arriving soon

[osiris]

im getting these soon one was worded as an Oris and did some research on it and found it to be a date hand calendar watch but unsure of movement wont have it till next week there is also a Alsta and were dated between 1940 and 50's any comments about them would be apprieciated

[Bujumon]

Congrats Osiris, from looking at the picture that you have
provided, there looks like a couple real good watches there.

I can see one that appears to be a Rado, one that appears
to be a Rolex, and the one you describe as an Oris looks
like a nicer date pointer model.

There also appears to be a Movado in the bunch. The rest of
them are hard, for me, to distinguish. Of course there is no telling, really
until you get them in person but from outward appearances, it looks
like a good lot.
Please post some better pix when they arrive.

One a Rado note, I have not seen one like the one in the picture.
I think I see what would be the trademark anchor spinner on the dial.
This should denote that it is an automatic winder.

Good luck with it, now you have me anticipating their arrival.
Congrats again, make sure to let us know how it turns out.

Peace,
Scott

[Hartmut Richter]

The Oris should have a pin pallet movement. Oris were prohibited (!) from making Swiss lever movements at that time - and responded by making pin pallet movements of a sufficiently high quality for some of them to pass COSC tests!

Hartmut Richter

[osiris]

thanks for the comments this lot was fairly cheap around $50 i have been eyeing some vintage oris watches for a while this will be my first but not the last one also i read that they are jewled pin lever movements between 7-17 jewels is this correct and im hoping this might be a 17jewel but wont know until they arrive will post pics when they get here thanks again.

[Janne]

Oris were prohibited (!) from making Swiss lever movements at that time
Hartmut Richter

Why is that?

[Hartmut Richter]

Why is that?

Long story. After WWI, there was a general overcapacity in the Swiss watch industry, especially the "ebauche" makers who had made, among other things, war materials (e.g. timers for torpedoes) which were no longer needed and whose regular customers were not yet rich enough again after the disastrous war to buy expensive watches on a large scale. The whole thing was made worse by the 1929 crash. In 1927, already, the "Ebauches SA" (ESA) trust was founded by Adolf Schild, A. Michel and FHF which was basically protectionism on a large scale to prevent competition. As other makers joined, the pie was split up between the makers with everyone specializing on what he had been specializing up to then and noone allowed to infringe on other makers territory: Venus, Valjoux and Landeron were the only ones (inside the ESA) allowed to make chronographs, automatic movements were to be developed by ETA, Adolf Schild and Felsa, Ebauches Bettlach were condemned to make only cheap pin pallet movements and the rest crawled along mainly on manual movements. The whole idea was extended in 1934 by Swiss law to the makers themselves. Oris had been maing mainly pin pallet movements by then and were thus prohibited from making anything else until the law was revoked in 1966.

Oris reacted by producing pin pallet movements of chronometer quality. This really cheesed off the "high-class makers" who saw the general idea of the law being circumvented and who organized a test comparing the Oris movements to their own. The idea was very much to show that Oris might make the COSC norm but their own movements would come closer to the desired "zero" (deviation). In the end, the results were never published - they are reputed to have been too embarrassing for the establishment!

Hartmut Richter