Giving a vintage gold Longines some TLC

[Der Amf]

I bought this lovely little thing from the SC about 15 months ago.



zsayub116610 had sold it to Baden H who sold it to champagne_james who gave it a well-earned wipe with a Cape Cod cloth and then sold it to me. During this final appearance on the SC, the following useful post appeared:

It looks like a 12.68ZS movement (the S = centre seconds) - this was a lovely high quality movement with gold chatons - from the days when Longines competed head on with the best. The serial number seems to be in the 11 million area and that dates it to 1960. The movement was probably imported as a 'bare movement' into the UK and it was cased here by the importer - OWC did this for Omega. The case looks like a Dennison 9kt 13322 clipback - it should have a serial number and hallmark date letter which would confirm the movement date. Bearing in mind that these watches (cases and movements) were held in stock before being shipped, the inscription on the caseback is in line with the production dates.

This is a very nice and original vintage Longines - if I wasn't being strict with myself, I'd have had this by now.

GLWTS

Ranfft dates the design of the 12.68ZS to 1938: http://www.ranfft.de/cgi-bin/bidfun-...ngines_12_68ZS

The Dennison 13322 in 9ct gold was also used for Omega watches, eg http://www.vintage-watches-collectio...ega-gold-1954/

I've recently been having a cull, and decided that if this watch was going to stay with me, it needed to be fussed over a bit. It was gaining a minute a day, which seemed a bit much for a Longines, even one from 1960, the crystal was comprehensively scratched and the case had a bit of tarnish in the corners which the Cape Cod cloth couldn't reach.

This afternoon I received some photos of its treatment, which I thought might be appreciated. I'll let he who is responsible for them unveil himself :)

"Numbers inside the case back, Dennison hallmarked Birmingham 1960 (Arthur Baume was the importer for Longines)"


"Should be able to make out the movement serial number in this pic (Calibre 12.68ZS No.11004969)"

"Some light spotting on the dial and indices (not much I can do to fix that unfortunately)"

"If you look at the jewel on the right, you will see a small fragment of metal just off centre to the left. It doesn't come out well in the picture but the jewel in the centre of the picture was very dry and dirt had collected around the pivot."


"The watch certainly is not in bad condition although there was quite a few bits of dust, hairs and the odd bit of metal fragments around the movement (All tiny, but certainly better if they are not there) I also found a few places where the movement should have been oiled but it was either dry or the oil had gotten dirty. I noticed that the jewels at either end of the balance staff were particularly dry. You can see the dark dried oil on this one and a small hair near the top"


"You can see the pivots are a little rusted and worn on this one. Once it has gone through the cleaning cycle I will be able to see clearer the extent of the wear, if it is particularly bad I will try to source a replacement for you."


It has not been possible to source an exact replacement for the crystal, but I've made a choice from two possible options, one which I think does best to retain both the shape of the profile and the character of the watch. The case is going to be give an ultrasonic clean, which hopefully will give it a freshness in the nooks and crannies to go with the gleam that James' Cape Cod treatment has given it.

While the watch has been away, my watch drawer has been missing its glamour, and having only ever seen the beautiful dial and hands through a glass darkly, I'm very much looking forward to finally being able to see them virtually face to face.