JohnF
March 5th, 2006, 20:17
Hi -
So let me tell y'all one of the reasons I like vintage watches.
I picked up this old Gruen on eBay for just a few Euros, if I remember correctly it was around €40 with S&H.
It's a tad battered, after all, with brassing galore on the lunette.
But when you open it up: vavooom. ;-)
Inside is a largely pristine Gruen 516CA automatic movement, made for Gruen by AS and based on the AS 2063 automatic movement.
But it's been gold plated. Nice thick gold plating on all the platens and bridges, the gear train has been left largely alone.
The shape of the screws etc is excellent, but there are a couple of small scratches on the balance bridge where the fine adjustments are made.
I was under the impression that this was a watch from the 1950s, but according to Ranfft the AS is from 1969-1978, which is a LOT later than I thought. Or is there any chance that this is off? :-S
And one of the first things I did with it was to take into a master watchmaker for an inspection: the date was sticking and the time-keeping qualities weren't all that great.
€150 later the watch keeps fantastic time and the date changes in a tiny fraction of a second. Was well worth it: the only thing I think I'd do with it now is to work on the face of the dial, removing the grime without removing the patina...
And maybe get that lunette rechromed. But maybe not...
JohnF
So let me tell y'all one of the reasons I like vintage watches.
I picked up this old Gruen on eBay for just a few Euros, if I remember correctly it was around €40 with S&H.
It's a tad battered, after all, with brassing galore on the lunette.
But when you open it up: vavooom. ;-)
Inside is a largely pristine Gruen 516CA automatic movement, made for Gruen by AS and based on the AS 2063 automatic movement.
But it's been gold plated. Nice thick gold plating on all the platens and bridges, the gear train has been left largely alone.
The shape of the screws etc is excellent, but there are a couple of small scratches on the balance bridge where the fine adjustments are made.
I was under the impression that this was a watch from the 1950s, but according to Ranfft the AS is from 1969-1978, which is a LOT later than I thought. Or is there any chance that this is off? :-S
And one of the first things I did with it was to take into a master watchmaker for an inspection: the date was sticking and the time-keeping qualities weren't all that great.
€150 later the watch keeps fantastic time and the date changes in a tiny fraction of a second. Was well worth it: the only thing I think I'd do with it now is to work on the face of the dial, removing the grime without removing the patina...
And maybe get that lunette rechromed. But maybe not...
JohnF