Fludo "Doctor's Watch" - Would love to find out more about it

ProjectColossus

Hi guys,

I've been lurking on this board for a couple of months, but have just come into possession of an old watch that I would love to know more about, and figured here would be a good place to ask.

It belonged to my late grandfather who was a Doctor for some 60 years. What little I could figure out is that the watch is a "Doctor's watch", with a mechanism (chronograph?) which allows a patients pulse to be measured. Pressing the button at the 4 position stops the seconds hand, pressing it again immediately moves the seconds hand to the 12 position. Pressing the button at the 2 position allows the seconds hand to move freely again.

I think it is Swiss made, and what little information the internet is throwing up suggests the Fludo company existed from 1935 to 1970.

I have not yet dared to remove the back of the watch to expose the movement for fear of damaging something, but I am considering it. Is this generally safe? Is there a particular method?

So what I'd love to know, is how I can find out more about this watch, and also, what restoration options do I have. Should I be winding it (I have done, but I only got it yesterday so not much) or should I not touch it until a professional has looked at it? I'm not sure, but I fully wound it and it only seemed to run for 20 hours or so, which probably isn't a great sign. I've given it another short wind (a twist or two) and I'll see how long it runs.

If the back was removed, would it be easy to date it? And where should I bring it/send it?

I have no interest in selling it at all, but I would be interested to know if it was valuable or not. I have no case or papers or anything like anyway. Although if it was very valuable, I might be put off wearing in case it became damaged. It has a gold hallmark, and the wear on the buttons suggests it's plated rather than solid.

Thanks for any opinions!









Close up of the markings on the back of the watch.




Close up of the mark on the side of the watch. I can't tell if this has a specific meaning, or if it's just an indentation, perhaps for removing the back of the watch?

Bullseye1

If you are not experienced in removing backs from watches I wouldn't start on this. Better to pay a watchmaker €20 to do it for you. Its a beautiful watch and very Portuguese in appearance. Is the strap original? I don't think it does the watch justice.

Bullseye1

Here is a Fludo Chrono similar to this.


http://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/9862151

Bullseye1

There is a discussion on this watch here: http://forums.watchuseek.com/f11/fludo-chronograph-190497.html

Bullseye1

Quick research reveals these were made for doctors. You will note the blue text on the outermost rim of the watch. This was to time the patents pulse.

marcus1971

Never heard of Fludo, although the script looks very much like the vintage Tissot logo/lettering.

Looks interesting, small I'd say, which would/could have made it expensive for its day...they were all about making them as small as possible back then....and now that the technology and tooling is available to make them minute nowadays we all want 40mm+ watches

Your caseback is hallmarked 18k, the buttons are most likely plated on a lot of otherwise solid gold watches.....the general rule of thumb - NOT 100% - is that a gold caseback means a solid gold watch and a stainless st. caseback means a plated/wrapped watch.

Try the vintage forum on WUS, post your pics and ask their advice on history and resto.

I wouldnt wind it anymore either....you know it works to some degree so leave it at that, parts may be scarce for a watch like that and it is without a single doubt going to need to be cleaned and oiled, its probably been out of service since before they started using synthetic oils, so I would be very very careful about winding it, most of whatever oil that was once in it is now just a glob of greasy crud...not good!!!

It will clean up a treat and look great on an age appropriate lizard or croc strap.....the older straps of this type are much thinner/less padded than modern versions......there are sellers on eBay thet sell NOS Rolex croc and lizards exactly like the one in the pic bullseye posted for reasonable prices, $40ish in auctions and around $70 BIN

ProjectColossus

Thanks for your insight guys. I think I've seen many of the links to other forums, info is scarce none the less.

I won't wind it again, at least until after I've handed it in to a watchmaker. Nor will I remove the back, though I must admit I do think would be able to do it safely, and I would love to see the movement and take a photo.

I think it's safe to say the current strap is not the original, and yeah, it's not a great strap. My mother and aunt think that the caseback may have been uncomfortable on my grandfathers wrist, and so the strap was replaced with the one in the picture. I'll certainly look into a more suitable replacement.

I'll post updated photos as I get it cleaned up, new strap etc., and any interesting information I come across.

ProjectColossus

Hi guys,

I feel bad bumping this since I don't have any real news yet, but I thought I'd run something past the forum.

I came across a website tonight which claims that the Fludo brand has been newly taken over, and this website appears to be under construction.

http://fludowatches.ch/

The website looks pretty crappy, but if it's legitimate, it could be a valuable resource perhaps?

Anyway, I noticed that on their contact page they've stolen my image which I posted here, and nowhere else They probably got it off google images. Could be a placeholder, I dunno, but the whole thing seems pretty dodgy.

What do you think?

Thanks guys.