Cameras and Watches...

[kermaier]

I have a Waltham hunter case pocket watch from 1892, but it doesn't run well anymore after being manhandled by incompetent jewelers tring to service it.

My everyday watch is a Blancpain ultra-slim automatic in stainless steel. Runs a bit fast, which bugs me. Blancpain have graciously sent it to Geneva for overhauls about 4 times, with only limited success. Can't fault their customer service, though, and it's a really enjoyable piece to wear.

I also have a mechanical Swatch in a green, plastic see-through case. It's an automatic, and keeps better time than the Blancpain (annoyingly). I wear it at the beach, etc. It's also fun to wear, and to look at works as it runs.

::Ari

 

[jky]

I must add that my Seiko Spirit is rated @ -15/+25 seconda per day.... which is still really respectable. Mine however has been very accurate the past 3 years.

 

[Santtu Määttänen]

I have countless vintage watches, literaly countless since I've bought them over the years and the ones that don't see wrist time are in drawers and boxes, uncounted. But the ones I really wear (first the modern ones): OWC Blacktie, OWC 5517, Precista PRS20. And vintage ones that get wrist time (or pocket time), Elgin Military Pocket watch from 1941, Doxa pocket watch from 50s, Omega pocket watch from 50s with cal161 movement, Tissot PR516, Poljot moscow olympics watch, Alpina military watch from 1940s, Tissot military watch from 1940s, Russian type-1 wrist watch conversion and maybe some others..

Those all go well with my vintage mechanical cameras, I do own one quartz watch too (Eco-Zilla, used for diving and sports) and I own one digital camera as well at the moment (E-P2) so I'm not against modern technology, it has it's place. But mechanical is always mechanical, they have soul 🙂

Besides it's wonderful to time your long exposures on vintage mechanical pocket watch 🙂

 

[citizen99]

mechanical watches

mechanical watches

I recently revived my love of mechanical watches, the brisk tick is like a living heartbeat ( also steam engines but that would be another thread 😀 ). I had a Longines Conquest automatic for my 21st in the early '60s, but it wasn't reliable at the time, even after supposed servicing, and I put it in a drawer. Then recently one of my boys bought me a Sekonda automatic for Christmas, with the bonus of the transparent back for admiring the mechanism. Inspired by this, I got the Longines serviced, and this repairer did a proper job (maybe now the remaining servicers are the competent ones, being in a niche, high-value, market?). So I wear them on alternate days; they both store sufficient energy to keep going this way.
Further inspired, I got a very pretty ('70s ?) Caravelle pocket watch off ebay with transparent front face, and a nice Molniya (Cyrillic lettering) railway pocket watch for my brother to wear whilst playing with steam trains 🙄 .

 

[K14]

I recently revived my love of mechanical watches, the brisk tick is like a living heartbeat ( also steam engines but that would be another thread 😀 ).

Mamod forum? 😉 Well I wear a mechanical Timex I bought for my father when I was 15. He never wore it, liked pocket watches, so he gave it back years later. The watch gains 15 minutes weekly, gets me out of bed earlier I guess.😛

Gary

 

[Vince Lupo]

And - if you're a Leica shooter, you're apt to sport an Omega...

Or.....

 

[Joao]

Well it would depend on the camera and it's distance to the RF source (antenna). It's a 1/d^2 thing like light. If the transmitter is UHF using a high powered TWT for output in the multi KW ERP , where an RF suit is needed to keep you safe near the antenna, the camera's electronics would likely not be happy. In a lesser instance, I would worry about any memory in a digital camera. And possible damage to any non CMOS in the camera's electronics. CMOS is RF sensitive too, but not as sensitive as other stuff. I'm no expert. Maybe someone else on here will help. I use mechanical cameras and film around high levels of RF. Big magnets are also a problem, if you spend any time around places that steer particles with magnets. Mechanical cameras have trouble around this stuff too if there is any Ferrous material in the camera - like a film cassette.

I should also add that mechanical watches don't like big magnets. And not all stainless steel is non-ferrous. Cheap watches do well around magnets and RF. If they haven't changed the time since the last you looked. Buy another $14 plastic digital and take the old one apart for fun.

Valuable information! I was aware of possible magnetic damage (I have professional contact with hospital NMR devices - even credit cards should be kept at a safe distance) but I never tought of RF as a possible source of troubles. Thank you .
Joao

 

[blindrobert]

Leica M9, M3, MP
Rolex GMT Master II
Timex Ironman
Panerai PAM104

On a similar vein of thought - a semi-retired rock star friend of mine once made an observation about guitar and bicycle culture: both groups have the historians who know all the old catalogs and parts and obscure model numbers, both groups have the professionals who earn money with the equipment and mostly don't give a flip about the name or age or anything except that it works as expected, there are the collectors who have the most beautiful stuff but never ride/play it - they just keep a museum - then there are the folks who only use vintage gear and the folks who always only have the latest cutting edge gear.

Anyway - I think his observation holds for the camera and watch groups as well.

 

[Rayt]

I equate these Swiss watch makers and German engineers with the old world masters for whom we must pay tribute else the art will be lost and we are doomed to buying $15 fans from Walmart.

 

[NickTrop]

I have a Soviet KGB Automatic watch. One of the originals, not one of the copies that Russian factories have put out in huge numbers since the fall of the USSR. Last year, it quit working. I loved it, it was very accurate and was a cool watch. Liked it better than my expensive Seiko Quartz Chronograph. I can't find anyone who will work on it though. Who serviced yours, Nick?

I never had it serviced, it was purchased serviced from an eBay seller in the Ukraine, I think. I usually buy my mechanicals on the 'bay. Like cameras that "you never get on with" I thought the black dial was a little too dressy and thought it was "redundant" with the dark blue dial Bouliva Carravelle I have.

Check out Poljot on the bay, read the descriptions. You can usually find some that were serviced and they aren't terribly expensive - $50 - $100. Mine ran perfectly.

 

[JoeV]

Well, I have a Citizen EcoDrive watch, solar powered, quartz timed with an analog, gear-driven movement. Kind of like the micro-4/3 of watches, in that it has a superficial resemblance to a true wind-up analog watch but underneath its bezel is electronic. Kind of goes with my Lumix G1 in that regard.

I was never into collecting watches, unlike my brother who collected them almost as fast as girl friends. And, like those girl friends, he has very few of either left over from his youth.

~Joe

 

[Chris101]

... I was never into collecting watches, unlike my brother who collected them almost as fast as girl friends. And, like those girl friends, he has very few of either left over from his youth.

Concerning the girlfriends, having very few left over from his youth is probably a good thing.

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

I never had it serviced, it was purchased serviced from an eBay seller in the Ukraine, I think. I usually buy my mechanicals on the 'bay. Like cameras that "you never get on with" I thought the black dial was a little too dressy and thought it was "redundant" with the dark blue dial Bouliva Carravelle I have.

Check out Poljot on the bay, read the descriptions. You can usually find some that were serviced and they aren't terribly expensive - $50 - $100. Mine ran perfectly.

Oh ok. Russians may be the only ones who CAN service it then. Damn. I paid $50 for mine from a Russian guy who sold soviet military uniforms and such at gun shows right after the USSR collapsed. I've had it forever! I got it nearly 20 yrs ago.

 

[Santtu Määttänen]

For vintage USSR watches and their repair, I know at least two people who can work with them, PM me and I can give you details, BUT they don't work for just money (it takes some of that too, not too much thou depending a lot on need of parts) so they need to be interested in your piece / you / story behind the piece to work on it. Funny watchrepairers..

 

[nobbylon]

I've always liked mechanical watches and remember back in 1976 aged 12 reading National Geographic mag in the school library and seeing all the ads for Rolex. I got a shock when I went into city centre Manchester and in a fish tank they had a Submariner and an Explorer. The Sub' back then was 308 UK pounds!
I bought mine 10 years later after selling my motorbike. The strap is a bit loose now and I've got it on a nylon military style band. It's been worn nearly every day for the last 25 years, been serviced only twice although pressure tested frequently.
A previous poster states he lost his tag because of a broken pin and these straps retain the watch even if a pin does break.
I also have my late grandfathers Jaeger leCoultre RAF issue on a similar strap as this has fixed bars for strength.
My latest buy though and actually my favorite daily wear now is a Seiko SKX007J mechanical diver's on a similar mil' strap. Not expensive but easy to read and accurate enough.
I'd like an Omega Speedmaster moon watch, the manual wind original one, but prices seem to have gone mad on Swiss now.
Likewise the price for servicing these things. I rang yesterday to find out the cost of a service and repair on my wife's Reverso and was told from 400 quid! and that it would take around 8 months! Ridiculous.

 

[Travis L.]

I've always liked mechanical watches and remember back in 1976 aged 12 reading National Geographic mag in the school library and seeing all the ads for Rolex. I got a shock when I went into city centre Manchester and in a fish tank they had a Submariner and an Explorer. The Sub' back then was 308 UK pounds!
I bought mine 10 years later after selling my motorbike. The strap is a bit loose now and I've got it on a nylon military style band. It's been worn nearly every day for the last 25 years, been serviced only twice although pressure tested frequently.
A previous poster states he lost his tag because of a broken pin and these straps retain the watch even if a pin does break.
I also have my late grandfathers Jaeger leCoultre RAF issue on a similar strap as this has fixed bars for strength.
My latest buy though and actually my favorite daily wear now is a Seiko SKX007J mechanical diver's on a similar mil' strap. Not expensive but easy to read and accurate enough.
I'd like an Omega Speedmaster moon watch, the manual wind original one, but prices seem to have gone mad on Swiss now.
Likewise the price for servicing these things. I rang yesterday to find out the cost of a service and repair on my wife's Reverso and was told from 400 quid! and that it would take around 8 months! Ridiculous.

Yeah those great old Nat Geo Rolex ads were definitely one of the motivators when I bought my GMT.
Chuck Yeager wearing his GMT Master at Mach 1 and Sir Edmond Hillary with his Explorer on the peak of Everest.
Who wouldn't want one?
I also have a Speedmaster moonwatch. You should be able to find a nice used example under $2k.

 

[fotomeow]

I guess the Leica-timepiece merger never really took off ......

http://www.l-camera-forum.com/leica-forum/discus_e/messages/2/168481.jpg

 

[fotomeow]

i have an 80s Omega Seamaster. the internals are in good shape, although the steel band quickly let me down, falling apart and allowing the face to fall to the ground and get scraped up. So now i need a new band. $300 from Omega, and they are the only ones who make the right size for this face.
.... but this is similar to a mechanical camera, right? Its beautiful, a work of Art and Science.
And here we see the divergence b/w quality mechanics and mass produced digital. When a small part of the digital watch expires, you just throw the damn thing away.
For me, i like the quality mechanicals b/w it feels like I have something of VALUE. not a disposable mass produced product. sad.

 

[NickTrop]

Oh ok. Russians may be the only ones who CAN service it then. Damn. I paid $50 for mine from a Russian guy who sold soviet military uniforms and such at gun shows right after the USSR collapsed. I've had it forever! I got it nearly 20 yrs ago.

If it's gonna sit in a drawer and isn't working, try unscrewing the back and carefully (obvs) squirting some lighter fluid into it - especially around the escape wheel, then shake it dry, let it set (do this all while it's running...) to dry out somewhere safe, screw the back, back on.

I did this with a late-60's cheap Timex that I thought was done-for, and it worked like magic. The thing is accurate now to within a minute a day or so... I tried this yesterday, however, to a better Swiss movement that I discovered wasn't working and it didn't seem to work.

Worth it as a last ditch effort if it ain't working anyway and not worth it to have serviced professionally.

 

[NickTrop]

I guess the Leica-timepiece merger never really took off ....

Ya know? It might not have been a bad idear for Leica to have branched into something like this... Buy a small mechanical watch co... brand it as a Leica...