Hecho en 1967
So, I was looking around eBay several weeks ago and came across this Caravelle watch. It was just the watch, no strap.
I wasn't familiar with the Caravelle brand so with a quick Google search I found out that it was a sub-brand of Bulova. So that's pretty cool, I thought. And, in the ad they said that it was made in 1967, even cooler yet. Because I was made in 1967 too. Back to Google to confirm it was made in 1967, yes it was. The M7 on the case back is the marking they put on watches made in 1967.
This watch has the Caravelle 11DP movement. I found out that this movement was made by Citizen (probably Miyota) and is the same as the Citizen 0241 movement. And I found out that there are two different versions of this movement. And I'm happy to say that I got the better of the two, 17 vs 7 jewels.
Now for the bad part. When it arrived 6 days after I ordered it, it was running when I took it out of the box. I knew right there that this watch had an issue. I made a post asking what people thought the problem was. Dry lube was the consensus.
Well it was worse than that. My LWM told me that the main spring was bad. I thought great, I'll never get to wear it. I had no idea how hard it would be to find a new main spring or how much it was going to cost.
Well, I'm sure glad I was told about this shop from a friend of mine. My LWM told me that he was going to try to rebuild the main spring and if that didn't work he'd find a new one for me. I don't know how you rebuild a main spring, but he did. My new to me Caravelle is working just fine.
So, for those of you who are interested. The watch cost me $45 plus tax and shipping. The strap was just under $24 with free Prime delivery. And my LWM charged me the unbelievable amount of $25 to completely service the movement and rebuild the main spring. Total cost for a watch made in the same year I was born, just over $100.
I should have taken a selfie when he gave me my watch back because I'm sure I had a really big grin on my face. 😁
Welcome to my WatchCrunch profile.
I love mine, runs great.
So nice to hear someone getting a wonderful deal on a service, that's very encouraging. Glad it all worked out for you!
LWM? That's a new one on me.
That being said you got an unbelievable deal. My local watchmaker has a 75$ bench fee.
LWM? That's a new one on me.
That being said you got an unbelievable deal. My local watchmaker has a 75$ bench fee.
I'm used to abbreviating in my other hobby so I bought it over to this one. 😁
That's an amazing story! And the watch+strap are fire
Congrats on a beautiful vintage Caravelle. Glad you didn't give up on the guy!
That's an amazing story! And the watch+strap are fire
Thanks, when I saw the shape of the case, I knew exactly what strap I was going to put on it.
Congrats on a beautiful vintage Caravelle. Glad you didn't give up on the guy!
Thanks. I wasn't going to give up on it. I like buying things made in 1967. I have 2 guns from '67, this watch and I'm looking for a car.
I thought I had found a car earlier this year, but I had to walk away from it. It was a '67 Rambler Rouge 2-door hard top. Mechanically it was sound and had a hard to find 290 V-8. But it was missing glass, the interior was pretty much non existent, all 4 quarter panels needed to be replaced. I'll stop there you get the picture. 😂
Thanks. I wasn't going to give up on it. I like buying things made in 1967. I have 2 guns from '67, this watch and I'm looking for a car.
I thought I had found a car earlier this year, but I had to walk away from it. It was a '67 Rambler Rouge 2-door hard top. Mechanically it was sound and had a hard to find 290 V-8. But it was missing glass, the interior was pretty much non existent, all 4 quarter panels needed to be replaced. I'll stop there you get the picture. 😂
Please include me in the post of the car when you find one. 🙏🏽
I believe I had a Caravelle in the early 70's. I would have been in elementary school and it would have been my first watch, received as a Christmas gift, I think. I don't recall much more than the brand name. I felt very grown up having a real watch. Alas, I have no idea what happened to it.
I'm sure it wasn't as striking as this one. It's a beauty and eBay finds are so satisfying. Enjoy!
I like this acronym which I presume stands for local watchmaker. I'm surprised that the main spring was that difficult to replace, and judging by the cost, it really wasn't. I was under the impression that this was about the most common failure mode and that there were a reasonably limited number of standard sizes. I've had old and decently obscure watches repaired and it was not an issue. By rebuild I think he means that, if it broke close enough to either end, he would just bend it to make a new hook for attachment. Slightly shortening a constant force spring doesn't make much difference.
My interpretation is that he was very forthcoming about the worst case scenario, almost to a fault. This is a similar price to what I've paid for service from a low-overhead watchmaker that isn't obsessive about making the work better than it needs to be.
I like this acronym which I presume stands for local watchmaker. I'm surprised that the main spring was that difficult to replace, and judging by the cost, it really wasn't. I was under the impression that this was about the most common failure mode and that there were a reasonably limited number of standard sizes. I've had old and decently obscure watches repaired and it was not an issue. By rebuild I think he means that, if it broke close enough to either end, he would just bend it to make a new hook for attachment. Slightly shortening a constant force spring doesn't make much difference.
My interpretation is that he was very forthcoming about the worst case scenario, almost to a fault. This is a similar price to what I've paid for service from a low-overhead watchmaker that isn't obsessive about making the work better than it needs to be.
You're correct on the acronym.
I'm not sure about the rest of it. He mentioned something about straightening out the spring and then winding it up again. I don't know how that works, or if it does. What I do know is that what ever he did it now works great.
He has been in business for quite some time. The friend who told me about the shop has been going there for 20 years. And, it's not in a high rent district. So, for what ever reason he is keeping his prices reasonable, I don't care. I'm just happy to get my watches serviced for the cheap. 😁
You're correct on the acronym.
I'm not sure about the rest of it. He mentioned something about straightening out the spring and then winding it up again. I don't know how that works, or if it does. What I do know is that what ever he did it now works great.
He has been in business for quite some time. The friend who told me about the shop has been going there for 20 years. And, it's not in a high rent district. So, for what ever reason he is keeping his prices reasonable, I don't care. I'm just happy to get my watches serviced for the cheap. 😁
As luck would have it, we have a photo of an unwound mainspring posted today!
https://www.watchcrunch.com/GasWorks/posts/two-actus-ss-visit-the-spa-408893