Archer
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Since: Jan 15, 2007 17:14:14 GMT -6
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Post by Archer on Jan 30, 2009 10:32:35 GMT -6
So my archery coach went through her father's estate, and offered me a bunch of old watches she did not want. They arrived this week and two are interesting vintage pieces. The first is a Solar, which was the house brand of the T. Eaton Company (a.k.a. Eaton's department stores) here in Canada. It's a nice pendant watch with an enamel decoration on the back laid over some guilloche, and a hand painted rose. Swiss made 17j movement... Dial is in great shape and the hands are nicely blued. The next one is a mystery. It has no markings on it at all except that the movement is Swiss, and there are some servicing marks from the watchmakers who have worked on it inside the half hunter case. It's on a watch fob but has wire lugs welded on for a strap. The hands are nicely blued... I eventually realized that the dial is not all yellowed....it's the crystal! I will have to be careful with this dial as I'm quite sure it's radium....cleaning will be done in a safe manner. These will be cool just to work on. They both run right now but I'm sure they could use some TLC. Not sure what I'll do with them but they will be good fill in jobs in between the paying service work. Thanks for looking. Cheers, Al
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Post by Warren on Jan 30, 2009 17:48:51 GMT -6
Very interesting pieces Al. That pendant is really a lovely little thing and the wristwatch is very nice also. Nice finds. Do be careful with the radium. A misconception that some folks have is that old watch dials that no longer glow are no longer radioactive. If I remember correctly the luminescence is caused by the radium exciting the zinc sulfide in the paint, over time the zinc gets destroyed by the radioactive bombardment and stops glowing. The radium itself has a half-life of 1600 years.
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Post by atomic on Jan 30, 2009 20:17:10 GMT -6
Very cool pieces. My guess is the second one is of the WW1/1920s vintage. The Eaton house brand is a nice piece of 'Canadiana'... as much as it can be with a swiss movement. Very cool stuff.
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Archer
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Posts: 2,941
Since: Jan 15, 2007 17:14:14 GMT -6
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Post by Archer on Jan 30, 2009 20:24:58 GMT -6
Do be careful with the radium. A misconception that some folks have is that old watch dials that no longer glow are no longer radioactive. If I remember correctly the luminescence is caused by the radium exciting the zinc sulfide in the paint, over time the zinc gets destroyed by the radioactive bombardment and stops glowing. The radium itself has a half-life of 1600 years. Thanks Warren. Yes I do have plans on how to clean the dial that will involve precautions. I know that radium is quite dangerous for a very long time. As long as the radium does not become airborne and get inhaled it will be okay.
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amanda
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Since: May 19, 2024 4:40:40 GMT -6
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Post by amanda on Jan 30, 2009 22:14:39 GMT -6
1600 years crikey!! Be careful Avalon They are great finds, the blue hands are awesome.
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Archer
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Posts: 2,941
Since: Jan 15, 2007 17:14:14 GMT -6
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Post by Archer on Jan 31, 2009 14:53:12 GMT -6
An update.... I disassembled the one with the radium dial and cleaned it. When I was inspecting the jewels, I found a few issues... This jewel on the balance c-o-c-k is smashed. This one on the cap jewel for the balance on the dial side is badly cracked. This one on the central bridge is cracked from about 4 o'clock to 8 o'clock. This one on a wheel c-o-c-k is cracked from about 9 o'clock to about 11 o'clock. There was a 5th one cracked that I could not get a clear photo of - it was on the main plate. I hate to say it, but I think this one is toast as it has some other issues too. Bummer. PS - the language filter is a bit annoying.....the word c-o-c-k is not always a bad thing guys.
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Post by atomic on Jan 31, 2009 19:53:35 GMT -6
Wow.... so the movement is a c-o-c-k up? No way the jewels can be removed and replaced? what other issues?
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Archer
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Since: Jan 15, 2007 17:14:14 GMT -6
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Post by Archer on Jan 31, 2009 20:02:19 GMT -6
The jewels could be replaced if I wanted to do the work and spend the money on it. The other issues - - A screw twisted off in the barrel arbour while I was taking it apart, so that would have to be drilled out and a new screw found - not a huge deal. - It needs a new mainspring as the one in it has set and won't give the proper power to the movement. - The nickel plating is coming off the entire movement big time. I would have to send it out to strip the movement of the remaining nickel plating, and have it replated as it's flaking off in many locations and that will gum up the movement if it's left as is. I've never seen that happen before. I might still do it but for now I'm going to set it side. On to the Solar I guess.
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greenfin1
New Member
Posts: 2
Since: Feb 3, 2009 7:47:07 GMT -6
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Post by greenfin1 on Feb 3, 2009 7:54:40 GMT -6
Its all amazing man, thanks for such preety post:
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Post by Warren on Feb 3, 2009 18:48:06 GMT -6
Its all amazing man, thanks for such preety post: Post edited to remove link promoting replica watches.
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