| Author | Message | ||
     Doctorc New member Username: Doctorc Post Number: 1 Registered: 11-2008 Rating: N/A |
I just received this JLC as a gift from my uncle. He said he picked it up in Europe while traveling but really doesn't remember where or when.    K825 Movement#1564203 Back of case stamped 882160 The post on the inside of the back plate looks like it was repaired with some epoxy or superglue? It seems to keep time well and the alarm works well. The band on it was a generic Fixo-flex and it has had some obvious wear. I love the look and feel of it. I would probably look for a Generic black leather band for now just to make it wearable. To make it more presentable the case and crystal looks like they could be polished up pretty well. As far as the dial, could it be cleaned up with any success? Would a refurbishment be worth it and what would this entail? I read through nearly every post for the last five years relating to the memovox to get a background (my eyes are still blurry). What would the dating be? What might be a value range? Not interested in getting rid of it, but it might make the cost of cleaning it up hurt a little less. Zaf, You have a wealth of information here on the site, Thank you. | ||
| Zaf Moderator Username: Zaf Post Number: 3614 Registered: 05-2003 Rating: N/A |
Dates to about 1963. Not much you can do about this dial (which looks to be sort of nice anyways!), but I can certainly have the post fixed and have the watch serviced....it is worth fixing. | ||
| Doctorc New member Username: Doctorc Post Number: 2 Registered: 11-2008 Rating: N/A |
Thank you Zaf, I wasn't sure if some light cleaning on the dial might remove a little bit of the staining or some of the speckling . I probably wouldn't want the dial to be repainted to "new". I wasn't sure if some of the faults might not just be old dust and dirt on the dial that could be lightly removed without damaging the dial. From reading other posts I think servicing would be around $250 or less. But what might be a ballpark figure of worth as is? Would having it serviced raise the value? It would be hard to justify to myself spending more on service for this timepiece than the cost buying any other watch I have owned before unless the value is or would be greater than the cost of servicing. Thank you, | ||
| Zaf Moderator Username: Zaf Post Number: 3622 Registered: 05-2003 Rating: N/A |
Generally speaking, the risk of cleaning the dial, far outweighs the benefits. I'd leave it alone. It looks kind of cool anyways. It's what make its "vintage". You have a very nice watch, that's worth at least $1000. The $250 figure is ballpark for service jobs that go easily and require no parts. It can go up a little from there. I've basket case jobs that run closer to $400. | ||
| Doctorc New member Username: Doctorc Post Number: 3 Registered: 11-2008 Rating: N/A |
Zaf, The pictures were taken before any cleaning was done on the watch. It had been stored in a drawer for at least 10 years. After the pictures were taken I just I just put a little polish on the crystal and gently cleaned the exterior of the case. It cleaned up pretty well. I think I'll find a band and wear it for a while to see how it keeps the time (seems to do pretty good so far. After the Holidays are over and the financial crunch isn't as tight, I'll most likely contact you for servicing. Thanks again | ||
| Doctorc2 New member Username: Doctorc2 Post Number: 1 Registered: 02-2009 Rating: N/A |
Since you were the first site I found for assistance with my Memovox I thought it only appropriate that I post a follow up. I ended up buffing the crystal out and doing some cleaning on the dial. As a result of the cleaning I did end up knocking of some of the lume indices at 3, 8 and 12 o'clock and a little chip in the dial paint on the inside edge of the date window. It may have damaged some of the value but since I won't be be selling it I really don't mind. It hasn't left my wrist since. Thank you for all your assistance.  (sorry, couldn't remember my password so I had to re-register) | ||
| Zaf Moderator Username: Zaf Post Number: 3782 Registered: 05-2003 Rating: N/A |
How did you clean the dial? | ||
| Doctorc2 New member Username: Doctorc2 Post Number: 2 Registered: 02-2009 Rating: N/A |
After my earlier posts, I wanted to see if I would wear it so I polished up the crystal, put on a new band and wore the watch for a week. While I loved the overall style of the watch and the history behind it, my enjoyment of it was tempered by the strong green cast over the dial especially in the bright sunshine. I examined the dial through a loupe and felt that what at poor resolution might look like "vintage patina", to me looked more like the sticky, lint like film that gathers on the floor under your dryer over the years.  I thought maybe I can try a light cleaning on the dial and see how things go. | ||
| Doctorc2 New member Username: Doctorc2 Post Number: 3 Registered: 02-2009 Rating: N/A |
I gathered my cleaning supplies.   The make-up applicators are $1.39 a pack at Rite aid, the Klasse All-in-one cleaner polisher is designed as a high end car polish. A little goes a long way, This 2 oz container will do my entire car 3-4 times over. As far as the Klasse All-in-one (AIO), I though it might be good because it is made to clean and polish paint (albeit a hardened paint finish on a car.) I just thinned the AIO out with water, dampened the applicator sponge and the squeezed all the moisture I could out of it. Then I very lightly worked it back and forth across the surface, swapping out the applicators as they became dirty. My thought was that the AIO and water would soften the dirt as the sponge soaked it up without putting too much pressure on the dial itself. Almost like a fine razor shave, gliding across the surface as opposed to scraping or scrubbing it. | ||
| Zaf Moderator Username: Zaf Post Number: 3784 Registered: 05-2003 Rating: N/A |
Great job. What you did, is you removed the yellowing and dirty clear coat that was on the dial. I just did a dial and produced results very similar to you, just with a wet Q-Tip with some 10-15 second dips in an ultra sound machine. On some dials, however this will not work. You'll lose the lettering. | ||
| Doctorc2 New member Username: Doctorc2 Post Number: 4 Registered: 02-2009 Rating: N/A |
My main concern at first was perhaps wiping off the dial printing. I thought I would start at the "Swiss Made" printing on the bottom of the dial because it can not be seen when the watch is cased. Carefully now, lightly now. Make sure I am wiping away from cracks and crevices... Hey, That looks pretty good!  | ||
| Doctorc2 New member Username: Doctorc2 Post Number: 5 Registered: 02-2009 Rating: N/A |
On to the center dial..  | ||
| Doctorc2 New member Username: Doctorc2 Post Number: 6 Registered: 02-2009 Rating: N/A |
Man, this dial is just filthy!  Well by now it was well past midnight and I was deep in the zone... I couldn't stop to think about taking pics while I removed the hands and dial and finished up wiping way years of crud. I let it set overnight to see if any left over polish caused a hazing. It did, but some more careful wiping and polishing cleaned it up well. I then re cased it, polished the crystal with the acrylic polish (similar to polywatch this came in a kit to clean up haze on headlights) and a few rubs with the All-in-one polish. I then finished up with a few coats of the High Gloss sealant glaze. | ||
| Doctorc2 New member Username: Doctorc2 Post Number: 7 Registered: 02-2009 Rating: N/A |
Now I took it to a trusted watch repair shop for servicing the movement. His comments were that every thing looked really good and for occasional wearing it should be fine without a service. Since I planned to be wearing this a lot I went ahead and had it serviced. It runs beautifully, accuracy is within reason and the alarm function works great! One Wrist shot to finish off! If you look close you can see my huge grin in the reflections.  | ||
| Gregb Intermediate Member Username: Gregb Post Number: 131 Registered: 10-2006 Rating: N/A |
Exceptional job for a first try! Great pictures, also! Greg | ||
| Thomasm New member Username: Thomasm Post Number: 2 Registered: 03-2009 Rating: N/A |
Thank's you for this post, it's very interesting to see how you can restore a dial, it's look so easy but... The finish is very impressionant. |