Online Learning Curve

I think I’ve finally gotten a little more of a handle on the photography end of things.  There are several watches that I’m hoping to have up for sale on my website in the next few days, so I’ve spent a lot of time trying to get the images just right.

I knew there would be a learning curve on taking my business online.  I’m really comfortable appraising pieces in person, working with clients to find just the watch they’re looking for or even discussing particular watches and watchmakers with some of my colleagues.  I’m hoping that, once I get the hang of things, my website and this blog will become an extension of that – but instead of having one conversation, it will be a way to talk to a lot of people who share the same passion for horology.

Anyway, right now I’m really just trying to map out how best to showcase things on the site and which tools will be the best to use to build up my online platforms.  There are a ton of platforms out there!  And, more importantly, I only have so much time – and most of that is taken up by my real world business.  I’ve decided blogging was a good use of time because it gives me a place to talk about individual pieces and share some of what I’ve learned and find interesting.

I’m not sure yet what other social media sites I might want to use, if any.  There are a few I think might be a good use of time, but I need to learn more about each and maybe test them out after the website is completely off the ground.  If anyone out there has any suggestions, or venues you like for your business, I’d love to hear about them.

It's been a long week.

It’s been a long week.

            The trouble with this long week is that the fat lady ain’t singing because it ain’t over. My partner is laid up for a little while so I will at least be working through the weekend. On top of that with me being the only one at the store I haven’t got a chance to get any of my things done downtown or meet my watchmaker to finish up a couple of projects. Yesterday I was finally able to escape long enough to get a cable I needed for the new camera and today I was able to start getting some pictures done so I will get some of those up very shortly. Hopefully by next week I’ll get back on schedule with some of the posts for this Blog and have some new stuff on the website so for anyone reading just hang in there and thanks for stopping by.

                                                                                                                     

Hamilton Wristwatches A Collectors Guide - Book Review

This book written by, Rene Rondeau, is a must have for collectors of Hamilton wristwatches. I will admit it is a pricey book, currently used on Amazon for $347.86, but nonetheless a valuable tool for the identification of men’s Hamilton wristwatches. The book starts with a brief history of the Hamilton watch company and is then followed by three main sections.

The first section is a list of all men’s Hamilton wristwatches. The list is in alphabetical order by the name of the watch (Hamilton named all of their watches). Next to the watch name is a page number, which leads you to the next section.

The second section of the book shows illustrations of over 1,000 Hamilton watches. This section is organized by the shape of the case and the metal it is made out of. Using this section you should be able to identify almost any Hamilton wristwatch in a matter of minutes.

The third section is titled, “Notes”. It consists of more detailed information on the 100 most collectible men’s Hamilton wristwatches. Included in some of these descriptions are production numbers and other tidbits. The watches in this section are denoted in the second section with an asterisks.

The appendix gives information about American made movements done by Hamilton and also has a section about the Sherwood models. As I stated, this is a very convenient reference book for men’s Hamilton wristwatches and I have reached for it on my shelf quite a few times since I bought my copy last year.

            Note: My apologies on the poor photo but my cameras are still in revolt.

Update From the Overworked

It’s been a few days since I last posted, it has been a few hell days over here. First, I lost Internet access at home, and then my camera decided it wanted to pick a fight with me. If that wasn’t enough, I keep getting swamped with nonsense that has to get done. Well, I think I cleared my plate enough to get some work done this week and I bought a new camera to boot (a Nikon D3100) but I think my home internet is down for a while.

Hopefully, by the end of the week, I will have figured my new camera out enough to get some items listed on my website and some good pictures for here. It is kind of frustrating trying to get good pictures of watches and I hope mine improve with a better camera and photo setup. Just bear with me while I get some glitches out of everything, I need a little learning curve with the photo situation. I’ll let you all know what I think about the Camera and photo setup soon.

Update on IWC Restoration

Update on the IWC restoration

            This week I left the movement with my watchmaker he is going to clean and oil it and make any necessary adjustments. I also took the case with me downtown today and asked my friends at Miller’s Jewelry Supplies test it with their XRF. It tested out to be 75% Gold 16% Silver and 9% Copper (Basically standard 18 karat gold).

            After that I dropped the case at Vision Jewelers They are going to make the lug for me and solder it onto the case. After going over it with them, the tentative plan is to make a mold out of the case and cast a new lug. Then they will simply solder it into place. Everything should be done by the end of next week hopefully it all goes according to plan.

Oh, The Hardships of This Business

Being that buying and selling watches is a large segment of my income, I simply can’t afford to grow too attached to them. On the other hand, as a watch enthusiast, I often get the urge to hoard them and keep them for my very own. One of the perks of being in this business, of course, is that I often get to wear the watches for a little while before I find them a more permanent home. I know it’s time to sell them or at least stop wearing them if I start calling them “My Precious”. But then there are the ones that are gone just too damn soon.

           

In the last couple of years, only three watches really jump out at me as having moved entirely too fast.  In a lot of ways I’m glad they did, because if I still think about them now I can’t imagine if I had time to bond with them. I know, boo-hoo and woe is me, I don’t get to keep my inventory.

The first watch that sticks out in my head was a 1967 Omega Speedmaster. I only had the watch for a couple of days but, in all fairness, I had a previous call from someone looking for one. I mean he was literally looking for that year and had asked me about a week prior to it coming in.

The second one was an Audemars Piguet Millenary Kasparov. What a nice watch that was. It came in as part of a package deal and was out the door less than 8 hours later with another package deal. I think my partner saw my eyes light up a little on that one, he knows I’m a huge fan of Audemars, one of the few watches that I own personally is an Audemars that I had given my father for his 75^th birthday and inherited back several years later.

The last one was a Patek Philippe Calatrava from the mid 1950’s. That one I actually did buy for myself (kind of). I bought it one day at a restaurant by the jewelers building in Chicago and sold it less than a half hour later when I was in the building. Why that one sticks out is for two reasons, it was the first Patek I ever owned personally (albeit shortly) and it was the quickest I ever sold a watch. I mean, I literally just crossed the street and sold it without even trying.

I have sold other watches within a day or even sometimes the same day I get them in, it’s actually quite common, these are just the ones that stick out in my mind. 

Gent’s Stainless Steel Movado Acvatic Wristwatch ca.1935

This is the watch that has been on my Bio picture. I wrote the following report on it for a class I had taken. Sadly, this watch was one of the many that where stolen in a robbery at our store in August of 2012. I don’t have any of the before pictures from when I originally got the watch, but I can assure you it was in a sad state. It was not running, the crystal was broken and the dial was compacted with grime, but I thought it had potential.

The Case 

This Watch is in a Stainless steel round case with Tortue lugs. It is designed to be water resistant with a lead gasket and a cork seal for the winding crown. It is 37 mm from lug end to lug end and 27mm without the crown. It has a decagonal screw back cover on the inside of which you will find the markings for Movado Stainless Steel, as well as the serial number (0159100) and the model number (11730). It also contains the hallmark of Borgel Fois (FB with a key below it), which was still used by Taubert & Fils who had taken over the company.

The Dial

The Dial on this watch is signed “Movado” under the 12. It is a white painted dial with a gold chapter ring with marks that denote the seconds. Outside of the chapter ring in the 6 o’clock position is the word “Switzerland”. Inside the chapter ring is a dark blue circle outlined in gold that contains the numbers (1 thru 12), which are also in gold outlining. Inside of that and above the 6 is the word “non-magnetic”. The hands are upright line style with luminescence inside of them and a long seconds hand.

The Movement

The movement, a Movado 150MN, is a manual wind with 15 jewels and contains a Breguet hairspring. It has a power reserve of approximately 43 hours. It has the word “Movado” engraved above the crown wheel and “fifteen jewels” on the plate.

The Maker

Movado, Founded 1881, in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland by Achille Ditesheim. In 1935 the company introduced its first water resistant watch the “Acvatic” (a name derived from the Latin word for water.) 

The Condition

This watch is in good running order. The case back has some scratches ranging from light to deep. As for the Dial the chapter ring is faded and the hour markers are dirty. The dial appears to have been cleaned. Also the crown is not original. I would say this watch is in fair condition