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www.espresso-restorations.com The Espresso Machine Restoration site A non-commercial site for those interested in espresso equipment repair and restoration.
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My other passion - vintage watches
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When did it start?
The first "real" watch I purchased was an Omega Seamaster Pro back in 1997. The SMP as we watch geeks would say is a fabulous design. It was a few years later that I started trawling Ebay and then looking at www.timezone.com (which sadly I no longer have time to do). Like coffee machines I feel something towards vintage pieces - particularly unique pieces that play an important role in the history and development of a business. For that reason I started getting interested in early electronic timepiece - in particular the Bulova Accutron and it's derivatives. The Accutron watch movement is such an amazing invention that relies on a small Tuning Fork - yes it hums if you put it to your ear!
Enough history here are some from my collection. One last point - like my espresso machines, these are some of the best examples you will find anywhere in the world.
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Classic Accutron 218 - approx 1970
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My favourite Accutron 218 -approx 1971
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The famous Accutron Astronaut - approx 1963
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The famous Accutron Spaceview - approx 1971
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Another Accutron Spaceview - approx 1973
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Omega Seamaster Electronic - approx 1971
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Omega Electronic - approx 1971
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Omega Constellation Electronic Megaquartz - approx 1974
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Omega Flightmaster cal 911 - approx 60's
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That's all for now - I have a lot of other pieces to add but they are safely locked away in storage. Next time I take them out I will take some pics of them.
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This website is created by Paul Pratt, Hong Kong 2004. If you would like to use any of the images or text I am sure I will say yes, but please ask first!
Email me here.
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This was one of my first vintage watches. It was a New Old Stock
(NOS) piece from around 1970. It came with the original boxes,
hang tags, price tags, warranty cards and receipt.
This is one of my favourite watches. It is not NOS
but I had the case "refinished". It came with the
original bracelet and the dial was original.
This watch always gets noticed when I wear it.
The Omega Speedmaster Pro gets all the glory for being the "Moonwatch" however the Accutron Astronaut
was widely used throughout the Apollo missions. In fact the cockpit timekeeping instruments were Accutron
clcoks and these sometimes crop up on Ebay.
The bracelet on this watch is more rare than the watch itself - I have several!
This watch is probably the one that people think of when they hear the word Accutron. The Spaceview is
so-called because it has no dial allowing you to see the movement. You can actually see the tuning fork too -
the top of the fork has two coils. This watch is NOS.
This case style is slightly harder to come-by than the example above. This is what we would call TV style
because of the shape. This is very much the late 60's early 70's styling and really like these.
This watch is NOS - still has the purple wax on the back of the case.
The Europeans were a little taken aback by the success of the American Bulova Accutrons and the earlier
Hamilton electric watches. So it wasn't long before the big Swiss companies hit back with their own Tuning
Fork watches. The movements however are stamped on the back "made under licence from Bulova".
This is a very unique Omega F300hz Seamaster. It is absolutely huge and again has that 70's full-flow
styling with the integrated bracelet.
Another of my first watches. These are
available frequently on Ebay but mine is just
a bit special. I had the bezel remade in steel
not the aluminium on all others.
I started to like the 70's huge Omega watches
more and more. This Constellation is just
enormous and the bracelet is solid steel.
One of the first Omega "quartz" movements.
I am very lucky to own this watch - the
condition is NOS which for flightmasters is very
very rare. It weights a tonne.
This was a spin off from the Speedmaster line -
and was used by Russian cosmonauts in the
70's