To provide a little more info on the history of LIP I've just inserted an additional photo to my above posting.
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Who's got a nice watch? Traditional watches only, no smartwatches please.
- Thread starter JW8725
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Wow.With no new posts since Dec I thought I'd change that. Just wondering if Father Chistmas was doing a Scrooge over the festive season, or if any nice watches given as presents are not being worn or already forgotten about.
Fwiw, here's an update:
I wonder how many reading this are familiar with the name LIP, a French watch company founded by Emmanuel Lipmann in 1867. Due to the innovative vision of the founder’s son and later the grandson Fred Lip - who revolutionised watch making traditions, LIP became the leading watch manufacture in France from the 30’s onwards. Elgin and LIP together publicly unveiled the first electronic watch in 1952 with early models being worn by Charles de Gaulle and US President Eisenhower.
So not surprisingly LIP watches fascinated me, and I was keen to purchase one, preferably a vintage model. My idea was to buy one as a present for my son, but first I had a dilemma. Unlike myself he doesn’t like used/second-hand goods. Lip today have a large range of quartz models which don’t particularly appeal to me, and their modern auto mechanical models imho lack that je-ne-sais-quoi. I believe some of the more expensive auto models tick with the Seiko Time Module NE86 movement installed, although they wouldn't acheive my goal of offering a traditional LIP, so I set out to find a vintage auto model, aesthetically pleasing and if possible a NOS example. After a few weeks of research and on-line searches I found one I especialy liked and thought would please - a Duromat model, date circa 1970 (photos below). The seller had a family member who had been associated with the LIP factory in Besancon and had an interesting collection.
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From my research, LIP watches have been the favourite of French ministers, from the Prime Minister in 2018 to more recently the current President Macron, with both having a model with quartz movement, costing a mere 280 euros ($US300). Although I don’t doubt that both also have more expensive Swiss models.
A few more photos of the watch which also provide some general details about the company.
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During my research I found some fascinating related articles, this being one of particular interest - an excellent read!
I'm aware that it's never wise to wear a vintage NOS watch straight from the box, as over the years the lubricating oil dries out, which would affect the internal components and result in poor time-keeping. The watch I chose had been serviced especially for the sale - one could say it's been given lip service! OUCH!
I'm pleased with the time-keeping. It's an impressive size for a 70's watch, I measured 43mm lug to lug - although appears to wear smaller on the wrist.
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I've only been able to find one of the same model. I prefer mine.
I can provide an on-line photo of the 25 jewel auto movement and the specs for those who may be interested.
I had never heard of them; thank you for the informative and most interesting post.
That is an absolutely gorgeous timepiece; well wear.
Lovely watch; thanks for sharing and do enjoy wearing it.
Not exactly a running, useable watch but this was a pick-up over the weekend that I was thrilled to get.
I've wanted one of these displays for a long time, and this was one of the first I've encountered that was actually in presentable condition and for a reasonable price.
I've wanted one of these displays for a long time, and this was one of the first I've encountered that was actually in presentable condition and for a reasonable price.
Why not put it on a nice silicon-rubber strap. I always much preferred stainless straps for my collection until I purchased a Citizen with rubber strap, and loved it. A complete new wearing experience!
If I take the original strap out, it'd lose value. I don't really need to wear it daily. It stays on the desk and show time and date. For day to day wear, I have a Xiaomi Active with a silicon-rubber strap.
Lovely piece! I’ll take almost any Seiko over a smart watch, any day.
Your Seiko won't loose a cent in value by removing the original bracelet! Most folks who fancy a change and put their watches on another strap, obviously retain the original. Removing a bracelet and installing another is simple and takes just a few minutes.
In fact I've just done a search for the similar Seiko Solar 200m to yours and seen one with a silicone-rubber strap. It totally transforms the look of the watch!
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Bunns, was that a Waltham that you dismantled?
I was thinking about tearing down and grid-framing a watch that I found belonging to my father - a Swiss Roamer with a manual MST430 movement which hadn't run for years. He used to garden regularly with it, so I assumed it was clogged with earth debris etc. I've always wanted to tear apart a watch (like I've done with most of my Mac laptops) but unlike the computers, I was certain I'd never get a watch to function correctly after refurbishment.
However I dodged the temptation to dive into escapements, pinions & mainsprings and decided to let my friendly local watchmaker work his magic. This should give the watch a new lease of life and enjoy it as a reminder of happy past days. I will post a brief summary as soon as this is completed.
Be a shame to tear it apart just to put on the wall. Having the watch serviced is by far the better move and it will likely continue to run for many years to come
Q-6
No, absolutely not.
These were display pieces the factory made-presumably to distribute to dealers to show just what all goes into making a watch.
For one thing, note that there no serial numbers anywhere on any of the pieces. If I had to guess, these MAY have been made from out-of-spec factory material-in other words pieces that would not have been serviceable in a watch without additional work, but were great for something like this. Or, for all I know, it was standard material earmarked just for this.
For another though, this is disassembled to a far greater degree than anyone really would disassemble a watch, or honestly be able to without leaving visible scars on the parts. These parts have never been assembled into a watch. Notice, just for example, that the jewels are not set into their settings(chatons). At this point in history, the jewels were customarily set into their chatons by "rubbing them in", or at least that's the common repair term. Basically chaton is made with a tiny lip that is folded over the jewel to hold it in place. These are chatons that never have held a jewel. In the course of a normal repair, the majority of chatons aren't even removed from the plate(only the hole and cap jewels get removed as this is needed to clean them properly-the simple hole jewels would normally only be removed if replacement was necessary).
Further, look at the dial. Making enamel dials was a rather elaborate process, especially for the so-called double sunk dials as used on the better watches. The copper disk in the lower right it a dial "blank" that would have been enameled, painted, and the fired. Note, though, that the dial feet have not been soldered to it nor has it been drilled for the center or seconds arbor. These steps were done before soldering.
Double sunk dials were actually made in 3 separate pieces-those 3 pieces are shown on the lower left, however each would have been made on its own copper plate and then ground back to reveal copper so that the pieces could be soldered together. I'm not sure if the dial pieces shown are on a copper backing or if they are just porcelain-I'd suspect the former, but don't actually know.
Today my favorite watch, I should actually wear it more often….
Never been a true watch person, but I did keep a few ones from maybe 30 years ago.
This week I decided to stop wearing my Apple Watch, and had my Pulsar revised.
The jeweler put in a new battery and tested it for a few days. Flawless!
Light, thin, minimal - just the way I like it.
This week I decided to stop wearing my Apple Watch, and had my Pulsar revised.
The jeweler put in a new battery and tested it for a few days. Flawless!
Light, thin, minimal - just the way I like it.
A new addition to the Seiko collection, an SRPD43J1 cocktail time.
