clock and tower commonly known by the name of the biggest bell (named after a tall mp that was influential to the rebuilding of the Palace in its current form after it was destroyed by fire).  That Bell being……?

… Big Ben.

Roughly 1 in 10 staff in Timpsons are convicted criminals…. for a positive reason, they are the biggest employer of ex-prisoners. I believe they have training centres in prisons so people can go straight into employment after serving their sentence

Correct  tthew, I didn’t make it hard did I.

I got free tour but having done it I’d thoroughly recommend it, well worth the 20 or 25 quid I belive the tour costs.

However, one chap, in reference to the lever escapement, said that old watches had this (true) but any modern watches with this are now made in China. “What about today’s Swiss watches?” I asked. “They will all be quartz nowadays”??

#facepalm! Deary me, I’d love to visit and wave my SPORK under his nose and point out it’s a Japanese watch and movement, and it’s only around ten years old. Then there’s Yema, French, and producing in-house mechanical movements, and as for British watchmakers like Rebecca Struthers and her husband…

I got free tour but having done it I’d thoroughly recommend it, well worth the 20 or 25 quid I belive the tour costs.

Is this a recent thing since the restoration? I’ve never heard of it, though I suppose they don’t want to publicise and make it too popular.  Definitely on my to do list next time I’m in London village.

Balls! I typed then lost a long reply! Yes it’s been possible before but not for several years during the restoration.  They will be doing 1tour per hour and groups of 16 per guide.  Think they said it’ll be £25, but maybe be £20. Definitely worth that in my view. This gives an idea

There’s more on YouTube too if you want a better idea

I’ve got a vintage omega and had a thread about it years ago on here – there was some really useful advice / notes on it but for the life of me I can’t find it! Don’t want to start another!

Can anyone dig it out and post a link??

thanks. Neil

Watchists: Old (ish) Omega, help needed

Here’s the Link to booking a Big Ben tour

Before the restoration it was free and booked by contacting your local MP, absolutely brilliant and generally poorly advertised

As others have said really worth it, and looking at the new website looks easier to book than the old (free) system

I always book the 11:15 session whenever in London to get maximum bell ringing at the 12:00 strike, and as a bonus since you’ve already passed through security at Portcullis House, after the tour you are free to explore Westminster Hall and watch Prime Ministers Question from the public viewing gallery as well

Thanks for the photos @pisco! That place looks amazing, I too love an escapement. Would like to visit – I remember watching a video (VHS on the school’s massive Ferguson TV, of course) when I was young about that Greenwich Mean Time clock.

And another vote for Timpson’s, they’re a really sound company. They train and employ ex-offenders as they recognise that this is the best way to prevent re-offending and help people sort their lives out. They offer all sorts of bonuses and perks (the company owns holiday apartments somewhere that employees can rent free of charge, IIRC), has mental health support written into employee contracts and is a Living Wage employer IIRC. Their customer service is usually exceptional because they’re such a good company to work for so they recognise that their people might make mistakes but they want to put them right – I found the High Performance Podcast interview with James Timpson very moving: https://www.thehighperformancepodcast.com/podcast/james-timpson

Currently finding myself drawn to the Style60s presages.

https://www.seikowatches.com/uk-en/products/presage/style60s

I particularly like the petrol blue GMT

So I’ve posted my Seiko ‘King’ Samurai a couple of times now. So here’s my Seiko 5, the watch that got me interested in mechanical watches…

It’s on another eBay Rubber/Sailcloth strap as the Seiko original strap is getting hard and cracking :o(

Swdan – I like the Presage watches too. Although I’m not familiar with the 4R34 movement :o)

@simondbarnes – thanks, appreciated!

Hiking with Oris yesterday. Swimming today. Eating with it everyday, on Samos…

My thanks to everyone who recommended the G Shock 5610U in this thread – I never would have discovered it otherwise

It is the best watch I have ever owned… subtle, robust, solar powered, accurate with nightly radio controlled timing and with change from £100… brilliant

Love those classic Propilot’s.  Not so keen on the newer ones though

@Charlie, I’m liking the Ω !

Thank you @gaidong

It was a lucky find at a charity shop so I know nothing about it other than it works

The face has no detail other than branding and the reverse is all smooth with no markings or obvious tool markings for opening

I’ve been following this thread with interest but any suggestions for how I can remove the back safely, or who to take it to, would be most welcome

Sharp knife with care will get the back off

Markings will be on the inside of the caseback.  Get it off and have a look

@gaidong – oooh fancy! An Oris just for an eating watch 🙃

Thank you for the encouragement

A sharp knife with care (and persuasion) and the back is off

It’s an Omega 2496 1

circa 1949

Caliber number 283

and in the continuing spirit of this Thread…

I’m lucky to have this mechanical Swiss and a G shock in my collection of 2, so please feel free to recommend a N+1 of a different style of watch to bring my collection up to 3

@ElShalimo, upgraded for the Assumption of the Virgin Mary. Chickpea fritters doing their part to keep my mass starting with a 9 rather than an 8…