Post pics of your watches Part II

A good while back my late 60's LIP Nauti-Ski stopped working. Right PITA. The chap in the UK who does electric watches stopped dealing with them. There's a few French guys that will, but 300 quids of the realm, a good bit more than I paid for the watch itself and I would have to send the horse to France. So I figured donor movement. They're 200 quid. So I looked for a whole donor watch. The gold plated stuff nobody wants really and more like 100 quid. Yes I am a cheap bastid... 😁 One popped up, a LIP "Sportville" only in steel and a very 70's case.

So I got it and it was stopping evey so often. Looked closely and the hands were bent and binding. Out with the hammers and spanners and that was fixed. But as I looked more closely noticed that the hand posts on the Nautics are way taller/longer than in other models, so a direct transplant would be off the table. Feck. So I still had a non working watch. After further fecks led to a sure feck it, I decided to attack the non worrking movement.

Very cool cases these Compressors. Anyway at the top end of that coil is a curved plate that is a blonde one away from the balance wheel. Now after reading the movement manual(in French..) the width of that blonde one happens to be trés importante. Too close and it'll overbank, too far away and it won't run. Hmmm, sez I... So I loosened the coil screws and with the trepidation of a pogo stick champion in a minefield carefully edged it a little closer and back etc. And it worked! Yay, an' that. Fiddled with the regulation while I was there. On the wrist it's running around two seconds per day of true. Result.

So now I have two leccy LIP's working.

My latest once donor Sportville on the left is about as 1970's as the Bay City Rollers and just as much of an "acquired taste" , if there's any taste to be found. Lord knows I'm not known for it. A friend of mine who likes most of my watches and really likes a couple, took one look and said "nope. too far. nope". 😁 I slapped it on a 70's bracelet I had(stamped "Empire Made" of all things. Hong Kong apparently). I do have the correct LIP Milanese bracelet for it, but it's too big for me.

I'm glad I saved it TBH. Tearing it apart for spares wouldn't have appealed to me. Sentimental eejit that I am. But it is technically a spare yer honour.

It does show how something as simple as a case can make a huge difference in feel and the feel of quality. Same movement, but very different. The Sporville has heft but empty heft if you know what I mean and the feel of the crown in setting feels "cheaper". The Nautic feels way more expensive(and they were at the time) and the crowns are butter smooth in action, like pulling focus on a vintage Leica. The movement even sounds better; strong and ringing, rather than weak and tinny. Mad.

The colourway on the LIP Nautic was designed by Pierre Cardin of all people. French flag naturally. LIP were the first brand to sport a cadran lumineux avec heures et aiguilles en radium because the owner was a friend of Marie Curie.

Looks like you're bezel timing something too. 😁