Some watches I've picked up for a Buck or Two

[diggummup]

I haven't sold too many watches over the years but I do buy them every now and then if they are one a dollar or two, literally. Never found any real high dollar ones, the best was an 18k Rolex crocodile band strapped to a Lord Elgin that I sold. Anyway the watches all end up in a box. I dug through that box and pulled the first few out that I plan to list once the batteries arrive.

The best ones I guess are the Seiko Bell-matic and the West German made Timex Electronic. The one next to that is a vintage Belair that someone surprisingly paid $63.99 for recently on ebay, a one off maybe?
Belair Wrist Watch Day/Date Homage A4106-955DAY | eBay

The Bell-matic is mechanical and works fine. The crystals on the Timex and Seiko show some scuffs and blemishes. Is there a way to buff those using a dremel and polish of some type? Or should I just leave them as is? I've never attempted a polish before but I do have the tools to do it. Here's those 3 watches, Timex is upside down because I'm half blind, lol-




This lot I'm unsure of. They look good but I don't think they are worth much (not that any of them are worth much). I'm thinking maybe $20 for the Citizens and $30 for the Bulova running with a new battery?




Next are two Seikos, a 7T32-7A2A but the band is missing one half of the catch, and a 5Y30-7A79. Also pictured is a Swiss Tissot w151 wood watch, it's brand new. I'll search sold prices and price them on the low end for a fast sale, looks like they are between $30 and $50 or so.





These two I'll probably sell together. I don't think the one on the left is worth selling by itself. They are Guess watches. Models G99053G1 and a Waterpro g65069g. Haven't figured out a price yet.






That's it for the first round, more to follow on another thread at a later date.

 

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[Beachkid23]

Very nice. I'm not much help as far as prices go I bought 25 today and I'm still going through them. Have to look them up one by one. Then deduct for condition and the fact that somebody is going to offer a 1/3 of whatever they're worth anyways.

Four of the ones I bought are pocket watches. But I may do another thread on those. It seems like some of them aren't even worth putting batteries in. I got lucky on this one because most of them work so hopefully I can sell them before the batteries die. I like the seiko on top. On the right. Sorry that was so out of order that comment. I'm pretty tired sorry LOL.

 

[CladSpends2]

Diggummup, I think you may be underestimating the Bulova, but I am only guessing and by no means am I an expert. But about 15 or more years ago my wife bought me a Bulova for an anniversary gift and since I pay the cc bill each month, I know it ran her nearly 2 bills. Maybe it means nothing. Of course a quick eBay search will tell you more than I just have, but knowing that I value it higher based on one buy yrs ago, may mean there is another sucker out there. LOL

T.

 

[JimDon]

You know it's so hard to price watches. From what I see everything looks to be from $20 to $100. Just going to start listing them on eBay auctions and see where it takes you.

 

[OldSowBreath]

Digs, as far as polishing the crystals, I've heard not to use a Dremel unless you really know what your doing at it will scar the crystal very quickly. I have sat in front of TV and polished the crystals with white toothpaste and my thumb and have had pretty good results, but it takes time. Somewhere I read that a lot of people use a woman's fingernail buffer (not rotary) - the one with the white side to polish with and I think they refer to it as a 4X? I think I'll look for one after work because I want to try that.

 

[diggummup]

Digs, as far as polishing the crystals, I've heard not to use a Dremel unless you really know what your doing at it will scar the crystal very quickly. I have sat in front of TV and polished the crystals with white toothpaste and my thumb and have had pretty good results, but it takes time. Somewhere I read that a lot of people use a woman's fingernail buffer (not rotary) - the one with the white side to polish with and I think they refer to it as a 4X? I think I'll look for one after work because I want to try that.

Thanks for the info., I'll give it a shot.

I got the battery in the mail for the vintage Timex. At first it didn't seem to work. I messed with it a little by setting the time, gave it a quick whack or two in my palm and voila, it's working. Four hours so far anyway, we'll see. The best one of the bunch, the Seiko Bell-Matic, has issues I found out. It doesn't want to stay running too long and I noticed it sounds like something springy is loose or even spinning under the back cover when you shake the watch in your hand or tap it in your palm. I'm almost afraid to take the cover off for fear of parts going flying in directions unknown, lol.

 

[OldSowBreath]

If you take the back off, do it in a very large ziplock bag. Large enough to get your hands in.

 

[Nitric]

Thanks for the info., I'll give it a shot.

I got the battery in the mail for the vintage Timex. At first it didn't seem to work. I messed with it a little by setting the time, gave it a quick whack or two in my palm and voila, it's working. Four hours so far anyway, we'll see. The best one of the bunch, the Seiko Bell-Matic, has issues I found out. It doesn't want to stay running too long and I noticed it sounds like something springy is loose or even spinning under the back cover when you shake the watch in your hand or tap it in your palm. I'm almost afraid to take the cover off for fear of parts going flying in directions unknown, lol.

Here...I worked on watches as a hobby mostly...I'll tell you exactly how to do this if the parts fall out! You find all the parts, or most of them, missing one or two won't matter....put them back in, pound the back on, use a roofing hammer if needed. Then sell!

I'm jkg of course!!!! Sounds like the weight/rotor came loose, or the bearing went out....etc...I don't know all watches and all models, so I'm just assuming, by what you are describing...It sound like somethings grinding or sliding on back cover.....If the screw just worked it's way out of the rotor, it might be a quick repair for you. I have found a couple over the years that just worked loose for whatever reason....

My grandfather use to run jack hammer on street repair, the days he would forget and leave his automatic watches on? They would come home a mess and usually just trash!! and I would get to take them apart! I was young so not one of those ever made it back together! But it was fun!!

 

[diggummup]

I took off the back with no problems. All looks good and it's running again for the moment. The thing that says 17 jewels on it is what is loose or moving. I just did a little searching and found out this is a self winding watch and that is why it is moving around. Obviously, I barely know anything when it comes to how certain watches work, lol. I did find out that this watch was made in 1974 though. I started this reply (while doing 10 other things) about an hour ago, so far it's still working. Longer than the other day when it only lasted 15 minutes so we will see with this one too I guess.

 

[Spartcom5]

Love that Seiko, one just like it sold for $100 on eBay. And yes that is a self-winding mechanism it spins around as you move your hand around. If you want to see how well it runs put it on for a day and see if it keeps good time! Definitely the best purchase of the lot IMO, automatic Seikos are pretty collectible. For polishing buy polywatch off of Amazon stuff works wonders, but only on plastic (which most vintages are)! Also, glad the Timex works, I've bought around 5 of those now and none work even with new batteries, they are very cheap however, even in working order, $20-40 on average

 

[diggummup]

Love that Seiko, one just like it sold for $100 on eBay. And yes that is a self-winding mechanism it spins around as you move your hand around. If you want to see how well it runs put it on for a day and see if it keeps good time! Definitely the best purchase of the lot IMO, automatic Seikos are pretty collectible. For polishing buy polywatch off of Amazon stuff works wonders, but only on plastic (which most vintages are)! Also, glad the Timex works, I've bought around 5 of those now and none work even with new batteries, they are very cheap however, even in working order, $20-40 on average

Thanks for the info. As I said, I don't know too much about watches. I thought it had a winding mechanism on the stem also but after more reading I found out that the stem winder is for the alarm bell only and not for winding the movement. So the watch quit running last night at 10pm. I'm a big guy and I don't fit most wristwatches which is why I don't wear them usually. I did however put this one on my wrist (not clamped) to wear as you suggested. I'll see how long I can keep it going today as I'm working around the house.

 

[Professor of Engineering]

Nice watch finds, congratulations!

I'm going to head to the local thrift store and see what treasure await me!

 

[OldWest]

I used to work in auto glass and I've done some things with old valuable windshields to improve them. For scratches I would take a common spray window cleaner, a variable-speed drill with a cloth or felt buffing wheel, and jewelers powder. I imagine you could do this with a dremel on low speed and be very light and careful. Soak the area, keep it wet, put enough powder on the wet part to almost make a small amount of paste, and work a small area at a time. It takes a little time and effort but I can make a lot of scratches disappear. This information can be found under glass polishing etc.

 

[JimDon]

I just get 1400 grit sand paper and sand the crystal. Then polish it with silver polish. Works great on plastic.

 

[Spartcom5]

For polishing watches really just use polywatch. All you do is apply and wipe with a soft cloth, easy and extremely effective, extra safe as well.