An unusual vintage Yachting Chronograph
Aug 25, 2016 20:16:43 GMT -8
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Rod, antfarm, and 4 more like this
Post by tritto on Aug 25, 2016 20:16:43 GMT -8
I have a good relationship with a Canberra antiques dealer who I have bought a few watches from (including my pair of 6105 8110s that need work and a Citizen 68-5372 that is currently with Adrian). Every now and then he sends me a few pics of something he's come across and asks what I can tell him about it. A few months ago he sent me a picture of a very unusual chronograph and I hunted around until I found a couple of pictures online and one recent eBay sale of a watch with the same dial and hand set, but a different case. That was it. We established that it had a Valjoux 7733 inside and I found a website that attributed the watch to Yema, but I later spoke to the guy who runs the website and he recanted that opinion - Swiss made on the dial, Swiss movement, Swiss case, doesn't necessarily support the hypothesis that it was made by a French watch company. A while later the dealer listed it for sale and didn't get any takers. He initially wanted more than I could justify paying, but I let it sit for a few weeks while the price dropped week by week. Eventually we cut a deal (and quite a good one compared to the one eBay listing I pointed him to some months before, but still a substantial profit on what he paid for it at a market).
So why is it unusual? Because it's branded Yachting Chronograph (a brand that doesn't otherwise seem to exist), and I've only found 5 examples of the dial/hand/movement online and only one other example with this particular case design. One of the examples is also branded Telstar, which is a long defunct Swiss brand.
It's also unusual because of the three-piece case (inner module, snap on caseback and exterior case). There seem to be very few similar configurations that I can find.
Here we go with some pics.
It came with a stress fractured crystal.
The inner case is kept snug inside the outer case by that gasket around the outside.
Sealion and 8557 don't bring up anything in searches either.
For a chronograph designed for yachting (more later), it's not particularly water resistant - it's marked 'dust resistant'.
That little divers helmet shows that the case was manufactured by EPSA, famous for the super compressor cases. It looks like it could be a 1973 watch (my birth year).
And the Valjoux 7733 exposed. It's running very well, +2s over 24 hours and with a 36 hour power reserve (should theoretically be 42).
It came with an 'extra thick divers crystal' installed. I assume it uses this because the case is manufactured by EPSA, who specialised in dive cases at the time, and because you have to push down with quite a lot of force on the crystal to remove the inner module from the outer case.
I asked around a couple of watchmakers locally and neither had a crystal on hand. In the end I went to tiptopcrystals.com who carry a lot of vintage GS crystals. Not 100% sure what size crystal to get I ordered 3 different sizes and after I asked Steve a couple of questions he said he'd throw in a couple of other crystals for me to try too. In all, he sent 10 crystals! Big plug for tiptopcrystals!
Last night I worked through a few from smallest to largest until I found a nice tight fit that required a press to go in and wouldn't push back out with finger pressure.
So here's the finished product. Not huge at 37mm, but very colourful and the high crystal gives it some extra presence.
See the minute counter? It counts down from 10 to 5 to zero as per the sirens used at the start of a yacht race.
All in all, I really like this watch, although I would like to know more about its manufacture if anyone has any ideas.
So why is it unusual? Because it's branded Yachting Chronograph (a brand that doesn't otherwise seem to exist), and I've only found 5 examples of the dial/hand/movement online and only one other example with this particular case design. One of the examples is also branded Telstar, which is a long defunct Swiss brand.
It's also unusual because of the three-piece case (inner module, snap on caseback and exterior case). There seem to be very few similar configurations that I can find.
Here we go with some pics.
It came with a stress fractured crystal.
The inner case is kept snug inside the outer case by that gasket around the outside.
Sealion and 8557 don't bring up anything in searches either.
For a chronograph designed for yachting (more later), it's not particularly water resistant - it's marked 'dust resistant'.
That little divers helmet shows that the case was manufactured by EPSA, famous for the super compressor cases. It looks like it could be a 1973 watch (my birth year).
And the Valjoux 7733 exposed. It's running very well, +2s over 24 hours and with a 36 hour power reserve (should theoretically be 42).
It came with an 'extra thick divers crystal' installed. I assume it uses this because the case is manufactured by EPSA, who specialised in dive cases at the time, and because you have to push down with quite a lot of force on the crystal to remove the inner module from the outer case.
I asked around a couple of watchmakers locally and neither had a crystal on hand. In the end I went to tiptopcrystals.com who carry a lot of vintage GS crystals. Not 100% sure what size crystal to get I ordered 3 different sizes and after I asked Steve a couple of questions he said he'd throw in a couple of other crystals for me to try too. In all, he sent 10 crystals! Big plug for tiptopcrystals!
Last night I worked through a few from smallest to largest until I found a nice tight fit that required a press to go in and wouldn't push back out with finger pressure.
So here's the finished product. Not huge at 37mm, but very colourful and the high crystal gives it some extra presence.
See the minute counter? It counts down from 10 to 5 to zero as per the sirens used at the start of a yacht race.
All in all, I really like this watch, although I would like to know more about its manufacture if anyone has any ideas.
