Accumulating random vintage mechanicals

Diverging from my normal subject matter I felt the need to dig into my interest in odd-ball watches. I have been accumulating watches that I can’t really fit into a formal collection. My wife got me started on estate sales in the late nineties. Since then we have probably refurnished a couple of households with furniture and odds and ends. This has coincided with my renewed interest in watches in the last 5-10 years, too. I have stumbled onto a wide variety of watches via estate sales and antique malls even though the bulk of my watches were found on eBay or other online stores.
Estate sales can vary widely. You never know what will pop up, and that’s the fun of it. Depending on the estate manger’s and sale company worker’s knowledge of watches, the prices are all over the place. I have even been to one all watch estate sale that was pretty crazy. I have seen all kinds of vintage and neo-vintage quartz, auto and mechanical watches for sale, so it can be exciting. I have let some good ones go because I was hesitant to spend the money, or told myself, ” you don’t need any more “project” watches!” To me and even more so my wife, price is important at an estate sale. The object of the hunt is find cool things cheap! The finds also need to be unexpected, because you can always make planned purchases for specific watches online and pay a lot more.
I should also mention that as the years have passed, estate sales and junking has become fashionable, and every other person is a reseller, so prices have soared. You can still find deals, but it is getting harder. Watches have become more popular overall in the last 5 years so finding gems is harder than ever. I, too, am not a hardcore collector or reseller, so am somewhat more casual about acquisitions. I like to discover more than pursue. Having said that, I have done some crazy things too get or fix watches…. Still, I like to think I have things under control and like to have fun finding surprises.
Any luxury brand watch or high-end watch is usually pulled from the sale and sold to “special buyers”, beforehand and even low-end, pedestrian watches by well-known brands like Seiko are over-priced. Most watches that are disclosed pre-sale are usually gone by the time I get there because we usually go on the second day when prices are reduced. That leaves me to find the odd-ball or not working, or unfamiliar watches that were ignored. The Undesireables.
Before I ramble any further, let’s look at some watches that came to me in various ways. I picked these four because they are all mechanical, small, older and came to me in different ways. They are not part of any bigger, formal collection I have created. They fall under the watch category: Watch.
33mm Sentinel

This was an estate sale find. I had no business getting it. I knew nothing about the brand, movement or type of watch in general. It just interested me with its gold-treated hands and hour markers against the slightly patinaed dial, the Sentinel script typeface, and the inscription on back. I was even intrigued by the flex band, which I usually hate. I love the shape of the hands and hour markers. Overall it seemed in good shape and was running. I’m putting it in the late ’60s, early ’70s based on style, condition and context of the estate sale.
There is all kinds of interesting, but vague information on this watch. On the dial you have “Swiss” which can be good, and “waterproof” which means old, because a more modern standard would be water resistance and an number. Also on the dial is “jeweled”, which I had never seen before! no number for jewels?

On the case back there is all kinds of info. “Waterproof” again, “Nivarox”, “Stainless steel back”, “antimagnetic”, “Swiss made”, and the number 55 in a circle. The “water proof” probably refers to the screw-on case back and gasket, rather than components. Nivarox is a trade name for an alloy used in hairsprings and other components at this time, so this watch probably has parts of that type, which could be considered “antimagnetic”, rather than the case enclosure. I don’t know what the 55 in the circle represents. I did have this watch serviced.

Now, about that “Swiss Made” type. I am not knowledgeable about watch movements any more than I have to be! This movement photo is from another similar watch — well, identical, as far as I can see. It is most likely the same movement as my watch. As you can see it says “E. Ingraham Co., One jewel and Swiss”. Sentinel was a sub-company of Ingraham. I think it was named after a famed Ingraham pocket watch called the Sentinel. In the ’60s and early ’70s, Swiss companies were churning out these cheap movements that were used in all kinds of watches assembled and sold by many companies. I don’t know where this watch was assembled, but I’d guess the movement was made in Switzerland for Ingraham. It has only one jewel for the balance wheel, hence the “jeweled” on the dial. Basically one step up from a Timex no-jewel ! Again, these were simple, mass-produced inexpensive movements for basic watches. I have read that they are very robust and reliable if maintained.

The funky Flex-let bracelet is a hair puller, but it feels right with the watch and I like the crescent shapes in the links. It probably came on a leather strap. I’m guessing Jim is about my age if he got this as a boy in the late 60s-ealry ’70s? I wonder why he doesn’t have this watch now. We don’t know the family situation.
That’s the sad thing about estate sales – seeing items you think a family member would want. You see the passage of time and end of things.
1968 Timex 6517 Prestige

Talk about jewels, we jump from one to twenty-one! This was not the average Timex of the mid ’60s. If my memory serves me, this was an estate sale find, too. It was not on this strap, however. I can’t recall what if any it had? I found this cool vintage vinyl one on eBay and thought it was perfect for this watch. It gives it a more casual vibe. I’ve had so many of my finds repaired I can’t remember the specifics of this one? I think I had it cleaned/serviced and a new crystal installed. The things that stand out on it are the champagne color dial and the flat crown. The horizontal bar hour markers are distinctive, too. Case size 34mm.

The original bracelet looks elegant. It would be fun to find one of those. As you can read, the Prestige was a step up in movement quality. $19.95 in 1968 is like $180 today, so that was a decent watch. The self-winding version was $24.95. It would have been a nice everyday white-collar job wear to work watch with a slightly dressy feel. Also in that catalog for 1968 was a Dorado Electric watch with a price of $124.95! Five times the price of this mechanical Prestige.

This watch is in good shape. The plating is fine and there are no major scratches on case or crystal. The lume on the hands is getting brittle and of course, not so bright.I have learned the difficulty in trying to find local watchmakers willing to work on vintage Timex watches, so I have shied away from collecting more recently. Finding parts/movements is a problem, too. They are fun, but when you get used to the solid feel of modern watches, the old Timex feels rickety. They are pretty tough, but I tend to treat them gently.

I am a big fan of Timex and find collecting them fun and affordable, but even with newer watches, especially the quartz ones, you know they have limited warranties and will be hard to repair, even for Timex within few years. With the old Timex watches, repair was not really expected. Many of the movements were made to not be fully disassembled and repaired. Even today, coming in at the lowest price points, I think Timex does not expect people to get them repaired as much as replaced when broken?

If you just don’t want to take on the cost of fixing a vintage watch, Timex has been great with reissues. As much as I love vintage watches, I am really happy Timex has released so many reissues that give you look and sizing of vintage watches with the benefit of modern manufacturing.
33mm Early ’60s Vantage Day/Date

Why, why, why? Why do we like certain watches and feel they are worthy of rescue? The story behind this little guy is different. I did not find the watch, I did not look for the watch. It came to me unexpectedly when I bought another watch on eBay. I can’t even remember what the other watch was. The seller of the other watch, just threw this one in for free to be rid of it.
I liked the big central Day window, the dauphine-style hands and the dark dial patina. As you can see, the gold plating has pretty much all been rubbed off of the case. The lume on the hands is crumbling. It was barely working and I had not opened it. I had no other watch with a day window like this and I just liked it. So, I took it to an old veteran watchmaker I have been using for simple things on cheap watches. I knew he was very experienced but didn’t like taking on every thing I brought in. He gave me an outrageous quote to rebuild it. It had all kinds of rust and corrosion and needed new parts. I agreed to do it because I wanted to see what would happen as a test experience.

I hate to see any interesting old watch not working. I like the idea of old things continuing on, just because. It runs great. While I resent the price I paid to rescue an insignificant watch ( I could have bought a nice watch with that money) I like the idea that it is still working away sixty years after it was assembled. I’m not even sure what parts were replaced except the crown/stem and crystal. I didn’t even ask. This crown is bigger than the original, but I don’t care. I’m connected to this watch now.
Its a pain to set because it doesn’t have a quick set date. There is only two positions for the crown, in to wind, or out to adjust time and date. The day is changed by turning the crown the other direction. So, its a watch that was meant to be worn and wound every day. And I don’t do that! I change watches a couple of times a day and rarely wear one for a week before I switch. If I want to keep the day/date accurate on this, that means a lot of turning… I hate wearing a watch when the day and date are wrong.

Vantage, I believe, was a company started by Hamilton as a way to capture more of the lower priced watch market. The manufacturing was done in Hong Kong and Japan. As you can see the movement was Japanese. Inside the case back is a stamp for the WMK Watch Case Corp. Hong Kong? There is also a “HongKong” stamp on top of case, between lugs, which I have never seen done before. I have read of a partnership between Hamilton and Rioch from 1962-64 for electric watches with the Vantage label. Was Standard Watch Corp a Rioch company? Anyway, I’m going to say this Vantage was made between 1962-65.


On the case back we have “protected against shock, dust, magnetism” which is a quaint way of saying this. You also get the standard “base metal bezel and stainless steel back” description. Nothing about water resistance?


I like the look of this watch and the story behind it, the vintage feel, the history and how it engages me. I could see me getting more Vantage watches. I have seen some great ’60s-’70s divers and others with real style. But, you have to pay to play vintage.
HMT 35mm Pilot, Age Unknown

My last little windup for this post is my only HMT. I found it on eBay. The thing that tipped the scale for me was the awesome stencil numbers. Also, the pointy dauphine hands again — but its those numbers. I knew nothing about HMT watches when I got this one. It was less the $50 and looked really clean. So, again, this was not about specs, or reputation or movement. It was about the looks and the vintage feel, the Pilot name. Well, I did know it was a mechanical hand-wound movement, and I wanted that, but it wasn’t anything about this specific movement.
Since this purchase, I have researched more about HMT. They do have a big following and are quite collectable low-priced fun. Like any niche segment of the watch world, the fans can be intense and determined. There is all to learn about the history, models, details and rare specimens. I remain a casual HMT fan but could easily see getting more since they have some great timeless styles.
Vintage is the key word here. With HMT one has to be careful to know what you are buying. It can be hard to differentiate between vintage and re-manufactured. In this case, I don’t really care if this is considered a rebuild or a vintage. It is so clean I’m pretty sure it is not wholly a vintage watch. I like it for what it is.

The case back on my Pilot could be old, but the rest looks pretty new? From what little I know about HMT, the mechanical movement could be old, too. I have read that there are many modified watches out there with new cases, dials and hands. They are simple watches that have been mass produced in India for decades.
HMT began making watches under licensing from Citizen starting in 1961. These basic mechanical movements were based on Citizen watches. The movement in this watch is probably the 17 jewel HMT 020, equivalent to the Citizen 0201. Throughout the ’70s and ’80s they expanded production and later made quartz watches, too. It seems the government shut down the company in 2016, but there are still new HMT watches appearing in limited numbers.

What I like about these HMT Pilots is the besides the style, is the simpleness, the solid, reliable feel. The case is more robust than the typical ’60s and ’70s Timex cases. The winding action feels strong. The basic suede strap it came on is great, too. Normally I don’t like the feel of suede but this is great with this watch. If you don’t mind a Frankenstein watch, I recommend you give an HMT Pilot a try. WIth these rebuilds, you get the vintage style with improved fit and finish.
Final thoughts on Windups
I own several hand-wound mechanical watches, vintage and new. Honestly I don’t wear them much. I don’t really wear any of my watches for long periods, because I change watches constantly. Most of my watches are quartz. After that, automatics. With hand wound mechanicals and even most autos you develop a closer relationship because you have to keep them wound. You interface with them everyday usually. I haven’t timed these windups, but I’m guessing about 30+ hrs of power? This can become tedious especially with Day/Date models. Since I don’t wear them for extended periods, I don’t develop those rhythms.
With my quartz watches, I pull out the stems to save battery life because I am always switching watches. The best thing about hand-wound watches is not worrying about batteries! Most autos are a little better with 40 or so hrs. of power. You can alternate watches every other day. If you have the luxury of an 80 hr auto, you are freed-up to enjoy other watches for days. You can also use winding machines, but then you are still limited to a number of watches.
I think most people keep wearing the same watch everyday because they don’t want to wind or adjust it. Same for date. Quartz watches gave people the freedom from winding for a couple of years. But the more quartz watches you have, the more you start pulling out stems because battery maintenance will kill you. This is where collecting becomes separated from using. Solar watches are amazing, but even they need to come out of cover every few months. I would love to see more solar powered quartz watches available. I keep a 10+ yr old Citizen B690-S086736 out on my night stand. It is my trusty steadfast assistant. I don’t wear it often, but I use it every day and night. Always on, always accurate, lume always readable at night. I do change the date 4 or 5 times a year and make daylight savings adjustment.
I plan to be back again writing about my newer Timex manual wind watches as well as some other vintage finds.
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