Lee's Watch Thread for MM'ers of Impeccable Taste

[SlimKlim]

I was messing around with my new 20x loupe and realized I can use it as a makeshift macro lens so I took some detail shots of my pocket watch.









I also started breaking down my Sportmatic this morning. The only really difficult part so far was negotiating with the 50 year old pressure-fit caseback, everything else has been easier than expected.

Once the case back has been removed, removing the actual movement is as simple as using a punch tool to depress a small button which allows you to pull the crown & stem out. Some other watches have more intricate crown removal procedures but seikos seem to keep it simple. Then you just flip the watch over and the movement falls right out of the back.



I was able to poke and prod at the minute hand a little bit and get it to slip back into place, but I suspect it wouldn't take much to knock it back out of place either. I'm still planning to remove the second hand and see if the tolerances of the minute hand need to be snugged up a little bit, or at least just press it on further using the proper tool.



Next up was the crystal. This turned out to be the more rare bezel-fit kind, not the more common pressure-fit or glued-in kind. So the case knife had to come back out, but luckily it wasn't nearly as difficult to remove as the caseback.



Apparently there is a standardization system for watch crystals to help locate exact replacements, and I was able to figure out the exact part number for this watch's crystal then I found a new-old-stock one on eBay for $12 and ordered it.

That pretty much just leaves the actual polishing part of the project, which shouldn't be all that bad. Tons and tons of light surfaces scratches, not too many deep nicks, so I think it'll really come back.









The Sportsmatic dolphin logo is still really clear, they seem to rub away on a lot of these things, so I'll have to be careful not to strip that away when I polish it.



I also looked up the serial # and was able to find that it was likely produced in November of 1966.