As complications go, the chronograph is both prized and something of a Mt. Everest for amateur watchmakers. In this article, I’m going to walk through re-assembly of a “typical” (if there is such a thing) cam-driven vintage chronograph movement, the Venus 188, to show that - if you’re systematic - there’s nothing to be afraid of. I’ll also talk about adjustment and tuning of the chronograph functions.

This handsome Girard-Perregaux from 1960 has just the right amount of patina on its cream colored dial. Together with a elegant hand design and a full stainless steel case, this is a really sharp looking watch. It has a reliable and accurate in-house GP 21.19 automatic movement, making it a vintage watch you can wear and enjoy for years to come.

Triple Calendar + Moon Phase with a pointer date is a prized complication among vintage watches. I thought it would be interesting to go through how this rather complex calendar system is put together as part of a movement service. Strap in!

This gorgeous Bulova black & gold tank from the late 1930’s really makes a statement. The beautiful dial is really shown off by a brand new (old stock) crystal. The 10K Gold Fill case has been overplated in 14K Gold so that it looks as great as the dial. This beauty is powered by a Bulova 7AP hand wind movement which is 86 years young and still going strong.

A really handsome, rare and unusal Hamilton tank-style watch from the mid 1950s. The dial has a cool 2-tone color-shifting look created by brushing the surface in 2 different directions. The pincushion case design will look good on a wide range of wrist sizes. This beauty is powered by a classic & reliable USA-made Hamilton 748 sweep second manual wind movement.

A very clean, gently-used example of a late-60’s Bulova dress tank. Sporting the distinctive Bulova aesthetic from the period, the dial and hands on this one are about as pristine as it gets for a nearly 60 year old watch. It’s powered by a rock solid shock protected 17 jewel Bulova 11AL hand wind movement.

A sneek peak at new watches that I have aquired that are awaiting restoration, and which will eventually be listed for sale once restored.

In my ongoing series exploring vintage watch movements, my focus has been on movements with interesting design quirks or features, but I thought it might be helpful to go over a very “vanilla” watch movement, with a typical design and no complications whatsoever. Accordingly, the subject of today’s post is the Bulova 7AP, a very simple but quality movement manufactured in the late 1930s.

A sneek peak at new watches that I have aquired that are awaiting restoration, and which will eventually be listed for sale once restored.

With a patina’d black dial with super-cool numerals that just scream “vintage,” this 1953 Elgin tank really stands out. The in-house 673 manual movement was designed and manufactured in the USA, and increasing rarity at the time as Swiss movements were taking over the industry. The 10K RGP case has wear befitting a 70+ year old watch, but still looks great.

Capturing a 1960’s space age esthetic, with a funky concentric pattern dial, mirrored indices, and red pointer on the second hand, this Waltham is something a bit out of the ordinary. This theme continues inside the polished stainless steel case, wherein resides a French-made Lorsa P72 movement with 23 jewels - a huge amount for a relatively simple hand winding movement.

This handsome Wittnauer pairs a classic sub-second dial with a relatively modern (and also very handsome) Swiss automatic movement manufactured by A. Schild for Wittnauer. The dial on this watch, with interesting double-bar indices and numerals at the cardinal points in a cool period font, is extremely clean and pristine, while the wear on the gold fill case was left as-is for the sake of originality. The compact 31mm size is a good choice for smaller wrists.

A sneek peak at new watches that I have aquired that are awaiting restoration, and which will eventually be listed for sale once restored.

This is a gorgeous 1955 Longines sub second manual with a tapisserie pattern dial. The dial, crystal, case and movement (a Longines 23Z) are all in excellent vintage condition. This watch screams “class” and is highly collectable.

The A. Schild 1706 is an interesting movement with a somewhat unusual automatic winding mechanism. As we shall see in this article, this design has some benefits, but one major potential pitfall.

A sneek peak at new watches that I have aquired that are awaiting restoration, and which will eventually be listed for sale once restored.

The Elgin 626 is a neat little USA-made movement from the late 1940s designed specifically to power the sub-second tank-style watches popular at the time. However, the horologist who designed this movement clearly must have been a bit bored with the lack of complications, because they seemingly went out of their way to add some truly strange design features. In this post we will explore these oddities.

I generally hesitate to refinish vintage watch cases. Still, there is a point beyond which a watch case becomes so battered that it crosses the line from “vintage and charming” to “old and ugly.” For me, this case had definitely crossed over that line, so a restoration was in order. In this post I walk through the process, showing the case as it slowly transforms.

Kicking off a new blog series, we take a look at the Gruen N 710 SS. This 1960s automatic movement was manufactured for Gruen by… someone. It’s a bit of a mystery, as, beyond a stamp indicating Swiss manufacture, the movement only has Gruen markings.