6.5 Frames Per Second

Photos will be updated as re-shoots are done.

This was my first vintage piece and the first restoration. Done by hand apart from the case it took about a dozen q-tips to bring the original butler finish dial back to it’s original condition. This is my every day wear watch. It appears to have hinged lugs but they are fixed. The tendency is to call any watch with hinged lugs a Drivers Watch these days. Drivers watches are worn on the side of the wrist and are heavily curved to fit. Wearing a drivers watch in the normal position would be very uncomfortable.

Restoration covers a wide range of? work from disassembly and lubrication to re-plating and re-dialing. I prefer to stay away from the last two. Slight brassing isn’t a detractor when choosing a watch but I prefer a complete finish on the case when looking at one. Most watches in the early 1900’s were gold filled with some models in solid gold. That has never been a priority when choosing. My main attraction to Vintage wrist watches is the design styling.? The dial is usually the first thing you see followed by the casing.

During the early part of the 20th century there were heavy import duties on Swiss watches so the movements were sold as watch parts and the American companies would case and regulate the movements to qualify as? American product. This is the reason most movements from the period carry the “unadjusted” stamp on the watch movement. Most were timed and regulated before they left the Swiss factories.

Dial refinishing is a common practice which is done by photographing the face and making a printing positive to be applied later. The Dial is then sanded down to bare metal and the copy is screened or printed back onto the metal. I wouldn’t buy a watch if the dial was in that condition unless it was a rare or iconic model that the price reflected. If the Dial has missing enamel I’ll replace it with low temp enamels, or in the case of other finishes, spot the areas where metal is showing with a water base Gouache. This can be removed completely in an ultrasonic bath or with mild soap and a fine brush. Caution: Always remove the Dial from the movement before cleaning or restoring

I try and keep the piece as original as I possibly can. The only new items attached to the watch are stainless pins and an NOS period bracelet or leather band.