| Author | Message | ||
     Mnhoscar New member Username: Mnhoscar Post Number: 1 Registered: 04-2010 Rating: N/A |
I have an old chronograph with the 281 VXN marking, in a stay-brite case marked 51688 inside. The back has "etanche" on it and it is a screwback. I don't know how to remove the case, and although I asked the jeweler for the serial number, I believe he gave me the number for the case. I can't take a picture of it for a few days. However, it is almost identical in appearance to a link you posted from your sold items: http://www.classicwatch.com/graphics/rx2386.jpg It has a tachymeter scale on the outer dial, is manual wind, and has two buttons, one of which works to stop and start one of the dials - timer, I assume. I'm afraid I don't unterstand what the button below the stem and the small dial on the right are for. The watch keeps good time, looks sort of beat up. I know that repairs/restorations can be quite expensive and am wondering if you can give me some guidance on whether you think this is worth doing. | ||
| Gatorcpa Member Username: Gatorcpa Post Number: 100 Registered: 11-2006 Rating: N/A |
I believe that the cal. 281 movement was made by Universal for certain Jaeger and LeCoultre chronographs. The lower button is used to reset the chronograph function to zero before restarting. The dial on the right keeps track of the elapsed time in minutes that the chronograph function is running. The watch in your picture has a chronograph that times up to 45 minutes. Most other chronographs of this era only total 30 minutes. Both the Universal and Jaeger versions of this watch are quite collectible and it probably makes sense to find someone to fix it up. However, it's not likely to be cheap. Hope this helps, gatorcpa | ||
| Mnhoscar New member Username: Mnhoscar Post Number: 2 Registered: 04-2010 Rating: N/A |
That was fast and helpful! Thanks for the info. I may be destined to become a watch collector - my dad loved watches and clocks and has left me quite a few, some working and some not. The other LeCoultre he left is an automatic with a power reserve indicator, 481 movement, case 5558 that might date to the late 1940s or 1950s. It stops periodically, makes a bumping noise when moved in some directions, and the power reserve indicator appears not to work. It's also out for a repair estimate. The jeweler was unimpressed since it's gold-filled, but then again he's a jeweler. He'll probably advise me to scrap the gold ones! It's a handsome watch. No clue if it's "worth" fixing, and am not yet looking at any cosmetic issues. I guess that's another thread. This may be off-topic, but I'd love some advice on photographing watches. I don't know if it's my camera or me, but I'm not doing well with it. Thank you again. Marion | ||
| Gregb Advanced Member Username: Gregb Post Number: 234 Registered: 10-2006 Rating: N/A |
The "bumping noise" that you describe is normal. It is generated by the winding weight ratcheting back and forth against two spring-loaded stops to wind the watch as you move your wrist. These movements are known as "bumper automatics" just for this reason. The bumper autos differ from later movements that have a winding rotor that travels continuously in circles to wind. The watch may be stopping periodically simply because you aren't wearing it enough to keep it wound. So many people are used to battery-powered quartz watches these days that they don't realize that a mechanical watch only has about 35-40 hours power reserve on a full wind and need to be worn daily in order to rely on the autowinding rotor to keep them wound. Taking any vintage watch to a jeweler for repair is usually a mistake. Most jewelers don't have watch repair staff in-house and the skill set of working on watches (tiny mechanical machines) is very different from the skill set of setting stones and forming metal. Most jewelers today know very little about mechanical watches and simply send them out to a local watchmaker for repair and then mark up the cost. For info on photographing watches, try the "Time Exposure" forum on TimeZone: http://forums.timezone.com/index.php?t=threadt&frm_id=34 |