What watch are you wearing today? | Page 482 | FerrariChat

What watch are you wearing today?

Discussion in 'Fine Watches, Jewelry, & Clothes' started by VTChris, Sep 8, 2007.

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  1. ronfrohock

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  2. dstacy

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  10. rmlovett1

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    Super nice!!
     
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  11. rmlovett1

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  12. dstacy

    dstacy F1 World Champ
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    Thanks. Nice, gilt chapter ring dialed, pointed crown guard examples are getting tough to find, and horribly expensive, now.
     
  13. rmlovett1

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    Absolutely! Very tough. I just cashed in on the vintage craziness.....sold my 6263 big red Daytona.
     
  14. dstacy

    dstacy F1 World Champ
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    Whoa! Good for you.
     
  15. dstacy

    dstacy F1 World Champ
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    Decided to have a little fun this week so I'm digging deep into the back of the safe.

    Today?

    Today I wore my 1969 Accutron. Mine is the 10kt version. I'm fortunate in that I have the original signed croc strap and box.

    Here are a few bits of trivia about Accutrons:
    •The early ones, like this one are called Spaceview models.
    •They were never meant to be sold looking like this, although most of them were. The dealers were supposed to put one in the window looking just like this so customers passing by could see there were no wheels or gears, just electronics. If someone wanted to buy one the dealer was supposed to install a face or dial on it for the customer. So many people wanted the exposed version that it became the standard through the mid 1970's.
    •The tuning fork is what actually keeps them in time. When a mercury battery with 1.3 volts of power is applied the fork reverberates at just the right pitch (360hz) to run the watch. Those mercury batteries are no longer available because of the mercury level so now they have come out with a 1.5 volt battery with a step down resistor attached.
    •Accutrons were guaranteed accurate to within 2 seconds a day or 1 minute a month. If you had one that wasn't keeping time accurately a jeweler would either weld addition metal onto the fork to slow it down, or file some off to speed it up.
    •Notice there is no winding stem. You set the watch by popping up the ring on the back and turning it.
    •On July 20th of 1969 an Accutron Spaceview 214 movement was left on the surface of the moon, in the Sea of Tranquility, by the Apollo 11 astronauts.
    •In 1967 the selling price of a Rolex 5512 Submariner was $252. In 1969 the price of an Accutron ranged from $200 for a stainless steel version with a stainless bracelet to $349 for the 10kt gold version with a crocodile strap. My 10kt gold/croc version is the rarest.

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  16. Brian A

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    Very cool. I love stuff like this.

    One of the guys at my local jeweler/watch shop wears one with great pride. Quid pro quo: he took equal interest in my 1971 Timex Marlin.

    I never noticed the lack of crown: cool/weird.
     
  17. Drive550PFB

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    I am told by an EXTREMELY reliable source that this is not true.
     
  18. Gene Gutman

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    Hey Guys
    These are beautiful time pieces
    I wear my Pannerai made for Ferrari
    I always loved Ferrari but could never afford it
    I admired and dreamed it
    So couple of years ago I purchased a Pan GMT made for Ferrari
    My friends teased me ,"Where is the car to go with that watch?" I pushed forward
    Last year I became a proud owner a gorgeous 2007 599 GTB
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  19. dstacy

    dstacy F1 World Champ
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    Ok, I’ll believe you. I think I got that info from Bulova’s history section on their website. But what the heck, still a good story.
     
  20. dstacy

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    To continue with pulling out some oddball pieces from the dark recesses of the safe, today I'm wearing a 1972 Sekonda/Poljot Strela.

    The "Strela" was intended for the high-ranking officers of the Soviet Air Force. In 1965 it was worn in space by the Russian cosmonaut Alexei Leonov during the very first spacewalk.

    Original Poljot’s and Sekonda’s were marked "Made in USSR" while the reproductions are marked "made in Russia". The original Strela’s used a 3017 column wheel driven movement, reproductions use the 3133. Original black dial versions had the 2 color "paddle" hands. The Sekonda dials came “high brand” meaning the name Sekonda was very close to the Telemeter ring, and “low brand”.

    Mine, as I'm sure all of the other original examples are, is radioactive as hell.

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  21. 4th_gear

    4th_gear F1 Rookie

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    BTW, diminished or complete loss of luminescence is NOT an indication of the strength of the radioactivity. It just means the zinc sulphide (phosphorescent component) is toast. Radium-226 has a half life of 1600 years.

    Do not ever open the back of these watches yourself because particles of radium are known to flake off and you can inhale or ingest them without knowing it. The radium sits against your tissues and is much worse than getting an x-ray. Bone, lung and intestinal cancer are often the result. Unlike other materials, Radium-226 is retained in your body and NOT excreted so your tissues get irradiated for the rest of your life.

    This is nothing you want to play with. I have a high tech detector to screen for this sort of contamination. Some amateur watch hobbyists/collectors are notoriously ignorant and careless about this type of problem. Someone from the NAWCC once gave me "a present" when I bought some clock hands from him. The hands were OK but "the present" was extremely radioactive. I secured it and turned it over to the authorities. This stuff can kill you if you play with it. It will contaminate your home if you are not careful and there is no way to clean your home once it is contaminated.

    My brother and I were both medical researchers. He worked in the US, I worked in Canada. He told me one of the labs in his facility, one of the most prestigious in the US, was so radioactive they had to completely dismantle the facility and ship the materials off for disposal. There was no way to clean it. Many watch repair shops have had the same fate. Even furniture from old watchmakers are sometimes radioactive - because many would carelessly placed radioactive watch hands in the drawers. They were plainly stupid and they paid with their lives and possibly the health of their families and friends as well.

    Properly-trained professionals can remove the Radium, clean the watch and restore the lumiescence with Super-LumiNova. Don't **** with radioactive materials! This is not a game amateurs want to play.
     
  22. dstacy

    dstacy F1 World Champ
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    <said with a humorous tone>
    Geeze, bet you're a blast at parties.
     
  23. 4th_gear

    4th_gear F1 Rookie

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    Thanks. That was the intent ;) - everything I wrote is factual. Take care with the watch but personally-speaking I would get a pro to replace the Radium and then it might even make for an interesting story to tell at your next party.
     
  24. dstacy

    dstacy F1 World Champ
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    No, It'll make for an interesting story for YOU to tell at my next party. I'd never be able to sound like I knew what I was talking about.
    What do you drink? I'll make sure I have plenty.
     
  25. 4th_gear

    4th_gear F1 Rookie

    Jan 18, 2013
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    Well, I wouldn't do that as it's not my own watch but I can probably come up with a few stories about antiques and cars. Unfortunately I don't drink anymore due to a throat condition but when I hang around heavy drinkers long enough I do get pretty inebriated just from inhaling. :D
     

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