Proof that there's still good in this world
Some of you may recognise this watch. It's the same Tissot PR 516 that I posted about three months ago. Except I own it now.
This watch was a gift from the wonderful @CaChoCo, who bought a new old stock condition of the same watch. Mine's rough, but still kicking. My watchmaker has a replacement mineral glass, so that's checked off the list. I can get it plated in gold again, but that's if I want to be extra; the plating hasn't worn down that much and the brass or base metal case helps hide the places where it's rubbed through. All that's left now is a battery and a stepper motor. I tested it with a smaller battery, and it ticks, but the second hand won't advance. I'm going to try and fit a proper battery in before I scour the web for a donor movement or some spares.
Despite my watchmaker's insistence that the watch was broken and only worth spares, @CaChoCo went ahead and bought it for me, despite living probably twelve hours away. I owe someone a Pepsi (or ten) now.
Looking at the bezel, it has some sort of cog-like or coin design. So it's literally a Vacheron Constantin 222. I prodded at the applied logo for a bit and got it to be a bit less skew than before.
Note: I've seen some talk online about "fixing" the stepper motors by dunking them in isopropyl alcohol or naptha. Does this work? I'm hesitant to try it, plus not in the mood to hunt for naptha.
A famous Dutch saying: “𝘕𝘦𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘣 𝘫𝘦, 𝘫𝘢 𝘬𝘶𝘯 𝘫𝘦 𝘬𝘳𝘪𝘫𝘨𝘦𝘯.”
Here's something more:
The crown and time-setting modes are rather intuitive. The crown alone only adjusts the hour hand, much like I'd imagine a true GMT does. To adjust the minute and seconds hands, you have to hold the crown in (like a button) for five seconds, release it, and hold it down again to watch them rapidly buzz away. Mine just buzz on the spot and occasionally move, which again makes me think it's a faulty stepper motor. Otherwise, everything else is in good shape.
The balance between the Pepsi logo and the date window, er aperture, is both appealing and annoying. The cocked SS in TISSOT has gobs of character.
The one time I saw dipping in alcohol as a remedy, it was for old Timex movements to dissolve dried out lubricants. My only thought here is that if it works, you’ve got a working watch with no lubricant. I guess it’s worth a try, but I would want somebody to lube tha watch afterwards.
The one time I saw dipping in alcohol as a remedy, it was for old Timex movements to dissolve dried out lubricants. My only thought here is that if it works, you’ve got a working watch with no lubricant. I guess it’s worth a try, but I would want somebody to lube tha watch afterwards.
I'll give it a try once I have a battery.
The balance between the Pepsi logo and the date window, er aperture, is both appealing and annoying. The cocked SS in TISSOT has gobs of character.
I love it. This was likely a service watch of sorts and it was worn, not stuck away in a safe like many others.
Awesome and appreciate the nice words 👍