Help me please
Hello everyone, I’m after a little advice, I have this watch the was my fathers (he is still with us) and pushing 70, he told me that this watch was one of if not the first watch he bought maybe early 70s. Anyway I can wind the watch to give it power but the hour and minute hands are not moving.
So what I’m asking and trying to get advice about is this, putting the sentiment to one side, would this watch be worth getting serviced, replacing the crystal and strap and giving back to my father for a birthday gift?
any advice would be much appreciated.
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David
Novice collector, upto 10 pieces now, always looking for information and ideas for adding a new timepiece to my collection.
London
Member since
Last active: 2 months ago
I'll take the expansion bracelet! Oh, you're overseas and the shipping costs wouldn't be worth it.
Wait, so the seconds hand runs? I'm no expert but I think that means the power train is working but there is some drive train issue.
A hand wound three-hander is about the easiest thing to repair. Literally any watch repair place that does more than change batteries should be able to handle this. I'd start locally, and use normal discretion. Small independent places will often take the back off and do a visual inspection for estimate while you wait. Crystals are cheap, but that one might just buff out nicely. I'd say that a full service shouldn't be more than a new Moonswatch and if lucky can be cheaper than some AliExpress homage.
Whether he wants it or how much this would be worth to any parties involved is not something anyone else can really answer. The design certainly holds up. Expect it to take a couple of months unless you pay way too much.
I think that would be a fantastic gift! No idea if the value put in could ever come out of it.
What does the movement look like? If you don't have the tools then @OscarKlosoff 's advice is best.
In addition to the drive train issues there is paint loss on the dial. Stanley was a small brand. If the 21 on the dial means jewels then it was a decent watch. But, it doesn't exactly say that. If it has a pin lever escapement you may be out of luck.
Looks like it’s one of the early 70s pin- pallet jobbies. The dial style is very common with that sort of setup, swap the name for pretty much anything random (Lucerne, Prix, Joyas, Alpen…). You could try and get a watch maker to do a movement swap if you can source a movement, providing they are willing.
The cheeky thing, it’s not always 21J, it’s likely to be 1J sometimes. 21 on the dial? Not necessarily the jewel count. Baumgartner 866 movement did come in 1J / 17J / 21J variations, but I’ve seen people swap them out and put in 1J on 21 dials… You can get very nice restorations of these on eBay and Etsy for not much coin, so it could be a case for getting one of those instead, or maybe getting the dial redone and put in a build by one of those who do this on the regular.
Sorry - not trying to be a killjoy, but these watches were not designed to withstand the test of time.
Looks like it’s one of the early 70s pin- pallet jobbies. The dial style is very common with that sort of setup, swap the name for pretty much anything random (Lucerne, Prix, Joyas, Alpen…). You could try and get a watch maker to do a movement swap if you can source a movement, providing they are willing.
The cheeky thing, it’s not always 21J, it’s likely to be 1J sometimes. 21 on the dial? Not necessarily the jewel count. Baumgartner 866 movement did come in 1J / 17J / 21J variations, but I’ve seen people swap them out and put in 1J on 21 dials… You can get very nice restorations of these on eBay and Etsy for not much coin, so it could be a case for getting one of those instead, or maybe getting the dial redone and put in a build by one of those who do this on the regular.
Sorry - not trying to be a killjoy, but these watches were not designed to withstand the test of time.
Thanks so much for the information, I have to agree you are spot on, I’m still very much a novice right now, and you have helped me to make a decision, I also opened the case, as I was asked and I see the exact same movement that you posted, it’s very tricky Swiss made 1 jewel, the lengths they went too for cost cutting I guess!
What does the movement look like? If you don't have the tools then @OscarKlosoff 's advice is best.
In addition to the drive train issues there is paint loss on the dial. Stanley was a small brand. If the 21 on the dial means jewels then it was a decent watch. But, it doesn't exactly say that. If it has a pin lever escapement you may be out of luck.
Thanks for replying, you can see the movement now, in a reply message
Thanks for replying, you can see the movement now, in a reply message
I had my suspicions that it was a 1 jewel pin pallet: 21, not 21 Jewels, paint loss, the hand set, and even red arrow second hand. If you spend too much time looking at watches online you begin to see patterns.
I had my suspicions that it was a 1 jewel pin pallet: 21, not 21 Jewels, paint loss, the hand set, and even red arrow second hand. If you spend too much time looking at watches online you begin to see patterns.
Exactly - this style just gets scrolled past at an alarming rate. Anything with De Luxe (except Smiths) gets booted.