Post by joehorner on Oct 10, 2013 13:08:30 GMT -8
I got a parcel through the post today from Mum, inside which was Dad's old watch. It's the one thing that I'd specifically asked for, if it ever turned up, to remember him by when he died a few months back and she found it randomly stashed in a Seiko box last week.
He bought it in Clem Steggink's watchmakers in the SGIO arcade in Bundaberg, QLD, back in 1978 and it was the first analogue quartz watch I'd ever seen. Needless to say, it fascinated me! Jump forward 20 years to 1998 and I was now repairing watches for a living when it failed to work with a new battery. So I got to give it its first overhaul. It seems that he let it run for the length of that battery then put it to one side and forgot about it.
Expecting the worst (ie: melted circuitry) after over a decade with a dead cell inside, I undid the back to find that Renata had done their job perfectly and there wasn't even a hint of leakage! I knew there was a reason I use their cells! Dropped in a new cell and it started up instantly with no sign of stickiness after sitting all that time - I knew there was a reason I use Mobieus oils!
The only fault was that the handset felt tight and it was occasionally spinning the seconds hand, suggesting that the cannon pinion needed lubricating. So, with a day off tomorrow as catch-up time, I put the assorted customers jobs aside this afternoon and gave it a long overdue overhaul.
The watch is an Adina stainless steel with deep blue dial and (I think) non-original, but bought with it, Maruman expanding bracelet. Expanders aren't my favourite straps by a long shot, but ths one seems reasonably comfortable and is in excellent condition so may or may not get swapped out for a suitable leather.
Inside it sports an ESA / ETA 9362 movement which was loosely based on the 2878 auto - if the case was deep enough you can actually do a striaght swap and much of the keyless work is interchangeable as well! Most spare parts are still available if needed, which seems surprising for a quartz calibre of this age until you realise how rock solid they are and how unlikely it is you'd ever need spares unless physical damage had occurred.
It's now attached to my wrist and is likely to stay there for the forseeable future!
He bought it in Clem Steggink's watchmakers in the SGIO arcade in Bundaberg, QLD, back in 1978 and it was the first analogue quartz watch I'd ever seen. Needless to say, it fascinated me! Jump forward 20 years to 1998 and I was now repairing watches for a living when it failed to work with a new battery. So I got to give it its first overhaul. It seems that he let it run for the length of that battery then put it to one side and forgot about it.
Expecting the worst (ie: melted circuitry) after over a decade with a dead cell inside, I undid the back to find that Renata had done their job perfectly and there wasn't even a hint of leakage! I knew there was a reason I use their cells! Dropped in a new cell and it started up instantly with no sign of stickiness after sitting all that time - I knew there was a reason I use Mobieus oils!
The only fault was that the handset felt tight and it was occasionally spinning the seconds hand, suggesting that the cannon pinion needed lubricating. So, with a day off tomorrow as catch-up time, I put the assorted customers jobs aside this afternoon and gave it a long overdue overhaul.
The watch is an Adina stainless steel with deep blue dial and (I think) non-original, but bought with it, Maruman expanding bracelet. Expanders aren't my favourite straps by a long shot, but ths one seems reasonably comfortable and is in excellent condition so may or may not get swapped out for a suitable leather.
Inside it sports an ESA / ETA 9362 movement which was loosely based on the 2878 auto - if the case was deep enough you can actually do a striaght swap and much of the keyless work is interchangeable as well! Most spare parts are still available if needed, which seems surprising for a quartz calibre of this age until you realise how rock solid they are and how unlikely it is you'd ever need spares unless physical damage had occurred.
It's now attached to my wrist and is likely to stay there for the forseeable future!