Traditional folders and watches/timepieces

1970s Buck knife with a hand-wind Citizen watch on a 1950s Zuni watchband. :)

tDaWBeo.jpg
 
Very nice pieces. Wish I knew something about maintaining vintage mechanical watches.
Thank you.
I got the crystal glued on in my second attempt. The watch ran for 41 and a half hours on one winding, and kept time with the quartz I set it by.
My understanding is that nobody makes the parts anymore. If all it needs is cleaning and oiling, you're ok. If something is broken, you have to look on the bay for a works that is broken somewhere else and has the bit you need intact.
 
Thank you.
I got the crystal glued on in my second attempt. The watch ran for 41 and a half hours on one winding, and kept time with the quartz I set it by.
My understanding is that nobody makes the parts anymore. If all it needs is cleaning and oiling, you're ok. If something is broken, you have to look on the bay for a works that is broken somewhere else and has the bit you need intact.

yup. fortunately or unfortunately, during the last few economic crises many pocketwatches were scrapped for their precious metals cases. Watch makers were left with many of a pocketwatch movement just sitting in their cabinets. Some were in good order and some not. Fortunately for me i guess, because I used to scour ebay for movements to tinker with and even assembled a few pocketwatches with those movements, they are good for parts harvesting as well. Also, unfortunately for me as well, because watch making is a dying profession, and I used to walk the streets of new york city looking for the last remaining hole in the wall watch makers shops. There is a small community of amateur watch tinkerers that enjoy these ebay/flea market finds. But yes, generally pocketwatch parts are very hard to source as the years pass. Due to covid, my local watch shop has been closed for some time and he used to get in some treasures. His best hoard was around my high school years where he had close to a dozen pocket watches that go back to almost the civil war era in various grades of silver in both hunter/nonhunter cases. Of course I barely had money for much besides a silveroid case pocketwatch at the time. They disappeared when another collector purchased the whole lot in one go. :(
 
yup. fortunately or unfortunately, during the last few economic crises many pocketwatches were scrapped for their precious metals cases. Watch makers were left with many of a pocketwatch movement just sitting in their cabinets. Some were in good order and some not. Fortunately for me i guess, because I used to scour ebay for movements to tinker with and even assembled a few pocketwatches with those movements, they are good for parts harvesting as well. Also, unfortunately for me as well, because watch making is a dying profession, and I used to walk the streets of new york city looking for the last remaining hole in the wall watch makers shops. There is a small community of amateur watch tinkerers that enjoy these ebay/flea market finds. But yes, generally pocketwatch parts are very hard to source as the years pass. Due to covid, my local watch shop has been closed for some time and he used to get in some treasures. His best hoard was around my high school years where he had close to a dozen pocket watches that go back to almost the civil war era in various grades of silver in both hunter/nonhunter cases. Of course I barely had money for much besides a silveroid case pocketwatch at the time. They disappeared when another collector purchased the whole lot in one go. :(
I have received as heirloom my GrandPa's (father side) golden watch , a Zenith. I searched a lot but never found the name or number of the model. I finally found a dedicated website who kindly gave me the story. In pre-Soviet Russia, the importer of Swiss Moser watches had license to sell Zenith faces with Moser movements. Ticks still very accurately and you would not think of it as a centenary...
Zenith-face.jpgZenith-mouvement.jpg

Now a bit of knife content. This is Ma's Tissot. During WW2 she worked for a while as a secretary in Tissot's parisian office and used her watch until she retired.
Tissot - copie.jpg
 
yup. fortunately or unfortunately, during the last few economic crises many pocketwatches were scrapped for their precious metals cases. Watch makers were left with many of a pocketwatch movement just sitting in their cabinets. Some were in good order and some not. Fortunately for me i guess, because I used to scour ebay for movements to tinker with and even assembled a few pocketwatches with those movements, they are good for parts harvesting as well. Also, unfortunately for me as well, because watch making is a dying profession, and I used to walk the streets of new york city looking for the last remaining hole in the wall watch makers shops. There is a small community of amateur watch tinkerers that enjoy these ebay/flea market finds. But yes, generally pocketwatch parts are very hard to source as the years pass. Due to covid, my local watch shop has been closed for some time and he used to get in some treasures. His best hoard was around my high school years where he had close to a dozen pocket watches that go back to almost the civil war era in various grades of silver in both hunter/nonhunter cases. Of course I barely had money for much besides a silveroid case pocketwatch at the time. They disappeared when another collector purchased the whole lot in one go. :(
The watch guy I worked for for a while told the story of going to a watch shop and telling the guy that he was thinking of getting into the business. The watch guy put down what he was doing, looked up, and said, "If my son told me that, I'd break both his arms".
 
I have received as heirloom my GrandPa's (father side) golden watch , a Zenith. I searched a lot but never found the name or number of the model. I finally found a dedicated website who kindly gave me the story. In pre-Soviet Russia, the importer of Swiss Moser watches had license to sell Zenith faces with Moser movements. Ticks still very accurately and you would not think of it as a centenary...
View attachment 1389403View attachment 1389404

Now a bit of knife content. This is Ma's Tissot. During WW2 she worked for a while as a secretary in Tissot's parisian office and used her watch until she retired.
View attachment 1389395

Wonderful items JP :cool::thumbsup:
 
I have received as heirloom my GrandPa's (father side) golden watch , a Zenith. I searched a lot but never found the name or number of the model. I finally found a dedicated website who kindly gave me the story. In pre-Soviet Russia, the importer of Swiss Moser watches had license to sell Zenith faces with Moser movements. Ticks still very accurately and you would not think of it as a centenary...
View attachment 1389403View attachment 1389404

Now a bit of knife content. This is Ma's Tissot. During WW2 she worked for a while as a secretary in Tissot's parisian office and used her watch until she retired.
View attachment 1389395
Beautiful watches. :cool::thumbsup:
 
The watch guy I worked for for a while told the story of going to a watch shop and telling the guy that he was thinking of getting into the business. The watch guy put down what he was doing, looked up, and said, "If my son told me that, I'd break both his arms".

its really tough because its so niche. At the same time I once bumped into a fella who had to be a few years older than me at an event hosted by Patek Phillipe and he went to watch making school and was a watch maker at one of Patek's centers. Then and again there arent many schools for that left.
 
its really tough because its so niche. At the same time I once bumped into a fella who had to be a few years older than me at an event hosted by Patek Phillipe and he went to watch making school and was a watch maker at one of Patek's centers. Then and again there arent many schools for that left.
But Patek Philippe! Wow.
 
Wonderful items JP :cool::thumbsup:
Beautiful watches. :cool::thumbsup:
Thank you! There's a third, a silver Omega who belonged to my other Grandfather. It was out of service since before WW2. I had it repaired a few years ago and the watchmaker told me it was pristine inside. :) I have also an interesting Agfa chronomètre, with a stainless French (Argentan) casing. There must be a spring problem as it winds but does not last longer than 4h. TD-Omega.jpg
Agfa.jpg ,
 
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