Reply With QuoteGreat story and a lovely watch, someone will be along to tell you about the movement etc I’m sure. Personally I would get a professional to service it and they will fix the hand issue too.
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Firstly; great forum, was recommended by a watch obsessive on another non-watch but nevertheless awesome forum.
I've have had a bit of a lurk and am loving what I'm seeing, looks like a fantastic, friendly and very knowledgeable community.
I've always loved watches since I got a wind-up Popeye watch in stunning transparent blue plastic for Christmas back in 1980ish and have ever since been very fussy about what I put on my wrist.. but only in as much as how they look; my budget has always hovered around the very low end because between skateboards, drum kits, girls, beers, cars, computers and latterly family as well as all my other geeky obsessions there is never enough spare folding for anything too special (though having lurked about for a bit here the shineyitis is getting strong).
Anyway.. long story short; I've always wanted another mechanical watch and the Christmas Amazon Fairy gave me enough tokens for a cheap and moderately cheerful Chinese W.W.W. replica which looks and runs OK but is not the best quality - about what I expected but it will do me as a daily beater. Anyway, I showed it to my Dad and he said "oh if you like wind-up watches you should have this" and gave me my Grandfather's watch. We're both pretty reserved but I got the impression that this was very much a 'passing the torch' moment.
But biography aside.. the watch..
Please excuse the poor mobile photos.. but click them for a mahoosive version if you want to see more detail.
Here's the only other one I can find online (gold but same design)..
My Google-foo tells me it's a rebranded 1930/31 Thommen with a 15 jewel GT39 movement imported and assay sponsored by Vertex, marked as sterling silver at the London office in 1931 and sold by Goldsmiths and Silversmiths, 112 Regent Street London.
It was totally black so I gave it a quick clean and a wind and it runs fine if a smidgen fast. Just need to fix the hour hand. Quite happy for it to look old and battered but want to be able to pass it on to my daughter eventually still ticking.
So.. questions..
1) Is it going to be possible to do a DIY hand change on this or should I just go to a professional (I'm pretty handy and willing to buy tools but only if the risk is small)
1a) If not a sane DIY job who should I get to do it.. baring in mind I'm based in Edinburgh Scotland and have an MOT coming up on a 22-year-old car this month.
2) Can anyone tell me more about this watch than Google can?
3) If I want to keep this going for another 100 years where best to look for donor watches?
4) Any ideas what sort of strap this would have come with originally? I got it with a dodgy 60s expander and have put an even dodgier Amazon NATO on it for now. (clip-fit plain leather incoming)
Thanks in advance.
Last edited by wraith-black; 20th January 2018 at 00:52.
Great story and a lovely watch, someone will be along to tell you about the movement etc I’m sure. Personally I would get a professional to service it and they will fix the hand issue too.
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Love the story, and delighted you gonna heap some love on that bonny wee watch. Involve your dad on what you plan to get done to it. Reserved or not I'm sure he'd be chuffed
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That is a very nice watch of solid quality you have there. It's not a rare Rolex but it's definitely not one of those dime a dozen cheapies.
Indeed the time period of the watch should be the 1930s.
Watch components (especially really old ones) are very fragile and should only be handled by people with the right tools and, most importantly, sufficient experience and knowledge.
Given its age the watch is in very good shape and if I were you I would only do the following: get it cleaned (inside and out), get the movement serviced, try to source a hour hand for it (it's possible that you might have to replace all 3 hands if you can't find one matching the original 2) and put it on a black or brown leather strap as that's how it most likely came out of the factory. You should be able to find some vintage-style straps out there.
It may cost you more than what you would prefer to keep for skateboards, drum kits and others, but definitely better to send to a professional, given the history of the watch.
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Thank-you all for taking the time to respond.
Sadly the days of skateboards and drum-kits have been superceded by the days of council tax and gas bills but I'll definately invest in a professional clean, service and replacement hand(s). There is no rush so I'll not skimp on that.
I'd quite like to leave the face untouched and the minor dents and scratches on the case, though. I like how lived with it looks and It's an heirloom piece not a showroom one so think it should have the honest appearance of having had a working life.
My dad was fascinated by how much I managed to find out about it so will be kept involved.
I've got a tasteful brown leather strap ordered for it already. It needs open-end straps so if that one is up to snuff will get a black one as well so I can easily switch wear it with anything.
Thanks again for your responses.
Nice story and nice watch. Some history of Revue Thommen here on their website
http://www.revuethommenwatches.com/#page/history
For the repair, try a message to a member here by the name of animalone, a watchmaker based in Edinburgh.
Originally Posted by SimonK
Thanks, that's great, I was hoping for a local recommendation. Insurance or not I'm a bit reluctant to entrust something irreplaceable to the post or couriers.
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