Off Topic - Wrist Watches (pics)

[CJB]

I know its totally off topic, but there may be a few watchaholics here, so I thought I'd share the newest inbound -

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v214/bandersnatchreverb/MAIN/IMG_20141010_134555_zps4fe6f92f.jpg

Three hundred meter and helium rated. Hand made, except for sapphire crystal and better grade (NE15/6R15) Seiko movement, which is hand adjusted (to tweak the robotic assembly adjustment).

Anyway, if this thread becomes anything - it'll need pictures! (watch porn)

[b4uqzme]

I don't even stray from the shallow end of the pool let alone 300 meters. But that's certainly purdy.

[CJB]

Hell, I don't even do the shallow end! If I went to the beach, the Cousteau Society would show with with GreenPeace and PITA and try to save me by pushin' me back out to sea!

Here's another 300m (1000ft) Helium gas rated diver's. The Seiko "Tuna-Can", so named for the protective shroud around the top.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v214/bandersnatchreverb/MAIN/IMG_20140919_193412_zps6207d823.jpg

[b4uqzme]

Gettin' even purdier. Sorry I cannot reciprocate with pictures. I haven't worn a watch in years. No tan lines on this wrist.

[Barth]

Personally I've never worn a wrist watch.
But I gave one of these to my Dad for his 80th birthday -
http://www.gemday.com/pic2/snp017_feature.jpg

[CJB]

That looks like it came off the set of Star Treck: Nemesis !!

A bit of futuristic SteamPunk, very tasty, and talk about "complications" of the movement, jeeze.

[340pd]

Long time daily wearers.

http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t320/gnystrom_photos/20141011_153239_zpsf4000202.jpg

[Boom]

Wow, nice watches. And here I sit with just a Citizen.


http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/14/10/11/16bfb18ef7585f2485d0ce06ffddb16b.jpg

[Bawanna]

Dayum, yall got some right pretty watches. I've tried to go without but I just gotta wear one. I never could figure how you tell the time when there ain't no numbers on your watch?

Ain't worth the effort to take pics of my Casio but it tells me the time Purdy good.

I know Jocko is a watchaholic. Got some of them Potacs, or Peteks something like that I ain't never heard of before. I googled em one time and they was more than my van. Wife said I couldn't have one. B!tch...............


I really like the looks of that first blue faced one even if it don't work too good. It's 2:30. That's real stylish, looks great.

[DavidS]

Gettin' even purdier. Sorry I cannot reciprocate with pictures. I haven't worn a watch in years. No tan lines on this wrist.
Same here. I had (still have) a Seiko in the 70's but the Navy wouldn't let us wear radium dials on the sub. Never put one back on.

[jeepster09]

:cool:

[b4uqzme]

Here's the last one I ever wore regular...Mrs. b4 found it at a rummage sale for $2.00

[Boom]

:cool:

Awesome! I have a couple of those myself!

[Bawanna]

Here's the last one I ever wore regular...Mrs. b4 found it at a rummage sale for $2.00

Damn, that was a steal wasn't it. Did it work or you just wear it to hang out with the rich folk?

That's a fine looking watch too. Like the looks a lot.

[Bawanna]

[QUOTE=CJB;319269]Hell, I don't even do the shallow end! If I went to the beach, the Cousteau Society would show with with GreenPeace and PITA and try to save me by pushin' me back out to sea!

Those folks are around my office all the time trying to herd the violets. Guess they don't want to see em dry out and die.

I kind of like the thought myself but you never can figure them tree/dolphin huggers.

[jocko]

If its vintage it is worth a nice price, if itis todays, then it is indeed just Mickey Mouse. Just sayin

[CJB]

They're the type that keeps Micky's hands movin back an forth between 3:10 and 3:25 over and over and over.... just sayin!

[jocko]

ur a very sick man CJB, u have read to much of muggsys stuff. try cleansing ur mind with reading only stuff form ol jocko, its clean, its humorous , it makes zero sense and for most if gives great bowel movements to..

[CJB]

Don't even get started on vintage.... I've got one oldy Seiko out getting redone, but only inside, not cosmetics. Paid $135 for it in 1978 or so, come to find out that they're fetchin' well over $1500, for a "wabi" one (wabi bein' good ol daily wear).

And while the Rolex's are nice... and I've got a Submariner, I can't keep the damn thing runnin' for more than two years at a stretch, and its "not run" more than it "has run' since the mid-80's. Maybe some day I'll fork over the dough to get it overhauled one... more.... time.

Then sell the beetch!

[b4uqzme]

Damn, that was a steal wasn't it. Did it work or you just wear it to hang out with the rich folk?

That's a fine looking watch too. Like the looks a lot.

I wore it for years and it ran fine. It's one of those shaky watches that winds itself when you wear it. When I quit wearing it though, it ran down. Now I'd have to shake it for about a month to get it running again.

You make me chuckle. I went to a hob-nobby party once in a jacket that I bought at a thrift store for 75 cents. Just for the satisfaction of it. Kinda sick ain't I?

[DavidS]

Same here. I had (still have) a Seiko in the 70's but the Navy wouldn't let us wear radium dials on the sub. Never put one back on.
Found it! :p
11743

[jocko]

my sub has never stopped running, nor my daytona, or gmt. send ur rolex to NY direct to Rolex to get serviced and u will getit done right. These local Rolex or any watch boutique are just not equipmened like the service centers are. I have had a GMT Rolex for 30 years, been to factory twice for service, no complaints from ol jocko. Irecently bought from a widow a 1947 Rolex that has not run in 40 years, so she said. Sentit back to Rolex and it came back complelty service (inside) along with a nice video of the movement before and after, pretty cool. I am a watch snob CJB .Rolex though is really at the bottom of my watch peaces though, but overall it demands respect as most people wold take a Rolex over a Patek watch ay day whih is insane if u actually know timepeaces... Just sayin

[CJB]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v214/bandersnatchreverb/MAIN/CAM00521_zpsc5002641.jpg

More watch porn - the Seiko Sumo.

Jocko, its been to Rolex in NY I think... four times. Once, during a handgun safety class, I noticed it was actually running backwards! Brought it to the local Rolex jeweler (high end hotiy toity place) and the old German (or Swiss) watchmaker jus said "ziss isz eempozzible!" So I dug into my jeans pocket and pulled out the Sub, and showed it to him, to which he just repeated "mein gott mein gott" over and over for a while. Rolex (NY) said the escapement thingy had been fubar'd. Funny, they was the last folks in there, and the folks before that, and that. That one cost me well over $1000 to service in the mid-1990's. Jocko - I got it as a gift, and that gift has cost me probably $3500 in service so far.

This time out... next time out... needs a complete overhaul, plus a new stem tube in the case, and a new crystal, as the one on it is really bad lookin. The bracelet is missin' parts, and I was last wearin it with a zip tie to keep it together. Did I say I'm rather rough on watches?

On the other hand... woot! I've got a nice Seiko Sumo thats about +3sec/day, and a lowly Seiko SKX thats -6s/day, no matter what I do with it or how its positioned at nite.

However, you'll be on the top of the list to contact BEFORE I send it out....just to keep me on the right track with it.

[yqtszhj]

The Seiko are nice. Wife bought me this one in 1988. We didn't have much money but she saved her pennies for it. It still runs amazingly. It runs for about 5 years on the same battery if you get a fresh one and over a year it will keep time within 1 second.

[CJB]

Found it! :p
11743

This watch I got here was first purchased by your great-grandfather during the first World War. It was bought in a little general store in Knoxville, Tennessee. Made by the first company to ever make wrist watches. Up till then people just carried pocket watches. It was bought by private Doughboy Erine Coolidge on the day he set sail for Paris. It was your great-grandfather's war watch and he wore it everyday he was in that war. When he had done his duty, he went home to your great-grandmother, took the watch off, put it an old coffee can, and in that can it stayed 'til your granddad Dane Coolidge was called upon by his country to go overseas and fight the Germans once again. This time they called it World War II. Your great-grandfather gave this watch to your granddad for good luck. Unfortunately, Dane's luck wasn't as good as his old man's. Dane was a Marine and he was killed -- along with the other Marines at the battle of Wake Island. Your granddad was facing death, he knew it. None of those boys had any illusions about ever leavin' that island alive. So three days before the Japanese took the island, your granddad asked a gunner on an Air Force transport name of Winocki, a man he had never met before in his life, to deliver to his infant son, who he'd never seen in the flesh, his gold watch. Three days later, your granddad was dead. But Winocki kept his word. After the war was over, he paid a visit to your grandmother, delivering to your infant father, his Dad's gold watch. This watch. (holds it up, long pause) This watch was on your Daddy's wrist when he was shot down over Hanoi. He was captured, put in a Vietnamese prison camp. He knew if the gooks ever saw the watch it'd be confiscated, taken away. The way your Dad looked at it, that watch was your birthright. He'd be damned if any slopes were gonna put their greasy yella hands on his boy's birthright. So he hid it in the one place he knew he could hide something. His ass. Five long years, he wore this watch up his ass. Then he died of dysentery, he gave me the watch. I hid this uncomfortable hunk of metal up my ass two years. Then, after seven years, I was sent home to my family. And now, little man, I give the watch to you.

[GLOCKROCKER]

Awesome! One of my favorite movies. If I had been little Butch I would have probably said, "Thats OK man, you can keep it!"

[Bawanna]

I wore it for years and it ran fine. It's one of those shaky watches that winds itself when you wear it. When I quit wearing it though, it ran down. Now I'd have to shake it for about a month to get it running again.

You make me chuckle. I went to a hob-nobby party once in a jacket that I bought at a thrift store for 75 cents. Just for the satisfaction of it. Kinda sick ain't I?

Oh man! I've done that. Did you take it back and donate it the next day. My son did the same thing for a school dance. The leaf don't fall far from the acorn, tree fall from......he is his fathers son, whoever he may be.

[DavidS]

Awesome! One of my favorite movies. If I had been little Butch I would have probably said, "Thats OK man, you can keep it!"
Which movie?

[GLOCKROCKER]

Which movie?

From CJB's reply - Pulp Fiction

[DavidS]

Thanks. Did not recall that bit.

[CJB]

One of the major themes of the movie - "timing is everything"

[KingWulfgar]

Here's my White Knight. I haven't worn it in a while because it's badly in need of servicing.

https://farm7.staticflickr.com/6115/6266843706_fa866ed53f.jpg

This is my latest daily wear Kinetic. I do like it, but I miss the automatic movement.

https://farm7.staticflickr.com/6035/6219971215_9fe94db400.jpg

[muggsy]

I shoot a 1911 and I wear an hour glass with an alligator band. I'm old school. :)

[CJB]

Aw Muggs, yer so old school, I bet when you was a kid, dirt was still under warranty!

[CJB]

Here's my White Knight. I haven't worn it in a while because it's badly in need of servicing.

https://farm7.staticflickr.com/6115/6266843706_fa866ed53f.jpg





The White Knight is sweet.... SXK type.... 7S26 movement....easy to service, and if need be a donor movement is fairly inexpensive (fifty bucks for a bare movement, no stem, hands or face. You swap face, hands and stem from your original (and if need be the day/date wheels, which just lift off once the face is lifted off. Easy swap.

[340pd]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v214/bandersnatchreverb/MAIN/CAM00521_zpsc5002641.jpg

More watch porn - the Seiko Sumo.

Jocko, its been to Rolex in NY I think... four times. Once, during a handgun safety class, I noticed it was actually running backwards! Brought it to the local Rolex jeweler (high end hotiy toity place) and the old German (or Swiss) watchmaker jus said "ziss isz eempozzible!" So I dug into my jeans pocket and pulled out the Sub, and showed it to him, to which he just repeated "mein gott mein gott" over and over for a while. Rolex (NY) said the escapement thingy had been fubar'd. Funny, they was the last folks in there, and the folks before that, and that. That one cost me well over $1000 to service in the mid-1990's. Jocko - I got it as a gift, and that gift has cost me probably $3500 in service so far.

This time out... next time out... needs a complete overhaul, plus a new stem tube in the case, and a new crystal, as the one on it is really bad lookin. The bracelet is missin' parts, and I was last wearin it with a zip tie to keep it together. Did I say I'm rather rough on watches?

On the other hand... woot! I've got a nice Seiko Sumo thats about +3sec/day, and a lowly Seiko SKX thats -6s/day, no matter what I do with it or how its positioned at nite.

However, you'll be on the top of the list to contact BEFORE I send it out....just to keep me on the right track with it.

That Sumo is beautiful.

[CJB]

AKA Seiko cameltoe....... 12:00 indice

[jlottmc]

I just wear a cheap Timex Triathlon. Good watch, can't seem to break more than one of them. That particular style of watch is special to me though. I did manage to almost break one, it took breaking a bunch of me to do it, however. I forgot I had it on and took a shower, that finished it. I still wear one, and change the battery every few years, and the band too.

[GROTMAN]

personally i've never worn a wrist watch.
but i gave one of these to my dad for his 80th birthday -
http://www.gemday.com/pic2/snp017_feature.jpg

I want that !!!

[jocko]

actually some of the finest watc hs in the world are manual wind today, they can make them thinner. Look up the Piaget altiplane P2000, it is the world thinnest watch made today. 3.65 MM thick and that inncludes the case and crystal. They onlyt make a few thousand a year but what a superb timepeace. $27,800

[Bawanna]

$27,800 for a watch? Did you type that with a straight face?

$27,800 for a clock on your wrist. I must be out of touch. Car dealer told me that awhile back, told me I need to buy a new car more often so the sticker shock don't get me. Told him it weren't sticker shock it was plain old common sense insanity what they was asking for a pick up truck.

[b4uqzme]

...think I'll start shaking my $2.00 one. Just sayin'. ;)

[CJB]

Believe it or not, the most expensive part of a watch is the case, and not for any real reason except fashion.

An automobile that _really_ looks like a true sportscar will cost you more - just for the way it looks. That is to say, folks will be willing to pay more so it will command more. Same engine and drivetrain in a car for a granny... much lower price. Both cost the same to build.

So it is with watches. For instance, the Seiko 7s26 movement is found in $79 watches and in $400 watches. Whats the difference? Styling. Same innards, 100 percent the same. Built without the touch of human hands, totally automated assembly.

Its a bit of engineering expertise that allows that sort of precision in fixturing, in parts positioning for assembly, even the microlubrication prior to assembly... Yikes that assembly line gets off kilter by as much as a c-word hair, and thats gonna really screw the pooch!

[muggsy]

I wear a sun dial with a genuine alligator strap. I'm retired and don't really give a damn what time it is. Every day is Saturday and I move at a leisurely pace. I was once passed by soil erosion in Pennsylvania. :)

[340pd]

For a true watch collector $27 grand is a good starter watch. High end collectors will pay into the millions for multi-complication, one off, timepieces. Besides you can put a lot more of them in a safe.

http://coolmaterial.com/roundup/expensive-watches/

[JohnR]

My first watch was a Chateau Swiss movement low-budget wind-up watch I got for Christmas in 6th grade. What remains of it is on the left. Digital watches came out soon after, and I had to have one, and then I had to take apart the wind-up watch to see all the gears and stuff. Those plastic cased red LED watches where you push a button to see the time or date, man that was awesome. Then I had a few LCD watches, got a nice Seiko dress watch for graduating from college (it got lost somewhere), and several $30 Timexes in the 1990s that were utterly Glock-like in reliability. I gave some of those away to family members in Nicaragua. My wife bought me the guitar watch. I had a Glycene 24-hour watch but sold it.

The last decade or so, I haven't found a watch that doesn't quit on me every few months. Timex, Citizen, whatever, they now all suck. I just put the Citizen Eco-drive in the window sill for about three weeks to make damn sure the battery is charged, we'll see if I wake up one morning and it's still 11pm. In the mean time, I've been wearing the $11 Wal Mart POS at the bottom, which looks cool but it quit on me too a couple times.

[Bawanna]

Well you got all the time zones covered that's for sure. Seems like it's almost 8 someplace least according to a couple of them.

[JohnR]

"Almost 8" was the actual time of the photograph this morning. I should start wearing the one with no hands. Then I can tell people, "Sorry, I have no time for that."

[DavidS]

I wear a sun dial with a genuine alligator strap. I'm retired and don't really give a damn what time it is. Every day is Saturday and I move at a leisurely pace. I was once passed by soil erosion in Pennsylvania. :)
Same here. I don't wear a watch. Do I know what time it is? Heck, I often don't know what day it is!

[DavidS]

Well you got all the time zones covered that's for sure. Seems like it's almost 8 someplace least according to a couple of them.
Or in the words of Jimmy Buffett: It's five o'clock somewhere.

[JGIORD]

http://c03.coacdn.com/watchesWPC/BL8097-52E_full.jpg

I like Citizen Echo Drives. Never needs a battery. :)

[ltxi]

I wear a sun dial with a genuine alligator strap. I'm retired and don't really give a damn what time it is. Every day is Saturday and I move at a leisurely pace. I was once passed by soil erosion in Pennsylvania. :)

X2....except for the three or four days a month I still go in to work.

I do try to still keep track of what day it is....hate going shopping on a weekend.

[CJB]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v214/bandersnatchreverb/MAIN/IMG_20141013_181049_zpsb1e21edf.jpg[/URL]

I've always sorta had a thing for orange face dive watches. She always had a thing for such protrubances. Except mine!

[GROTMAN]

I have a Seiko that the watchband just broke. Thought I would just get a new watchband but after seeing all these pics.. might be an excuse to get a whole new watch !!

[jocko]

u defintely don't know what ur talking about there CJB. I won't defend my points either, Seiko never made their own movement, they bought them from who ever would sell them the complete movement. They designed and probablyt never even made theiur own cases .. ETA is probably the largest private maker of watch movements in the world. They never made a complete watch but made movements for many makers in various complications and qualities etc a subsidiary of seiko SII and Epson makes most all of seiko movements, ur right about one thing with seiko. they are all machine made and assembled and they keep good time, which today most any watch u buy in a store is gonna be a battery/quartz type watch and they keep excellent time, if thats all u want..

[jocko]

Same here. I don't wear a watch. Do I know what time it is? Heck, I often don't know what day it is!


are u any relation to muggsy, he has been on here for a few years and is till looking for his first clue. Just sayin

[CJB]

u defintely don't know what ur talking about there CJB. I won't defend my points either, Seiko never made their own movement, they bought them from who ever would sell them the complete movement.

Wow. Ya learn something every day. So the unsigned "NE15" movement, is just the open market Seiko signed 6R15. Verry interresting.

[jocko]

For a true watch collector $27 grand is a good starter watch. High end collectors will pay into the millions for multi-complication, one off, timepieces. Besides you can put a lot more of them in a safe.

http://coolmaterial.com/roundup/expensive-watches/

that is aqctully not true, ur in a different area when u get into the 20K watchs, sure some can sell for Millions but normally tha tis acution prices more than anything Eric Claptons Patek recently sold for I believe 4 million, more for the name of the owner than the watch, although the Patek was defiitely the top of the pinacle in watchs.

I stand corrected: It sold in 2012 for 3.6 million.

[jocko]

Wow. Ya learn something every day. So the unsigned "NE15" movement, is just the open market Seiko signed 6R15. Verry interresting.

thaqt I could not tellyou, never owned a seiko. many of the watch makers buy the movement from a maker of movements and then they add their hands to to it and the dial etc, and if you inqire they will say yes its our movement. They might dotay indeed even be stamping out their own mov ements but I would bet behind the scenes SII and Epson have alot to do with their movements... Ihave seen 40MM cases (thats big u know) that if u pull the back off there is a eta moveent in there but with a 40MM dial. this same movement could also be in a 32mm case to. ETA is famous for this kind of movementj.

[KingWulfgar]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v214/bandersnatchreverb/MAIN/IMG_20141013_181049_zpsb1e21edf.jpg

I've always sorta had a thing for orange face dive watches. She always had a thing for such protrubances. Except mine!

That's a sweet watch, CJB. Personally, I'm still kicking myself for not picking up an Orange Monster when they were readily available for around $160.

[taroman]

http://www.hverovhe.com/sw-watch.jpg
Haven't found a Kahr watch yet!

[Bawanna]

Dang I love that watch. Got numbers a person can see and I love the military time inside there. Laid out really good.

I'm googling...................

[muggsy]

are u any relation to muggsy, he has been on here for a few years and is till looking for his first clue. Just sayin

I'll tell you one thing that I learned in the Navy. When in Naples, Italy wear your watch on your ankle. It makes it much more difficult for the pick pockets on fleet landing to steal it. :)

[muggsy]

Dang I love that watch. Got numbers a person can see and I love the military time inside there. Laid out really good.

I'm googling...................

The gun ain't bad neither.

[CJB]

That a really nice military dialed watch! I dunno if maybe I'd like white hands on it - looking somewhat more like something out of a B17, but... really no complaints as it. Nice pistol too!

[CJB]

Jocko, have confused Invicta witih Seiko .... about making their own movements?

Everything I can read says Seiko does make their own movements, in many Seiko owned and run factories in Maylasia, Thailand, Singopore, mainland China, Philipeans, and Japan. Published material by them is quite prodoudly saying they do it all, even their own sapphire crystals and that they hold various patents on design, and on the metalurgy of their proprietary spring materials.

Invicta.... puts Seiko movements in their watches. And ETA. And Miyoa too, depending on whats what. Very confusing now.

[jocko]

Jocko, have confused Invicta witih Seiko .... about making their own movements?

Everything I can read says Seiko does make their own movements, in many Seiko owned and run factories in Maylasia, Thailand, Singopore, mainland China, Philipeans, and Japan. Published material by them is quite prodoudly saying they do it all, even their own sapphire crystals and that they hold various patents on design, and on the metalurgy of their proprietary spring materials.

Invicta.... puts Seiko movements in their watches. And ETA. And Miyoa too, depending on whats what. Very confusing now.

u might indeed be right, that company I mentioned that makes what I thouhgt was most of seiko movemets SII Epson is a subsidiary of seiko, so I jguess one could call it within the family. I am not downgrading seiko , If u like um, wear um... Never heard of Invicta brand.. for u military buffs and especially pilots, go to the Bell and Ross.com site and look at their watchs. They are all stylized after the instruments in cockpits of our vintage war planes. Very cool watch, not cheap but very good quality.. I have a model BR01-93 GMT. nice conversation peace.

bellross.com

[taroman]

My S&W watch is the Mumbai Lamplighter. Has tritium dials on the hands and face for true in the dark function.

Sent from my LG-D800 using Tapatalk

[Bawanna]

My S&W watch is the Mumbai Lamplighter. Has tritium dials on the hands and face for true in the dark function.

Sent from my LG-D800 using Tapatalk

I wondered about that. I found a Mumbai, don't recall if it's a Lamplighter. It was very similar.

I'll be looking again tomorrow. I kind of like that one.

[CJB]

The new wrist candy finally arrived yesterday. For those so interested, some images.

Dagaz is pretty much a one man outfit, turning out nice watches one at a time. Some touches are applied not printed indices, SuperLuminova lume, choice of dial, crown and bezel insert, fully screw assembled bracelet (four screws per link, amazing), signed crown and bracelet clasp... everything laser engraved. For a one man outfit, he's doing amazing work. The innards are non-signed Seiko "mid grade" doing about +5 seconds per day, which is not bad for a "tick-tock" watch. This movement has hand winding and hacking as standard. And, its all helium rated for saturation diving.

Anyway.... enjoy 'em if you're into watches.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v214/bandersnatchreverb/TyphoonII/IMG_20141025_140108_zps2c8098ef.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/bandersnatchreverb/media/TyphoonII/IMG_20141025_140108_zps2c8098ef.jpg.html)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v214/bandersnatchreverb/TyphoonII/IMG_20141025_141548_zpsf8fce56d.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/bandersnatchreverb/media/TyphoonII/IMG_20141025_141548_zpsf8fce56d.jpg.html)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v214/bandersnatchreverb/TyphoonII/IMG_20141025_141316_zpsf113c424.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/bandersnatchreverb/media/TyphoonII/IMG_20141025_141316_zpsf113c424.jpg.
html)

[muggsy]

Does anybody really know what time it is. Does anybody really care. (With apologies to Chicago.) :)

[CJB]

Some people do.

Mugs I knew a guy, who was too smart, too inquisitive, and too wealthy for his own good.

He was on the team at MIT that invented centimetric radar, and was in on smuggling the first magnetron into the USA. Too smart for his own good.

Before the internet, before cell phones and all the nice things we have today, we had good ol' shortwave and radio station WWV to tell us the exact time.

What my (nameless) buddy did, was tap out first half, then quarter seconds with his finger, much as a musician will divide the beat with some foot tapping. In that manner, he was able to tell, with some decent accuracy, the split second to say give or take a quarter second.

Every one of his clocks, every watch, everything he could adjust for time, he did. He even kept track of the drift on the 60cycles coming in from the power company (which drifts a LOT, fast and slow I've come to realize).

So... all his little hairspring adjusters set, all his quartz trimmers tweaked "just so", he had maybe....two clocks in every room, plus a few ticktock watches and a few quarts watches. You might say he had a predisposition to know the exact time. It was like a game to him, and his opponent was technology.

Fast forward. He calls me at work. Complains that all of his clocks are off by one second. Every one, one second exactly. And he wants to know WHY!!!! I mean he had a burning passionate desire to know what happened. Me.... I listen to shortwave and all.. but I have no clue as to why WWV is off kilter. We expected to see Rod Serling smoking in some dark corner nearby. Twilight Zone stuff.

Remember - no internet, no cell phones, no gps, we just barely had the first twin 5inch floppy IBM PC's on the market, and with that, you had to get in line for one, and another line to maybe get a "color graphics card".

Two or three months later.... we're eating dinner, he pulls out a scrap of newspaper. One of those little corner filler stories. "Earth Experiences Rare Leap Second", and a short story about how all atomic clocks had been reset by international agreement.

So you see, some folks do know, and care. Can't say they're reasonable in knowing or caring, but they do!

(same guy also bought three of everything, took them all apart, used the "best parts" to make a near perfect item, and returned the others "as used"..... what a character)

[yqtszhj]

Some people do.

Mugs I knew a guy, who was too smart, too inquisitive, and too wealthy for his own good.

He was on the team at MIT that invented centimetric radar, and was in on smuggling the first magnetron into the USA. Too smart for his own good.

Before the internet, before cell phones and all the nice things we have today, we had good ol' shortwave and radio station WWV to tell us the exact time.

What my (nameless) buddy did, was tap out first half, then quarter seconds with his finger, much as a musician will divide the beat with some foot tapping. In that manner, he was able to tell, with some decent accuracy, the split second to say give or take a quarter second.

Every one of his clocks, every watch, everything he could adjust for time, he did. He even kept track of the drift on the 60cycles coming in from the power company (which drifts a LOT, fast and slow I've come to realize).

So... all his little hairspring adjusters set, all his quartz trimmers tweaked "just so", he had maybe....two clocks in every room, plus a few ticktock watches and a few quarts watches. You might say he had a predisposition to know the exact time. It was like a game to him, and his opponent was technology.

Fast forward. He calls me at work. Complains that all of his clocks are off by one second. Every one, one second exactly. And he wants to know WHY!!!! I mean he had a burning passionate desire to know what happened. Me.... I listen to shortwave and all.. but I have no clue as to why WWV is off kilter. We expected to see Rod Serling smoking in some dark corner nearby. Twilight Zone stuff.

Remember - no internet, no cell phones, no gps, we just barely had the first twin 5inch floppy IBM PC's on the market, and with that, you had to get in line for one, and another line to maybe get a "color graphics card".

Two or three months later.... we're eating dinner, he pulls out a scrap of newspaper. One of those little corner filler stories. "Earth Experiences Rare Leap Second", and a short story about how all atomic clocks had been reset by international agreement.

So you see, some folks do know, and care. Can't say they're reasonable in knowing or caring, but they do!

(same guy also bought three of everything, took them all apart, used the "best parts" to make a near perfect item, and returned the others "as used"..... what a character)

And that there folks is a real life example of obsessive compulsive disorder.

And i have to admit with some things im the same way. I worked for a computer company 25 years ago that made high end unix workstations and servers for NASA and DOD back before MS Windows when unix was THE OPERATING SYSTEM. They made some of the Patriot Missle tracking hardware and software in the early days. They had those 3D TVs on workstations with the electronic gizmo glasses back in 1992. You could design stuff and take a walk through. Let me tell you there were a whole lot of those kind of people at that place. It was a really interesting place to work though.

You sure are right on the power company 60 cycle drift too. Their voltage drifts a lot too. I was having problems with an emergency generator at a location I was responsible for on the gulf coast one time and isolated the problem to the power companies incoming voltage on one feed of my 3 phase power . It was off by about 6%. Called the power company and told them they had a problem. They sent a guy out out and and i showed him the problem. He said "oh yeah I see." I told him that last time I had the problem they told me they were always within 4% so i set my threshold to 5%. He said I was right and went outside to make a call. He then came back in and told me it was plus or minus 8% and they were good and i needed to adjust my ATS some more but then gave me the sales pitch it was the Southern Company's goal to always provide reliable service to their valued customers. I then had a choice to either refuse and burn more fuel or adjust and then i could go home. They won. But i went back 2 weeks later and they had balanced the feeds and all were equal again. So who was really right?

Boy, i got off topic huh?

[muggsy]

Time is relative. It's based on the spinning earth revolving around the sun and the earth is slowing down. I tried that as an excuse for being late to work but the boss wasn't buying my BS either. :)

[CJB]

I know the NA grid is 117vAC plus or minus 10 percent as an absolute for customer voltage on biphased installs, but.... have no idea what the allowable bias is for 3phase. I imagine that for delta service, you've got to have the same plus or minus 10 percent on at least two of the legs, but no idea on the 208v side. For wye.... who knows.

We spec our eqipment to run from 105 to 128 vAC - the allowable maximum deviation. To tell the truth... some issues at the low end of things, sometimes our stuff just doesn't want to start, though once started it will keep running down into the 90vAC range. I think the boys who tested it just turned a variac down to see if it would run at 105v, and it did, so they called it good to go, never having to actually do a startup.

[DeaconKC]

I just used to hate when my high school football coach said he needed a sundial for my sprints.....

[MTCSS]

A watch waterproof to 300 meters? Whats the point? The submarines I was stationed on in the Navy rarely exceeded 300 meters!

[muggsy]

Sewer pipe sailor, huh. I thought you joined the Navy to see the world. I joined the Navy to ride the waves. :)

[CJB]

There are 1000m and 3000m dive watches. 300M is rather middle of the road.

[Bawanna]

Does anybody really know what time it is. Does anybody really care. (With apologies to Chicago.) :)

Sort of like apologizing to a septic tank ain't it. Nothin in Illinois will be better after an apology.

Glad ole Abe ain't around to see his old stomping grounds these days.

[CJB]

Well even ol' Abe knew if you dance in a pile o' manure, yer bound to get some on ya. Just sayin'!

And he didn't need no wrist watch to know the simple truths of life. Truths like ya better lock up the Supreme Court and throw you habias corpus in order to getcher way. Smart man.

[olympicmotorcars]

I know the NA grid is 117vAC plus or minus 10 percent as an absolute for customer voltage on biphased installs, but.... have no idea what the allowable bias is for 3phase. I imagine that for delta service, you've got to have the same plus or minus 10 percent on at least two of the legs, but no idea on the 208v side. For wye.... who knows.

We spec our eqipment to run from 105 to 128 vAC - the allowable maximum deviation. To tell the truth... some issues at the low end of things, sometimes our stuff just doesn't want to start, though once started it will keep running down into the 90vAC range. I think the boys who tested it just turned a variac down to see if it would run at 105v, and it did, so they called it good to go, never having to actually do a startup.

I understood about five, er, two, or ....... O.K. make that zero words in those two paragraphs.

[Bawanna]

You an me both brutha. Like they talk in a foreign language.

[Jozimoto]

Had a Casio G Shock .......... Not dog proof still ran but wasn't worth fixin'.

[CJB]

Means that the juice at the wall socket in yer home has a bit of given n' take. Folks what invent stuff to run from elcticity know this and shoot for a happy medium.

[olympicmotorcars]

Means that the juice at the wall socket in yer home has a bit of given n' take. Folks what invent stuff to run from elcticity know this and shoot for a happy medium.

Now that I understood. I speak fluent southern red-neck.

[Bawanna]

When I used to do remodels and ran into those scary wall sockets that the sparky said was turned off but found out he lied they all felt about the same to me. And I didn't like it. I hate being shocked worse than anything.

[CJB]

Wait till u been hit by lightning..... three times for me!

[Bawanna]

Wait till u been hit by lightning..... three times for me!

That explains a lot! Thanks.;)

[CJB]

http://img155.imageshack.us/img155/3538/skx009jkc7.jpg

(Before)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v214/bandersnatchreverb/MAIN/IMG_20150316_211108_zpsuxnutjnu.jpg

(During)

(and DONE!, below)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v214/bandersnatchreverb/DY2A0266%202-1_zps0shtqz7w.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/bandersnatchreverb/media/DY2A0266%202-1_zps0shtqz7w.jpg.html)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v214/bandersnatchreverb/IMG_20150403_205709-1_zpsomsxdcxp.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/bandersnatchreverb/media/IMG_20150403_205709-1_zpsomsxdcxp.jpg.html)

Thought I'd revive this thread.... shamelessly at that.

This watch started life as an $80 Seiko Diver (SKX009J to be exact). They go anyplace from $140 to about $200 on Amazon and such, and from grey market. However, if you have a connection with Japan, you can get it for the Japanese street price (typically 30 percent off "list"). With the exchange being very nice right now, its about $80.

So what to do with an $80 run of the mill, cookie cutter type watch? You personalize it!

I got the watch sent in from a guy in Tokyo with EMS service (three days from Tokyo to Florida swampland!)

Sent the watch out to another guy in Rhode Island for disassembly.

At my instruction, he sent the case of the watch over to the UK, where yet another guy machined the case and machined a "shroud" ring for it. The case had about half its metal removed, was drilled for screw that fit in blind holes, and had its springbar holes drilled completely through (no more blind holes for those).

Then the case was sent back to the guy in RI.

In the meantime, another guy in Hong Kong provided the high dome sapphire crystal, dial and hands, and custom crown, sending them to the man in RI.

And in the other meantime, a guy in Osaka provided the insert for the bezel, made from engraved stainless steel, given a DLC finish like Kahr's and numerals filled into the engraving. (don't mind the dirty 11 minute marker, thats my finger grime from bezel gasket grease).

And yet another guy, someplace here in the USA, made a custom rotating bezel out of statinless steel.

Everything got back to the man in RI (or me) and he sent the watch back, where I put the bezel and insert in, and affixed the bracelet, which I got from China. BTW, those are first rate bracelets, solid links, solid endlinks, screw in adjustable links, and frankly, the clasp is sturdier than that on my Rolex Submariner.

So there ya have it. This has been in the works for the last three months, waiting about five weeks for the trip across the pond and back.

And.... don't mind the grime, dust, etc... in the pictures. I literally had just snapped the bezel on, tightened the shroud screws and put on the bracelet. I gave it a quick wipe and took the pictures.

[gb6491]

Interesting post and excellent photos CJB, thanks for sharing!
Certainly a unique wristwatch:cool:
Regards,
Greg

[CJB]

The latest custom fab up.... bronze and stainless, some rose gold, and a bunch of machine work.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v214/bandersnatchreverb/20140920183102-1_zpslg14v2ln.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v214/bandersnatchreverb/DSCN3641_zpss4b3wbvg.jpg