Titus JetpowerSuper 77 Jewels

[siLence79]

Hi Guys, I had recently gotten this. It's a nice watch, I liked the dial & the fonts on it but I have a few questions for you experts here. When I checked with a friend of mine, he told me this is a refurbished dial. After inspecting it close, I do suspect so. Here are the few doubts that I have..

- Is the dial original or refurbished?
- It's written 77 Jewels but upon opening the caseback, I don't see the other jewels :think:
- I doubt it's an original secondhand as well..duh

http://i245.photobucket.com/albums/gg62/lunarin7779/R0011154copy.jpg

http://i245.photobucket.com/albums/gg62/lunarin7779/R0011135.jpg

http://i245.photobucket.com/albums/gg62/lunarin7779/R0011136.jpg

http://i245.photobucket.com/albums/gg62/lunarin7779/R0011147copy.jpg

http://i245.photobucket.com/albums/gg62/lunarin7779/R0011150copy.jpg

http://i245.photobucket.com/albums/gg62/lunarin7779/R0011151copy.jpg

http://i245.photobucket.com/albums/gg62/lunarin7779/R0011152.jpg

I would love to keep it though but if this is a 'franken', I might have to get it refunded. I'm a total noob when it comes to vintage watches ;-)

Thanks for looking guys.

[jedanzoom]

Just compare red color on the date number and that red color on the "77 jewels" inscription.I would say this watch is fishy.

[ulackfocus]

The extra jewels were an advertising gimmick, and were frequently located around the perimeter if the rotor. Here's an excerpt from one of the small articles on jewels that relates to the subject:

In 1892 Auguste Verneuil discovered a process to manufacture synthetic gemstones. He published a paper on the making of synthetic rubies in 1902 which noted that the imitation substance surpassed it's naturally occurring counterpart for industrial uses. Besides being less expensive, the man-made version was practically free from defects and was of a greater purity. Before rubies could be synthesized, only the most costly watches had more than 7 jewels. After that time, it became a marketing game of who had the most since the general public was not aware of the lower price of synthetic gems. Waltham once made a 100 jewel watch! 83 of the rubies were totally useless; the other 17 were in standard functional positions.

rotor of the 100j Waltham:
http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/nn234/ulackfocus/100j.jpg
photo by Paul Delury

There were no regulations on jewels until 1965 when the NIHS (Normes de l'Industrie Horlogie Suisse) stepped in to police the advertising. Later on they ruled that all jewels should be rubies. Up until 1974 when this standard was enacted there were many different grades of materials used (even glass!). The NIHS also defined what functioning and non-functioning jewels were. The former is a "jewel which serves to stabilize friction and to reduce the wear rate of contacting surfaces of the components of a timekeeping instrument". Of course the latter is any jewel not used for this purpose. As with most laws there are loopholes. Some manufacturers add jewels where they do have a tiny function but are practically useless and don't improve accuracy, reduce much friction or add to the life expectancy of the unit.

[AbslomRob]

The jewel count on the dial matches the engraving on the rotor, which woudl be a lot of work to fake. I'd suspect it's a legit watch, but likley with a refinished dial. The font of the word "Jewels" doesn't <quite> match the font of the rest of the text. The loop on the J is bigger, and the front of the e is wider.

[siLence79]

thanks guys, these answers are sufficient for me to send this back for a refund ;-)

damn.. I love this watch but I would still prefer an all original piece..

[Chascomm]

If I recall correctly (and my memory is not what it once was), this generation of Felsa movement was used in the 41 jewel Jetpower and 77 jewel Jetpower Super, but on this example I don't see any signs of the jewelling-up tricks commonly found on Felsas e.g. on the ratchet wheel over the barrel. The rotor at least is original, but the rest of the movement may have been completely of partly replaced over the years.

[siLence79]

thanks for the replies guys, I've returned this watch back to the shop for a refund, the boss was an understanding person, he willingly refunded me after I told him it's not an original piece :-)

[Beau8]

Glad it worked out for you in the end~Cheers! ;-)