OK you can laugh..

[Tim Lamb]

An acquaintance volunteered to bring back an Omega Seamaster from Kuala Lumpur.

The price was so modest I didn't have to pay:-)

All went well after I had retrieved and tightened the removable link pins from the strap adjustment. For a week or so. Digging the garden one day, I came across a nicely coloured bezel which looked remarkably like the one missing from my watch. The chance of retrieving the stainless pawl was -zero so I super glued things back together. Elsewhere someone asks the setting time for solvent weld. Super glue on close fitting stainless is instant! At this point I realised more care in aligning the bezel would have been wise.

Anyway, who needs a rotating bezel on a watch which does not have a stop function?

Speaking of stop I discovered that my hitherto second or so a week accuracy had degenerated to the occasional missing half hour. Now I can live with a timing device that reliably loses a minute or so per day but the unexpected half hour is dire.

Well this is d-i-y so I unscrewed the back to reveal an apparently well made rotary movement! The lack of a sealing washer rather belied the claimed 300m water resistance but I hadn't worn it while washing so doubt if this is the problem.

Anyway, if you have overcome your hysterics, any suggestions?

More years ago than I care to remember, a senior engineer told me that you lubricate a watch (pre-quartz, digital etc.) by exposing the movement to oil vapour. I assumed he meant cooking up some light oil and wafting the works through the vapour.

regards

[Grimly Curmudgeon]

We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the drugs began to take hold. I remember Tim Lamb saying something like:

Replace the innards, case, strap, face, hands and bezel.

[Ron Lowe]

A boastfull member of staff rocked up one day many years ago, boasting about the pressure rating of his fancy watch.

Foolishly, he permitted the other staff in the pressure-testing bay to verify his claims by inserting it into a set of BOPs about to be pressure-tested with water.

I'm not sure what pressure they took it up to, but the watch was crushed to utter destruction!

[OG]

A colleague returned from HK with a similar Tag Heuer watch that kept dropping bits from the links.

I commiserated with him on the inevitably poor quality of the fake, but he was most offended; apparently it was a genuine one, a present from his parents.

[Tim Lamb]

In message , OG writes

You mean this might be a fake? Run time at the moment is about 30 seconds and oddly there doesn't seem to be any guarantee paperwork.

regards

[Tim Lamb]

In message , Grimly Curmudgeon writes

I think a bezel permanently set to 53 has a frisson of elegant je ne sais quoi. The hands are beautifully picked out and enable me to easily tell the wrong time in the dark.

Screw down adjusters give a heart warming confidence that one will survive venturing into water beyond Welly boot depth.

All things considered, it makes an excellent paper weight.

regards

[Bruce]

Some of the fake watch suppliers do offer a slightly higher-priced alternative which includes a Swiss-made movement. It might double the cost of the fake watch but at least I suppose there is a reasonable chance that it might tell the right time more than twice a day.

The only problem is, how do you know whether the Swiss-made movement is genuine, and not just another piece of Chinese junk?

[Jim K]

time is an abstract concept anyway... just yours is a bit more sometimes...er...

Jim K

[george [dicegeorge]]

It will be correct twice a day, Whereas if it lost a second a day it would only be correct once every

236 years! [g]

[dennis]

There is also the problem that a watch that says 300 m doesn't mean it is safe to 300 m but is safe for 300 m. The m doesn't stand for meters.

[Tim Streater]

Good. I mean, why would anyone want 300 meters with their watch? We don't have gas, so one meter is all we need (for the electric, and its under the stairs).

[Chris J Dixon]

It seems that the figures shouldn't be taken at face value:

Water Resistant or 30 m

snorkeling, water related work and fishing. NOT suitable for diving.

and fishing. NOT suitable for diving.

sports. NOT suitable for diving.

suitable for diving.

Chris

[Jules Richardson]

So the 'm' is a unit of marketing bullshit?

[Tim Lamb]

Quite.

Back to the question....

Is lubrication with oil vapour going to do anything other than take up time?

regards

>

[Bruce]

I have used rubber watch straps that are designed for diver's watches. They tended to last 2 to 3 years.

At the last change I bought a NATO-pattern webbing strap which cost me about the same money but has already lasted longer. The fabric shows almost no sign of wear. It's very comfortable too. because it has an extra piece that goes between the watch back and your skin, and prevents skin irritation.

[geoff]

In message , Tim Lamb writes

Tell me what you want, I'll get you one when I go over to Indonesia later in the year

[geoff]

In message , "dennis@home" writes

Yes it does - it just refers to the distance from the emporium from which it was purchased

[geoff]

In message , Tim Lamb writes

You're a farmer

it gets light in the morning, dark in the evening

what more do you need to know

[Grimly Curmudgeon]

We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the drugs began to take hold. I remember Bruce saying something like:

What want is a military-style strap with a protective flap which goes over the watch. I have several watches in a drawer with broken glasses and am reluctant to wreck any more.

[T i m]

My Mrs bought me mine (SQ100) when we were courting 20+ years ago and I had another before that bought by my parents.

My current watch is a 5 year old Pulsar which has a movement-powered

Coincidentally my old Dad has just given me one of his watches, a Seiko Kinetic (not sure if it's inertia-electric or not) and apart from having no day indicator looks pretty much the same as mine.

Now I'm old I could do with the day indicator but unless I put my soldering glasses on I can't read it. ;-(

Cheers, T i m