A New Hope?
Over the weekend, I remembered my old Columbia CL-1312 quartz field watch (which wasn't running), and took it out from a small jewelry box. This watch has been with me for perhaps 16 years, and it was still running back in 2017. But, when the seconds hand became unattached from the center wheel, I just kept it in storage.
As I cleaned up this old field watch with a wet cloth, I began to notice and appreciate its character, beauty, and quality, which I never quite did in the past:
1) Dial: Leaf handset, baton-lollipop seconds hand, a matte olive green dial, and a crystal that seemed to have some AR, all made it look awesome. The flat, applied 12-3-6-9 Arabic and hour indices, 24H markers in the inner dial, date complication @4, and lume that is relatively bright despite its age, all added to its beauty.
2) Case: Dimensions are 40.6mm diameter (not including crown guards), 9.7mm thick, 48.1mm lug-to-lug, and 19.7mm lug width. It's size is at the max of my 6.25-inch wrist's sweet spot! It's thick spring bars meant I could've swapped this piece into all sorts of straps!
3) Build: It definitely isn't stainless steel, as it has an aging metal kind of smell to it. Could be some kind of brass alloy, given its relatively unchanged color since I first received it. Its surprising 50M WR rating meant that in the past, I could've swam in the pool with my son while wearing this piece! But alas, I never did! The bezel is working, but not as smooth as before. The crystal is definitely mineral as I saw 2 tiny cracks on its edge.
4) Movement: The hands turn smoothly, but the date complication doesn't move forward or backward.
So, after spending about an hour or so with this almost vintage piece, and after reflecting on its history with me, I decided to have it restored. The lollipop seconds hand, and the date complication need to be fixed. So, let's see how this next chapter unfolds... maybe its a New Hope. 😊
When a glorious sunset begins to descend, Bringing warm and lovely hues, Burnt orange, gold, dusky purple, Pink, mauve, and blue, No timepiece on earth, With all its sunburst, textures, and polish, Co...
Good luck. There are some cruel economic realities in bringing the dead back to life.
I would get some tools and take a crack at it myself. Might just add a rewarding chapter to the story of that watch!
Very cool watch but it will probably cost you more to restore than it would be to buy a new watch. I can appreciate your attachment to the watch but sometimes you gotta let it go and start anew. That's just my 2 cents. Good luck.
Good luck. There are some cruel economic realities in bringing the dead back to life.
yep, lets see. crossing my fingers :)
I would get some tools and take a crack at it myself. Might just add a rewarding chapter to the story of that watch!
good idea. my cheap caseback remover isn't working. will get a better one pronto, and take a look under the hood.
Very cool watch but it will probably cost you more to restore than it would be to buy a new watch. I can appreciate your attachment to the watch but sometimes you gotta let it go and start anew. That's just my 2 cents. Good luck.
thanks bud. will seriously consider your valuable advice.