Reply With QuoteHere's a little info on Chronographe Suisse
https://monochrome-watches.com/chron...-and-supplier/
Picked this lovely little Coresa Chrograph today.
Totally original, but in desperate need of a service.
The cathedral hands are fantastic and really set it off nicely and the watch is a nice size taking in consideration of the era. (50's at a guess.)
Unfortunately it has a plated case, but in nice condition for it's age.
Hoping a full service won't cost too much.
I know absolutely nothing about the brand, any information be greatly appreciated. :)
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Here's a little info on Chronographe Suisse
https://monochrome-watches.com/chron...-and-supplier/
It will be a nice little chrono with some cleaning up, I doubt the hands are original though, too thick and heavy for the dial, I would think they should be simple gold stick hands.
Cheers..
Jase
As JK says, Chronographe Suisse is the brand, Coresa will be the retailer, small company that had their name added, a bit like this one lifted from Google image search.
Last edited by JasonM; 1st November 2021 at 13:50.
Cheers..
Jase
Nice little thing, although I agree that the cathedrals are a later addition, I suspect someone wanted a little more legibility and lume than the original (most probably gold coloured) H and M hands offered, so had the replacement done.
D
Also, some of the Cronographe Suisse came with rather thin 18k cases.
Cheers,
Neil.
I had a few. Great watches. Gold cases are Unfortunately fragile. Often with hollow lugs and thin caseback.
I would expect a service to be £150-£200 and I can’t see the watch being worth much more than that due to the condition. I’d have thought you could get £100 for it on eBay assuming it’s not running
Snap... had this one for ages, like it a lot, shame its not a couple mm bigger but it was a jumbo for its time
When buying a watch like this, think ‘restoration’ not service!
Last one of these I worked on was knackered, had to buy a second- hand replacement movement that was in better shape.
These watches were sold in large numbers, Landeron movement was a worthy workhorse but many have suffered due to water ingress over the years.
Usual doom-mongering shite from Janet. Having a spare movement for a vintage watch is normal behaviour and, of course, the obvious plus point is that you’ll always be able to find spares for such a commonly used Landeron calibre. The point about the hollow lugs on the gold cases is valid but doesn’t apply to the OP as it’s not that.
In the Sotadic Zone, apparently.
Thanks for all the comments and information everyone, greatly appreciated. :)
I took it to my local watch repair shop today and he had a good look at it.
On further examination the balance staff was broken, the Mainspring had gone and there was wear to the main plate.
He quoted Me £250.00 for a full service but I didn't want to put the money into it.
I asked if he wanted to buy it and he offered me £100.00 for it, which I took.
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Looks like the doom- monger’s instinct was correct.
You’re missing the point, I imagine deliberately. The watch was always going to need a service and I don’t know what you charge to do a chronograph but I imagine it’s not £100.Originally Posted by walkerwek1958
In the Sotadic Zone, apparently.
I resemble that remark.
Here's my birth-year(ish) Norina-branded one. 18ct gold case.
The case back is so thin that it has lost its grip ( just like its owner). Nothing that a blob of Blu-tac doesn't fix.
Handsome looking watches for not a lot of money.
No, I`m not missing the point!
There's a world of difference between getting a watch movement serviced and fixing up a 65 yr old non-runner! Restoration is the term I would use and that's the point I was making, unless the OP had been extremely fortunate this watch was always likely to need more than a service. The last one of these I worked on was the same, owner bought it off ebay as a bargain and it ended up needing a replacement movement because (amongst other faults) the mainplate was damaged. I bought a movement with a broken mainspring from a fellow repairer, it needed sorting out but was basically sound and suitable for restoring. Despite being as fair as I could with the prices the watch ended up costing far more than the owner had hoped, he would've been better off buying a good one in the first place.
I`ve no wish to be gloomy or pessimistic but with my background and experience I`m going to tell it how I see it. I don`t mean to piss on anyone's fireworks either, I often decline to comment about a watch because I see no point in disappointing the owner.
You have to be realistic when buying old watches, I could do it myself and buy stuff to fix up and sell, but there's a good reason why I don`t and that's because most aren`t financially viable if the jobs to be done thoroughly; even if I got watches for free some still wouldn't be viable!
Prices to restore a watch like this will vary depending on who's offering to do the job and whether they have a stash of parts. Most repairers end up with plenty of second-hand bits and pieces, I have a good stock of Omega stuff for certain movements, but if a repairer has to source the parts the cost will be higher. Here's a point people overlook: if the repairer is buying parts from ebay or similar HE'S the one taking the risk if the parts turn out to be no good, not the watch owner. Repairers turn jobs down for this reason, they don`t want the hassle, chasing up parts is time-consuming and risky. Here's an example: I recently fixed an old Tissot cal784 which was in poor condition, whilst searching for parts I came across a NOS movement on Etsy so I bought it. When it arrived it wasn`t quite what it claimed, it was a 24hr variant that had been altered to normal. Thankfully it yielded all the parts I needed so it worked out OK, but anything advertised as NOS has to be viewed with suspicion.
Is that enough doom-laden shite for you, Carlton?.........I could write a book about the more 'interesting' watches and their owners, I don`t make this stuff up.
You did the right thing.
Vintage watches that need parts, especially chronographs can be an absolute nightmare.
I've been at it a long time and it's why I only buy stuff in really good nick.
Cheers,
Neil.
Those of us who are old enough learned to spot good and not so good watches by trawling around antiques fairs, markets and second-hand shops in the pre-internet days. There's no substitute for actually handling the watch, you learn what to look for after a few mistakes. The only way to become proficient at assessing watches is by getting out there and handling plenty of watches!
Many years ago I got done on a watch at a fair, turned out it had a broken balance staff but it ran OK dial up and the seller was careful to disguise the fact that it stopped when placed dial-down. Caseback had been polished wafer-thin to remove an inscription, definitely not one to buy, but I didn`t know that at the time.
With a chronograph its important to check the chrono features are working and that the chrono hand resets consistently. Pushers should operate without sticking. Providing everything works the watch should be straightforward to service, that applies to any watch, but if a watch isn`t running you're taking a big gamble. If a watch is a non-runner its likely the owner has had an estimate to fix it that he didn`t like, if its a cheap fix it would've been done in most cases.
if I`m buying a watch as a fixer upper to sell, I ignore the asking price and work backwards from what it'll sell for in restored condition with a 12 month guarantee. Factor in the price of parts, factor in the time I spend on it, subtract that from the selling price and see what margin's left to cover the risk of owning it and finding its worse than expected. In the majority of cases the numbers don't work and it makes more sense to service other folks's watches instead, its all too easy to lose money on fixer uppers even when you know what you're doing.
I only paid £15.00 for the watch, so thought it was worth a gamble.
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Last edited by senraw; 3rd November 2021 at 16:10.
So, 95 quid profit. Kerching! Nice.
£85.00 ;)
Can’t go wrong for £15, selling to a repairer for £100 is definitely a result!
I’m betting he has the parts to fix the watch up and that’s why he was happy to buy, he’s probably got a spare movement in his parts stash.
I get what you are saying about the difference between a restoration and routine servicing but £250 is pretty much the cost of a routine chronograph service these days. I'm somewhat bemused that turning £85 profit is immediately lauded whilst the prospect of having a £265 fully serviced vintage chronograph isn't but whatever. Obviously I realise with hindsight that interacting with a professional contrarian who starts off 90% of his posts with "I wouldn't start from here..." was a mistake and for that I deeply apologise.
Oof.
In the Sotadic Zone, apparently.
Assuming that for £250 the watch would’ve been sorted out to a high standard it could be argued that a nicely restored watch for £265 would've been a better option than £85 profit.
Much as I like these old chronographs the total lack of water resistance would make it difficult for me to wear one. I own lots of old watches and all are splashproof in the literal sense, I don’t need to worry about them getting wet.
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