Show us your watch Collection.

[Reynard]

Well, yes, exactly... Here's the three in my possession Left to Right: Dad's Longines, then my Seiko quartz and my Omega.

The Longines is a 35mm case, btw. I do take it out, give it a wind and and then wear it for a bit every now and again, but it's devilishly uncomfortable to wear as it's simply far too big. Shame, as it's nice and elegant. If it was 10mm smaller in diameter, it would be almost spot on.

I really wasn't joking when I said I've small wrists and don't do big and clunky...

 

[Cycleops]

A Citizen eco drive with a Breitling watch strap I bought the fake watch as I liked the strap. Picked it up for the equivalent of 20 euros in a Tunisian bazaar.
View attachment 639267




A Junghans Mega Solar, my 1st one lasted 20 years until I dropped it onto a tiled floor and cracked the solar panel.

I also have that Citizen. I do like my other Citizen eco drive which is a little smaller.

 

[Reynard]

Well, the Gradus is here!

Turned up yesterday lunchtime, and I started wearing it yesterday afternoon after winding it up. It keeps good time, kept running well overnight while on my bedside table, everything works as it should, and apart from a lightly scuffed glass, it appears to be in very good order. Added bonus, it's all stainless steel. It wasn't apparent from the listing, but it looked as if it might be, so bonus, as that's what I was after.

Size and weight wise, it's much the same as my Seiko, so feels comfortable to wear. The only pain is the clasp, which is really fiddly. I am one of these weird people who is very left-handed and also wears a watch on her left wrist. So I'll be getting that replaced with a closed gate clasp.

Can't really complain for £7.50 plus postage...

The dial fades to a very pale champagne in the middle... In good daylight, it's almost white, so I had a *DOH* moment. If you turn the watch so the stripe is vertical, it's the helmet colours of my favourite racing drivers. Ooops, only me! (see avatar LOL)

 

[Cycleops]

Looks like it might be worth putting a new clasp and band on @Reynard . You can get some at bargain prices from the watch sellers on AliExpress. Some great deals on watches there too. Only downside is they take a long time to arrive.

 

[Reynard]

Looks like it might be worth putting a new clasp and band on @Reynard . You can get some at bargain prices from the watch sellers on AliExpress. Some great deals on watches there too. Only downside is they take a long time to arrive.

That's definitely on the agenda as the current clasp is driving me potty. It's plenty secure enough, but very fiddly. Although as with everything, there's a knack to it, I suppose...

 

[Reynard]

Umm, look what you lot made me do... I spent the remainder of my £20 horological budget on this:

In full working order, not an automatic though. Strap is a tad manky, but that's easily fixed. Fell in love with it, and the research was both fun and enlightening. Good job small ladies' watches aren't fashionable...

BTW, have had a few nice compliments from friends regarding the Gradus.

 

[Illaveago]

Umm, look what you lot made me do... I spent the remainder of my £20 horological budget on this:

View attachment 640528

In full working order, not an automatic though. Strap is a tad manky, but that's easily fixed. Fell in love with it, and the research was both fun and enlightening. Good job small ladies' watches aren't fashionable...

BTW, have had a few nice compliments from friends regarding the Gradus.

Never heard of them !
It's fun looking into the different makes history .

 

[Reynard]

Never heard of them !
It's fun looking into the different makes history .

Plus it's a palindrome...

These people were a small-volume manufacturer who, as well as making their own watches, made a lot of movements and other bits for Breitling. Who then later bought them outright.

The fancy mens' watches seem to fetch a fair packet, but I like the simplicity of this one.

 

[DCBassman]

Umm, look what you lot made me do... I spent the remainder of my £20 horological budget on this:

View attachment 640528

In full working order, not an automatic though. Strap is a tad manky, but that's easily fixed. Fell in love with it, and the research was both fun and enlightening. Good job small ladies' watches aren't fashionable...

BTW, have had a few nice compliments from friends regarding the Gradus.

Excellent. I do like a nice hand-winder. The 38mm Seiko I mentioned is a hand-winder; I have two, identical except for face colour and bands. One of them my Dad bought with excess Zambian currency when he left, then gave it to me. That was in 1970, the watch was manufactured in 1969. The other I got from ebay for peanuts, and it's also a 69.

 

[Reynard]

Excellent. I do like a nice hand-winder. The 38mm Seiko I mentioned is a hand-winder; I have two, identical except for face colour and bands. One of them my Dad bought with excess Zambian currency when he left, then gave it to me. That was in 1970, the watch was manufactured in 1969. The other I got from ebay for peanuts, and it's also a 69.

There's definitely a certain convenience to them, I have to say. I do love my little Omega, even if the face is a bit tiddly and hard to read in anything but good daylight.

Think this one, going by the looks is probably also late 60s / early 70s. The case is much the same size as the Gradus and Seiko quartz.

 

[Illaveago]

In my search through our slides this afternoon I found some interesting pictures .
2 are of me on my new then Holdsworth Record. It was taken in June 1971. I even had hair then ! I will have to get them put on to our computer. One other picture of interest was taken in 1970 at RAF Hullavinton at the SMAE Nationals . The picture is of a scale flying model made out of polished sheet aluminium of a Beagle Pup . The owner who built it was scared of flying it that he let a friend fly it for him .

 

[johnnyb47]

Oh forgot to mention that i do have another another watch, (a pocket watch really) but it's quite interesting. It was my grandads watch and is called a tramway watch.
It's got Cairo printed on the face and can only assume it was made there.
Inside the back case it has the inscription
GRAND PRIX
Berne 1914 - Barcelone
1929
Menbtre Du Jury
Mikan 1906
HORS CONCOURS

He had this though out the 2 world war and he scribed minute dates and times on the back of the case. He must of had good eyesight as i can only read them with a magnifying glass!
It still works to this day 😀

I've just added my own post above as reference, but today I found out a little more about this watch.
My dad came over visiting today (haven't seen him since Christmas) and we had a good catch up.
We were talking about the past and i got this old pocket watch out for him to see.
He's nearly 80 now and when he saw it his eyes lit up.
He had forgotten all about it and was shocked to see it again.
Apparently this watch was taken from a destroyed German tank by my grandad in the Battle of El Alamein 1942 and he used it throughout the remainder of the war in the desert.
Fast forward a few years when my mum and dad we're married he gave the watch to my dad who was a bus driver for Crossville.My dad used it ,to keep on time with his daily bus routes.
He got quite sentimental when he saw it again as he thought it had long gone disappeared.He just sat here (emotionally) in silence looking at it and was amazed it still worked.Being the right thing to do I asked if he wanted it back, but he said no, as he knows I never sell it on for whatever it may be worth.
Whether it's worth something or not ,it's priceless to my dad and me because of the history of it over the generation's of our family

 

[Reynard]

I've just added my own post above as reference, but today I found out a little more about this watch.
My dad came over visiting today (haven't seen him since Christmas) and we had a good catch up.
We were talking about the past and i got this old pocket watch out for him to see.
He's nearly 80 now and when he saw it his eyes lit up.
He had forgotten all about it and was shocked to see it again.
Apparently this watch was taken from a destroyed German tank by my grandad in the Battle of El Alamein 1942 and he used it throughout the remainder of the war in the desert.
Fast forward a few years when my mum and dad we're married he gave the watch to my dad who was a bus driver for Crossville.My dad used it ,to keep on time with his daily bus routes.
He got quite sentimental when he saw it again as he thought it had long gone disappeared.He just sat here (emotionally) in silence looking at it and was amazed it still worked.Being the right thing to do I asked if he wanted it back, but he said no, as he knows I never sell it on for whatever it may be worth.
Whether it's worth something or not ,it's priceless to my dad and me because of the history of it over the generation's of our family

Not a pocket watch, but it's a same sort of thing with my binoculars. My paternal grandfather snaffled them off the dead body of a Russian officer in WW1 and used them himself, and eventually they were passed down to me. They've Carl Zeiss Jena optics, with the crosshairs in to "guesstimate" direction / ranging for artillery fire. They're battered and bashed, as is the leather case, but yeah, I totally get that...

 

[Illaveago]

Did you spot my previous post has nothing to do with watches ? Strange isn't it !

 

[Reynard]

Did you spot my previous post has nothing to do with watches ? Strange isn't it !

And I thought I was seeing things... Can't blame it on the drink, as I'm teetotal...

But back to watches, it's funny, that Ladies ones don't fetch nearly as much on the 'bay as mens ones by the same maker, unless they're one of the more, shall we say "poncy" brands like Longines, Omega etc.

I think you gave me good advice to furkle for the obscure brands in the "bargain basement" corner. And do a bit of reading around, which has certainly been enlightening. Just because something's not so well known, doesn't necessarily mean it's a piece of tat.

If I'm right, that Kelek is basically a baby Breitling...