Another vintage Tissot chronograph, this time a Seastar model from the late 1960’s.

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This watch arrived in running condition, but had problems with the chronograph mechanism. It would stop as soon as the minute register started to advance, suggesting a problem with the depthing of the wheels in the chronograph mechanism.

The movement in this watch is quite interesting as it is one of the rarer Lemania calibres, the cal. 1277.

What makes it interesting is that it was only produced in 1969 and was used almost exclusively in a handful of Tissot chronograph models from that year. After 1969, the cal. 1277 was modified slightly and renamed as the Tissot cal. 872.

My initial suspicions about the chronograph problem proved to be unfounded as disassembling the watch revealed that it had been seriously over-oiled in the past.

This had obviously been done many years ago as the oil had thickened to a paste and the problem with the minute register was immediately apparent. The chronograph heart was literally stuck to the underside of the bridge with old oil.

After a thorough cleaning the movement was back up and running again and after polishing the crystal and cleaning the case, here is the result.

Though the pictures don’t really show it, at 36mm wide, this watch is quite small for a chronograph. Here is a picture of it with a couple of its stablemates from the same era to give you an idea of its size.

Rich.

** Many thanks to Anders Wengman for letting me feature his watch on the blog. **

Though not as old as the majority of watches on the blog, this Chopard Mille Miglia makes an interesting post. Though the watch was running on arrival, it was losing 15 minutes per week, and the date function wasn’t advancing either by moving the hands past midnight, or quicksetting using the crown.

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This is the third Mille Miglia model that honours the veteran Belgian racing driver Jacky Ickx who competed in 144 Formula 1 races between 1967 and 1979, and had a successful endurance racing career, winning the Le Mans 24 Hour race 6 times. Karl-Friedrich Scheufele, the co-president of Chopard, and Jacky Ickx are good friends and compete in motor racing events together. This friendship was undoubtedly the catalyst for the Ickx series of watches.  (The fourth edition is now available, you can see that watch here.)

The movement inside this watch is a decorated and adjusted, 49 jewel, ETA cal. 2892-A2 which has a Dubois Dépraz designed chronograph mechanism. This calibre is a “modular” rather than an “integrated” chronograph, which means that the chronograph and timekeeping parts of the calibre are two independently designed modules coupled together.

With the modules ‘uncoupled’ you can see how they integrate, the first picture shows shows the top of the timekeeping module (where the dial would sit on a regular ETA cal. 2892). The power from the going train is fed directly into the chronograph module by the hour wheel and the ‘blank’ date ring advances the date, either normally at midnight or via the quickset.

The second picture shows the underside of the chronograph module, the arrows showing the parts driven by the timekeeping module.

The disadvantage of modular chronograph calibres is that they are generally thicker than their integrated cousins, which of course means that a thicker case is needed to go around them (although this is less of an issue in these ‘big watch’ times). The ETA 2892-A2 also has another quirk in that the crown and pushers are out of alignment when viewing the case from the side.

A routine service solved the timekeeping issue, but finding the date problem required quite a bit of thought. With the dial and hands removed you can see that the date mechanism is mounted on the front of the chronograph module. (Note that even under the dial the top plate has been decorated; another sign of quality.)

This watch has what is referred to as a ‘big date’ wherein the date is made up of two separate discs which rotate independently. The discs have a ’star’ shaped gear mounted on their underside, so their position in relation to the mechanism underneath is essential for correct operation.

I can only assume that the watchmaker who last serviced the watch didn’t fully understand how it worked as the discs had been positioned incorrectly. Consequently, the date had fallen into a ‘dead zone’ and would longer advance. No parts were damaged, so after setting up the mechanism correctly it was working properly again.

With the problems solved, the watch was reassembled which completed the job.

Chopard are celebrating their 150 year anniversary this year and you can see their current range here. (Don’t miss their L.U.C. series of in-house designed and hand finished watches).

Rich.

** Many thanks to Helge Johnsen for letting me feature his watch on the blog. **

Another vintage chronograph that I fished out of “the bay”, this time from Jaquet-Droz.

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The history of Jaquet-Droz is colourful to say the least. Pierre Jaquet-Droz opened his first studio in La Chaux-de-Fonds in 1738 where he specialised in automata, or ’self operating machines’. He started by adding singing birds to clocks and pocket watches and as his talent grew, he moved on to larger, more technical pieces, i.e. richly decorated bird cages with multiple automated song birds.

A trip to Spain in 1758 proved very lucrative for Pierre. The King of Spain was so enchanted with his automata that he bought his entire collection, enabling him to open a second studio in London and devote all his time to his craft. Consequently, his reputation spread rapidly and his creations found their way into many European courts.

His three most elaborate creations are referred to as the ‘Jaquet-Droz Automata‘ and can be seen at the Musée d’Art et d’Histoire of Neuchâtel, in Switzerland – “The Draughtsman” draws four different images, “The Musician” is a female organ player who physically plays the tunes rather than miming to a music box, and the most complex of the three is “The Writer”, who can be ‘programmed’ to transcribe any 40 character message. Here is a short video of the three of them in action.

Pierre died in 1790, shortly after opening a watchmaking factory in Geneve with his son Henry-Louis. Tragically, his son also died the following year while traveling and this had a devastating effect on the company, which ceased trading sometime in the early 1800’s.

The Jaquet-Droz name was resurrected in the 1960’s by a consortium who produced a range of chronographs and diving watches. Unfortunately, the company was hit by the quartz crisis and closed before it really got started. (Watches from this period, like the one in this post, can be recognised by the arrow logo.)

Like a phoenix from the ashes, Jaquet-Droz rose yet again in 2001 when the name was bought by the Swatch group. Since then the company have produced a range of dress watches and chronographs with in-house calibres. You can see their current range here.

Ok, back to the watch. By the 1970’s, whistling birds and other such tom-foolery were no longer incorporated, but removing the caseback did reveal an unexpected surprise, a rhodium plated Landeron cal. 189.

The cal. 189 is one of the rarer Landeron calibres, and was used in very few production watches, the best known probably being the Heuer Carrera Dato 45.

The cal. 189 differs from other Landeron calibres in that it has a date display, and operates like a regular chronograph; the top button is used for start/stop and the lower button resets. On most Landeron chronographs the top button starts the mechanism and the bottom button is used for stop and reset.

Overall, the watch was in relatively good condition but hadn’t been serviced for years, so after a routine service it was back up and running again.

Cosmetically it was still in good condition, but you may have spotted in the first picture that the sweep second hand had been broken off at some time. After that was replaced, there was little left to do except clean the case and polish the crystal.

Rich.

As regular readers will know, I don’t mind taking a gamble on a ‘blurry’ eBay item now and then. I took a chance this time on a Wittnauer Professional Chrono-Date from the 1970’s.

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In the eBay listing the seller’s description was worded ‘economically’ to say the least, here it is in its entirety: “Does not run but the movement looks great.” The second picture wasn’t much better than the first but I still thought it was worth the risk.

Albert Wittnauer created the Wittnauer brand in 1880 after spotting a gap in market for an affordable Swiss watch designed specifically for US buyers. The watches were designed and produced in Geneve, and as he was already working for a watch importer, getting his watches into the US was no problem. Priced lower than Swiss competitors at that time, the brand was an instant success.

The popularity of the brand continued to grow over the following decades and when Wittnauer timepieces were fitted to the aeroplanes using during World War I it began a strong link with aviation, their timepieces being used in later historic flights such as Amelia Earhart’s solo crossing of the Atlantic in 1932, and Howard Hughes’ coast to coast speed crossing of the US in 1937.

In terms of notable wristwatches, Wittnauer released the world’s first waterproof, shockproof, anti-magnetic wristwatch, the “All-Proof”, in 1918…

… and the first Swiss made electric watch available in the US, and still a candidate for the watch with the coolest hands ever, the Electro-Chron in 1957.

Wittnauer are still producing watches but they are now owned by Bulova who took over the company in 2001. If you would like to read more about the history of the Wittnauer brand, you can do that here.

When my watch arrived I was pleased that the risk had paid off, the case, dial and hands were in great condition and the seller had been true to his word, the movement did indeed look great.

All the watch needed was a full service for the movement, so after that, a thorough cleaning of the case, and fitting a new crystal and strap, here is the result….. “Retro”!

Rich.

This chronograph from CWC is the first military watch to feature on the blog.

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The brand name “CWC” stands for Cabot Watch Company, who were established in 1972 and have been providing equipment to the British military for over 30 years.

As you would imagine, a wristwatch is an important piece of equipment for any defence force and performance specifications have to be met before any timepiece is deemed fit for military use.

Every country has its own specifications (and suppliers) which have evolved as technology has advanced. The British forces have been supplied by several companies over the years, namely Lemania, Rolex, Hamilton, CWC, Tudor, Newmark, Precista, Seiko and Pulsar.

Any watch issued to a member of the armed forces is marked with a designation number and a serial number which includes the year of issue. In addition to this, equipment issued to British personnel is marked with the “Broad Arrow” symbol. As you can see, the watch is marked with the Broad Arrow symbol on both the dial and caseback in this case.

The Broad Arrow symbol is used to denote British Government property or more specifically Ordnance; weapons, ammunition, combat vehicles and equipment. The history of the symbol dates back to 1553 when Sir Thomas Gresham, the founder of the Royal Exchange, smuggled gunpowder into England in barrels marked with the symbol “(/\)”. In 1633 it became the universal marking for Ordnance when it was used on all small arms and ammunition, and the symbol has developed over the years into the Broad Arrow symbol used today.

The watch in this post arrived in a pretty sorry looking state, it did run, but the chronograph didn’t work or reset. Opening the caseback revealed a relatively clean Valjoux Cal. 7733…

As you can see the caseback gasket had deteriorated into black gunge but it had managed to keep the moisture out.  Mechanically the movement was sound with no damage or signs of  corrosion, so a regular service restored it to fully working condition.

The case needed two cycles through the ultrasonic to remove the build up of dirt and the pushers had to be taken out and relubricated, but after that, all that was left to do was install a new crystal and the job was complete.

It is still possible to find these watches on auction sites and sales forums in a variety of conditions, but you may need to open your wallet wider than you think as most military watches are extremely collectible.

It is also possible to buy a modern interpretation of this watch (fitted with a ETA cal. 7760) directly from CWC… but go for the original I say!

Rich.

** Many thanks to Lee Curtis for letting me feature his watch on the blog. **