In and out of Love with watches.... And some refinishing

[gingerboy]

I've been reflecting on my WiS journey and how at times I've absolutely loved them and during other periods of my life they haven't resonated with me at all.

The past 5 years was, up until recently one of the "out of love" periods in my life. Other things got in the way or focused the mind, eldest competing at British level for many years, the break down of my marriage and just generally being very busy in work. The past few years were especially tough. I broke my leg in 3 places, tore all the ligaments etc and that was Jan 2020, 2020 and 2021 were pretty much a write off in many ways.

Anyway, the part of 21 and during 22 things began to improve slightly but of course it wouldn't last. My Dad was showing signs of Dementia last year and was officially diagnosed earlier this year. The change has been shocking but we are making the most of it.

My Dads illness and general crapness during the past few years has reignited my watch passion. I still have lapses of appalling taste in watches, but in the main I tend to stay safe.

I recently picked up a steinhart Vintage red ocean diver and then a Davosa ternos pro GMT..... As always, the SC remains a great place to dip your toe in the water now and again.

The Davosa arrived and was exactly as I expected for a 2+ year old watch that had been used and was in very good, wearable condition. I decided earlier I'd undertake a light refinish, I didn't want to spend hours on it and set myself an hour to clean it, refinish the polished case sides, clasp, crown and sides of the bracelet.... Then polish it where required and rebrush any bits that needed a light fettle.

First off, and just to reiterate, there was no really heavy usage and the watch was in good condition. This was just to freshen it up slightly and in a set time frame.

Hopefully the pictures upload ok? The process was as follows -

1. Clean the watch and case in PH neutral soap with a soft brush

2. Refinish the polished parts, starting with 1200 wet and dry and working up to 3000 grade.

3. Lightly polish the sections requiring a deep shine

4. Rebrush the parts that needed to be rebrushed.

5. Clean the watch again to remove and polish

6. Dry and take some pictures


I'm enjoying watch ownership again and have removed the usual Garmin smart watch.

Here's the Davosa pics, prior to doing anything



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[gingerboy]

And here's some durings

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[gingerboy]

And some more.... Tapatalk not playing ball20230521_132153.jpg20230521_132203.jpg

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[gingerboy]

And here's the finished result, rather than perfect, which would've taken hours it's wearable:-)

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[gingerboy]

Grrrr..... 20230521_143258.jpg20230521_143244.jpg

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[gingerboy]

Overall I'm very happy indeed with the outcome. It's not perfect but it's significantly better but without being unwearable. I've learnt over the past few years that if I keep a watch mint it just stays in the watch box.

Life's too short, I'm going to enjoy wearing the watches I now have 20230521_143232.jpg20230521_143239.jpg

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[Sinnlover]

Sorry to hear about the difficult times recently Nice result on the spruce up.
I spent 30 mins polishing the bracelet on my Seamaster this morning. The polished centre links pick up marked easily, I taped off the brushed sections and set about the centre links with a cape cod.
It’s quite a nice way to chill I find.

[gingerboy]

Sorry to hear about the difficult times recently Nice result on the spruce up.
I spent 30 mins polishing the bracelet on my Seamaster this morning. The polished centre links pick up marked easily, I taped off the brushed sections and set about the centre links with a cape cod.
It’s quite a nice way to chill I find.

It's only 15 years since I posted this.... God I'm old -

https://r.tapatalk.com/shareLink/top...ink_source=app



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[learningtofly]

You’re still the man, Paul! Sorry to hear about your personal challenges, though… hang in there.

[gingerboy]

You’re still the man, Paul! Sorry to hear about your personal challenges, though… hang in there.

Thank you, Tony.

I know I'm not alone, I know you too have been and are going through a tough period. What's that old saying, "age doesn't come on its own...."!

I've got some good people around me and am becoming more disciplined in striking a balance between work and me-time. I'm certainly enjoying having a few watches about the place! Just need to start getting out with the camera again!!





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[Rod]

Hi Paul, life can be tough at times and hope you are on the up. Most of us go through trials and tribulations with health (touch wood I'm good).
I'm especially sorry to hear about your Dad's diagnosis. Liz and I are going through the same issue with her Mum.
She goes through good and bad days and the medication has helped but she's increasingly forgetful.
Remember the Astra? that's long gone but I still see it motoring around Darlington.
Keep your skills up Paul, good to see your interest in watches re-kindled.
Regards
Rod

[YCymro]

Thank you, Tony.

I know I'm not alone, I know you too have been and are going through a tough period. What's that old saying, "age doesn't come on its own...."!

I've got some good people around me and am becoming more disciplined in striking a balance between work and me-time. I'm certainly enjoying having a few watches about the place! Just need to start getting out with the camera again!!
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Thanks for sharing your story, and I’m glad you’re coping with things. What I’ll take from this is that whilst watches can be a great hobby they’re not really important in the great scheme of things. I’ve often ranted about the ridiculous cost of luxury brands and the lunacy of certain supply problems, but really none of this matters, because sometimes life gets very serious indeed.

P.S. I wash my waterproof watches using diluted hand soap. No idea what the pH is

[gingerboy]

Thanks for sharing your story, and I’m glad you’re coping with things. What I’ll take from this is that whilst watches can be a great hobby they’re not really important in the great scheme of things. I’ve often ranted about the ridiculous cost of luxury brands and the lunacy of certain supply problems, but really none of this matters, because sometimes life gets very serious indeed.

P.S. I wash my waterproof watches using diluted hand soap. No idea what the pH is

Most luxury brands and material things hold very little attraction for me any longer. I'd toyed with getting an omega or Rolex but with the increasing theft and muggings being reported, I don't see the point. An ex colleague got mugged in London the other month, phone - which was hacked very quickly, wallet and his watch. It makes you question why you'd want to be seen as a target (he was worse for wear after an evening out) well dressed, nice watch and by his own admission noticeably drunk.

I'm not saying that I don't like nice things but if I had to give them up that'd be fine. Family is far more important.

I share your view though with regard to the crazy prices for luxury items. It's a subjective view, of course but let's be honest, anyone who can justify paying well over retail for a Rolex must either have more money than sense or simply doesn't care. It's a watch, usually stainless steel, nice enough movement etc and well finished..... There's a point in time when the world and consumerism just seems to have gone mad. I'm not interested in paying £10k+ for a new standard Rolex. I'd buy a used one at the right price but I'd need a time machine set up the mid 2000 in order for me to get my wallet out.

I'm not running down the classic design, I love anything well engineered and meticulously crafted, just there's a point that you have to say, no thanks to keeping up with Jones's.

Each to their own though, I'm not having a go at anyone who does spend mega bucks on a watch, it's your money, your life and you choose what you do with it. It just isn't for me :-)




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[gingerboy]

Hi Paul, life can be tough at times and hope you are on the up. Most of us go through trials and tribulations with health (touch wood I'm good).
I'm especially sorry to hear about your Dad's diagnosis. Liz and I are going through the same issue with her Mum.
She goes through good and bad days and the medication has helped but she's increasingly forgetful.
Remember the Astra? that's long gone but I still see it motoring around Darlington.
Keep your skills up Paul, good to see your interest in watches re-kindled.
Regards
Rod

Cheers Rod

Bloody hell, can't believe the Astra is still going!! Was a great car for us at the time.

Glad to hear you are keeping well, sorry to hear about, Liz's Mum. It's a truly awful disease! Make the most of it and try to trigger different "memory loops", that's what we are trying to do with my Dad...

Will certainly try and keep my hand in, so long as it's not adjust end links on Breitlings for Worksimon..... No pressure, just had to ensure it was perfect. Not doing work on watches has been nice, it was the right decision to step away from it.

Good to hear you are well.



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[MartC]

Sorry to hear about the difficulties during the last few years, but equally good to hear you’re out the other side of some of it.
I can certainly relate to having a loved one with dementia. Lost my mum around this time last year to Parkinson’s dementia and that was a tough few years.

I can also relate to having a cyclic interest in watches. Seem to be in a dip myself which resulted in selling my least favourite watch to balance the books after a recent car purchase. I guess ‘balance’ is a stretch even for man maths, but made me feel better. As you’ve found too, the watch hobby is hard to shake off.

A quick question on the refinishing, which looks fantastic. How do you achieve such a uniform, factory finish on the brushed bracelet links? Great to hear you don’t use wheels. They’re so aggressive for most applications.

[gingerboy]

Sorry to hear about the difficulties during the last few years, but equally good to hear you’re out the other side of some of it.
I can certainly relate to having a loved one with dementia. Lost my mum around this time last year to Parkinson’s dementia and that was a tough few years.

I can also relate to having a cyclic interest in watches. Seem to be in a dip myself which resulted in selling my least favourite watch to balance the books after a recent car purchase. I guess ‘balance’ is a stretch even for man maths, but made me feel better. As you’ve found too, the watch hobby is hard to shake off.

A quick question on the refinishing, which looks fantastic. How do you achieve such a uniform, factory finish on the brushed bracelet links? Great to hear you don’t use wheels. They’re so aggressive for most applications.

It's genuinely shocking how many people are touched by Dementia and Alzheimer's. Sorry to hear about your Mum.

Man maths is always going to justify any purchase ;-) even if the watch only covered the cost of 1 wheel.

Regarding the brushing. I only did the clasp on the Davosa, I posted a link above that provides some suggestions, hints and tips. Realistically it's a painstaking process, I use a combination of emery boards, garyflex blocks, wet and dry paper in various grades and different coloured scotchbrite pads.

Remove the bracelet from the watch head. Usually I would brush each individual link using cut down emery boards for the centre links. This provides a uniform directional finish as a base. Then tape up any polished parts, use the garyflex block and scotchbrite pads to refine the finish.

The process is simple enough but it's hugely time consuming by hand. You can get good results though and it's surprising how quickly you can get a very good wearable finish. Perfection takes longer and I have certain 'kits' put to one side for certain types of jobs..... Especially Rolex SS GMT bracelets where owners would want the polished links to be brushed. Sounds simple but not when you want it done right!!

Best advice I can give, is have a go on an old watch bracelet, work through the grades, coarse to fine. Try things like emery boards that are used to shape finger nails and Gary flex blocks. You'll genuinely be surprised at what can be achieved. Don't be afraid of it though, you've got to get stuck in. The hardest part is maintaining a parallel finish.

Some repairs are more complex, when there's a ding on a watch it's very different in the way you approach it.

I digress, shout if you want any hints or tips

Paul

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[MartC]

Some interesting tips there Paul, thanks.

I used to refinish Breitling bracelets, bezels, etc. a few years ago, although not touched one for a while now. Like you, I had specific kit, grades of abrasive paper and Garyflex blocks that gave just the right level of graining.

I've seen some videos of people using what looks like very thin aluminium oxide paper for narrow bracelet links so wondered if you'd sourced something similar.

Anyway, as you say, this is bit of a digression from your initial point.

Cheers,
Martin

[Lammylee]

As per usual Paul an exceptional job, you really do have an amazing talent that has helped many of us over the years. I’m glad that you are getting back into enjoying watches again and I hope your road to a full recovery is near an end.

[Omegamanic]

Great job