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Wednesday, September 25, 2019
Timascus Update
One man's trash is another man’s treasure
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Taps & Dies
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Friday, September 20, 2019
Speedy Friday
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This doesn't happen too often, but today we
have completed servicing four Speedmasters. All four are customer repair
jobs and in each and every case, the reason why we are trusted with the
servicing is not because we are cheaper than Omega but because we would
do absolutely anything humanly possible to preserve the original dial
and hands and the originality and integrity of these watches. To see all 4 ticking, visit our Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nicholashackowatch/ |
NH2 Timascus Update!
Before we go any further, a very humbling thank you to all
subscribers who have put their name down for NH2 Timascus and those who
took time to visit us and inspect the watch in person - we really
appreciate it. Judging by the amount of interest Timascus in generating,
we will be busy machining, hand finishing and assembling for months to
come.
In a way that reminds me of that classic Irish joke: Jimmy was selling
his potatoes so cheap that he couldn't even cover his production costs.
When a friend pointed out that perhaps there is a flaw in his business
model, he cheerfully replied: Yes I know, I need a bigger truck!
The very core of NH2 is "be prepared for the unexpected". From the front
the watch it looks like any other but when you flip it to the back, it
looks like no other. There are 3 fundamental pillars of that "like no
other" experience. The Timascus itself, an alloy like no other. The
unique pattern means no two watches will ever be the same and the splash
of colour which again makes every single piece completely unique. This
week we took the NH2 to the next level by removing as much Timascus
possible from the three quarter bridge while retaining it's structural
strength. This technique is called skeletonisation, or what horologists
call: exposing the bare bones of a timepiece. Skeletonised watches are
not for everyone's taste, but those who appreciate that extra effort
would surely be impressed.
Again the images provided are not even a close representation. For high resolution go to: https://www.instagram.com/nicholashackowatch/
The Endless supply
Very often you will hear a veteran watchmaker bragging about the good
old days. The golden era when every Swiss watch spare parts supplier was
competing and chasing his business. A time where Swiss watch brands
where busy making watches and had no interest repairing them.
In the late 60's and early 70's, the demand for mechanical watches was diminishing fast. Inexpensive yet highly accurate battery operated watches became the new cool thing. I clearly remember the days in the 1970's where Swiss spare part reps where knocking on the doors of even the smallest watch repair shops and begging for business. It was quite an amusing sight for a 12 year old kid. Watchmakers were buying stems, mainsprings, winding crowns, spring loaded bars, crystals and plexi glasses in the dozens per size at a time. Here is just one example of a typical order containing over 500 winding crowns, most of them still in sealed bags. No Swiss supplier would ever dare to say - not even to the smallest independent watchmaker – ‘no spare parts for you’.
The good old days!
In the late 60's and early 70's, the demand for mechanical watches was diminishing fast. Inexpensive yet highly accurate battery operated watches became the new cool thing. I clearly remember the days in the 1970's where Swiss spare part reps where knocking on the doors of even the smallest watch repair shops and begging for business. It was quite an amusing sight for a 12 year old kid. Watchmakers were buying stems, mainsprings, winding crowns, spring loaded bars, crystals and plexi glasses in the dozens per size at a time. Here is just one example of a typical order containing over 500 winding crowns, most of them still in sealed bags. No Swiss supplier would ever dare to say - not even to the smallest independent watchmaker – ‘no spare parts for you’.
The plexi glass supply business was brutally competitive, with countless
numbers of generic brands supplying watch crystals. Again, not being
able to source a replacement plexi of any dimension, height, thickness,
waterproof or not, was absolutely unheard of. Even today, our stock pile
contains crystals not only made in Switzerland and Germany but also
Australian made glass by J W Handley from Melbourne, Dean plexi, Beta,
and G Jenssen from Sydney. One thing that they all had in common: they
all called their product unbreakable!
The best watch in the world (for money)
James McLeod was a qualified jeweller and optometrist who established
his business in Bundaberg, Queensland in 1889. At one point in time, he
was a Secretary of Optometrist Association which speaks volume about his
professional and business reputation. However, MacLeod was also a
proper watchmaker who appreciated quality and workmanship. He was
passionate about importing English and Swiss pocket watches of railway
quality. It was of little surprise that MacLeod was a major supplier to
Queensland Government Railways supplying in excess of 500 Moeris pocket
watches.
Here are two advertisements from 1911:
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Honest Watches. There is no Present so Popular either for a Lady or Gentleman as a GOOD WATCH. I CARRY A VERY LARGE STOCK. Being a Practical Watchmaker, I do not Stock Watches which I know cannot possibly give satisfaction. The duty on English watches is 20 per cent on Swiss and American 30 per cent. That means you cannot get a watch which will keep time under a fair price. This cut shows my Ladies’ Watch, which I supply in silver for 85/, 42/, and 50/. In gold they cost £3/3/, £4/4/, £5/5/, up to £12/13/. All Good. All Guaranteed. GENTS’ WATCHES. – Railway Levers, £1/1/; Do. Silver levers, £3/10/, £3/10/, £4/10/. Gents’ Gold from £4/10/ to £25. NOTE.---My Railway Levers are used on all the Government Lines, £1/1/, post free. Supplied ONLY by J. MACLEOD, LEADING JEWELLER AND OPTICIAN Phone 116. BUNDABERG.
It is interesting that Macleod refers to Railway lever in his later advertisements as “Burnett lever”. Burnett river flows generally south past Eidsvold and Mundubbera before heading east, adjacent to the townships of Gayndah and Wallaville before entering the city of Bundaberg – which is general direction of railway line. James McLeod's optometry, jewellery and watch business thrived for the next 40 years. Upon his retirement, the shop was taken over by his apprentices, who to this day serve the good people of the Bundaberg region. Was the Moeris 'railway lever' the best watch in the world? Of course not, but it was surely better than many 'railway' watches sold by other jewellers. A timepiece designed to run for 20 or so years, it survived to this day - a testimony to McLeod's conviction that Moeris is worthwhile investment. Overhaul of the Gayndah Railway Lever pocket watch was assigned to Bobby, our young apprentice. He spent the whole day working on it and this is his final verdict: When first starting on a watch like this it’s hard to foresee what the outcome will be. A 100 year old watch that isn’t ticking is an indication that any number of things could be wrong with it, or maybe it just needs a good clean and oil. You have to be mindful that it’s been through years of abuse and the end result may just be the same as when you started. It gets to a point in the repair where you have invested so much time into the watch that it becomes a personal vendetta to get the watch to tick no matter how much time you spend adjusting. Even though there were many challenges, we took a once desolate watch and gave back its heartbeat. 100 years old and only losing a minute after 24 hours, that’s a win in my book.
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Colombian Railway Watch... (well whats left of it)
And while we are still on the subject of railway horology (which is
like, everyday) here is another amazing find. A porcelain pocket watch
dial signed Ferrocarril de Antioquia. Unfortunately this is the
only thing that is left of this 1930’s railroad pocket watch.
Nevertheless it is the first piece of South American railway horology I
have found which now completes all the continents.
I am not going to spoil your enjoyment by re-telling the story of the Colombian railway that took 40 years to complete and was 50km in length. Of course this is still faster and cheaper than the Sydney light rail project. But here is one detail worth sharing: The main opposition to the railway in Antioquia was based on the superstition of the local population and the fear that a roaring locomotive will bring an unfathomable curse upon them. So when locomotive no. 1 derailed and disappeared into the abyss, the replacement locomotive, no. 2, had to be repainted and renumbered to look exactly like no. 1 to prevent mass hysteria.
Ferrocarril went out of business in the 1960’s. To find a complete original Colombian railway watch is now on top of my priority list!
I am not going to spoil your enjoyment by re-telling the story of the Colombian railway that took 40 years to complete and was 50km in length. Of course this is still faster and cheaper than the Sydney light rail project. But here is one detail worth sharing: The main opposition to the railway in Antioquia was based on the superstition of the local population and the fear that a roaring locomotive will bring an unfathomable curse upon them. So when locomotive no. 1 derailed and disappeared into the abyss, the replacement locomotive, no. 2, had to be repainted and renumbered to look exactly like no. 1 to prevent mass hysteria.
Ferrocarril went out of business in the 1960’s. To find a complete original Colombian railway watch is now on top of my priority list!
OMG! I have always wanted one of those
A 1970’s desk alarm clock with flip over digits.
I am sure you had one like it but tell me; what happened to it? Just
died? Been thrown away? First wife took it? Most importantly - would you
like me to start looking for a replacement?
So, what makes this baby special? It was made for the Japanese National
Rail by Copalco Ltd. The alarm is a buzzer and sounds exactly like most
stereotypical alarm sounding clocks from cheap American movies - just
love it.
How accurate is accurate?
We live in funny times.
Never in the history of humanity has access to accurate time been so readily, cheaply and easily available to us. We take it for granted. 65% of the world’s population has at least one mobile phone. Actually, there are 8.7 billion mobile connections on the planet compared with a population of 7.6 billion people!
Yet strangely enough, while our mobile phone delivers atomic clock time accurate down to a nano second, we are more than happy to read it at accuracy within a minute. The time displayed on the majority of mobile phones is in hour and minutes format and we are not really fussed about seconds. 10:49 on a mobile phone could mean anything from 10:49:00 at the best or 10:49:59 at the worst. For practical purpose that is close enough. But the scary part is that inaccuracy is negative – which means that if we are to catch a train departing at 10.49, we are already late.
In 1978, Seiko developed and released a railway grade quartz pocket watch with calibre ref. 7550A. This was a second generation of quartz pocket watches (with the first one being ref. 38RW cal. 3870A in development from 1976 -1978). For the next seven years, 75RW was known as the most accurate quartz pocket watch in the world. I have an example on my bench which has been running for 2 months and has been keeping time better than +1 second per week. Here is the fascinating detail in a way: This 1978 pocket watch tells the time more "accurately" than your latest phone. Why? The Seiko pocket watch allows you to read time in old fashion analogue format with a glimpse of an eye. The sweep seconds hand is always spot on to the second!
Of course I could not resist but to fire up the old Citizen quartz time tester especially designed for timing battery operated quartz watches. Like the Seiko pocket watch, this machine dates back to the same era - mid 1970's. After an hour of warm up time it was able to tell us the actual accuracy of the pocket watch. It was +0.12 seconds per day which is even less than 1 second per week! To put things into perspective, this has 3 times better accuracy than a standard modern Swiss made quartz watch and 50 times better than COSC certification of a mechanical watch.
Should you invest in one? If seconds matter, then the answer is yes.
Never in the history of humanity has access to accurate time been so readily, cheaply and easily available to us. We take it for granted. 65% of the world’s population has at least one mobile phone. Actually, there are 8.7 billion mobile connections on the planet compared with a population of 7.6 billion people!
Yet strangely enough, while our mobile phone delivers atomic clock time accurate down to a nano second, we are more than happy to read it at accuracy within a minute. The time displayed on the majority of mobile phones is in hour and minutes format and we are not really fussed about seconds. 10:49 on a mobile phone could mean anything from 10:49:00 at the best or 10:49:59 at the worst. For practical purpose that is close enough. But the scary part is that inaccuracy is negative – which means that if we are to catch a train departing at 10.49, we are already late.
In 1978, Seiko developed and released a railway grade quartz pocket watch with calibre ref. 7550A. This was a second generation of quartz pocket watches (with the first one being ref. 38RW cal. 3870A in development from 1976 -1978). For the next seven years, 75RW was known as the most accurate quartz pocket watch in the world. I have an example on my bench which has been running for 2 months and has been keeping time better than +1 second per week. Here is the fascinating detail in a way: This 1978 pocket watch tells the time more "accurately" than your latest phone. Why? The Seiko pocket watch allows you to read time in old fashion analogue format with a glimpse of an eye. The sweep seconds hand is always spot on to the second!
Of course I could not resist but to fire up the old Citizen quartz time tester especially designed for timing battery operated quartz watches. Like the Seiko pocket watch, this machine dates back to the same era - mid 1970's. After an hour of warm up time it was able to tell us the actual accuracy of the pocket watch. It was +0.12 seconds per day which is even less than 1 second per week! To put things into perspective, this has 3 times better accuracy than a standard modern Swiss made quartz watch and 50 times better than COSC certification of a mechanical watch.
Should you invest in one? If seconds matter, then the answer is yes.
Australian lavender on a breezy Friday morning
You know your getting attached to your parts when you start calling them
by name. When the three quarter timascus bridge was completed just
after midnight, its colour scheme looked incredibly familiar, however we
had to wait until morning to name it. Australian lavender on a breezy Friday morning. A splash of purple, indigo blue, orange and gold.
By 3pm it was jewelled and ready for its first heartbeat...
By 3pm it was jewelled and ready for its first heartbeat...
For better high resolution photos, visit our Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nicholashackowatch/
Back in Time
Vintage electronics is simply cool. Here is our latest arrival - a
mechanical watch timing machine from the 70's made by Elma. My dad had
one almost identical in his workshop and this one takes me back to my
apprentice days; the good old clinker. But make no mistake, back in the
70’s this was cutting edge technology - a piece of equipment which was
designed for timing mechanical watches worth thousands of dollars in
today’s money.
This particular Elma Star comes from a watch and clock makers annual auction which was held on Tuesday night. I was the only bidder and got it for $10 - what a bargain!
This particular Elma Star comes from a watch and clock makers annual auction which was held on Tuesday night. I was the only bidder and got it for $10 - what a bargain!
Thursday, September 12, 2019
NH2 Timascus Taking Orders Now!
In a couple of weeks from now we will be introducing the NH2 Timascus
project to readers of Time and Tide magazine announcing it to watch
enthusiasts not only around Australia but around the world. Indeed there is a
reason for excitement. We believe that NH2 Timascus is the worlds only watch
where the main components are machined and then hand finished in
Timascus.
The price for the NH2 Timascus is $8,000 (plus GST). Our order book is
now open.
Tuesday, September 10, 2019
Show me the parts!
We have just completed the major restoration of a 1950’s Italian railway
pocket watch. My goodness, what a mess! The watch arrived with a number
of broken parts and yes, it took us weeks to source them. However the
watch is not only cosmetically restored but is now in perfect working
order. Clearly, while we are proud of our skills, the restoration was
only possible because somebody seventy years ago made an effort to stock
spare parts, keep them for years, and make them available to restorers.
A broken watch without spare parts is a useless piece of junk.
A broken watch without spare parts is a useless piece of junk.
Today, a long awaited delivery of spare parts for NH Mark 1 arrived from
Switzerland and we are excited. At this stage we really have no idea
which components for our watch will wear before the others and which
ones could potentially break during disassembly. So we stocked up on
almost every part that could possibly be required in decades to come. In
addition to spare parts we also stock complete mechanisms. For example,
if the Mark 1 is a complete write off, seriously damaged by being run
over by a car or severely water damaged, we will be able to fix it!
The majority of these parts will not be required for decades, and some will never be installed at all. But this investment in our brand is absolutely essential. Tens of thousands of dollars invested now are not wasted. This is simply the price we have to pay so that the Mark 1 will remain repairable in the next century. This is the kind of commitment that only a watchmaker would pledge.
Your Mark 1 is not a startup or crowd funded project. We are not here to grab your cash and run away.
Of course if you decide to invest in any other watch, that will be your call. However, before you part with your hard earned cash, ask the brand the most important question: What is your long term commitment in relation to spare parts and servicing? Would you be able to repair this watch in fifty or a hundred years from now? Then listen carefully.
The majority of these parts will not be required for decades, and some will never be installed at all. But this investment in our brand is absolutely essential. Tens of thousands of dollars invested now are not wasted. This is simply the price we have to pay so that the Mark 1 will remain repairable in the next century. This is the kind of commitment that only a watchmaker would pledge.
Your Mark 1 is not a startup or crowd funded project. We are not here to grab your cash and run away.
Of course if you decide to invest in any other watch, that will be your call. However, before you part with your hard earned cash, ask the brand the most important question: What is your long term commitment in relation to spare parts and servicing? Would you be able to repair this watch in fifty or a hundred years from now? Then listen carefully.
Drilling Timascus
Jig for drilling side tapped holes for dial fastening screws and the winding stem. Six tools, nice and slow, one main plate at the time.
Timascus / titanium, jig NH2 1-6 on Kern Pyramid Nano.
Watch parts made in Australia
Probably the most commonly asked question is "Do you actually make watch parts in Australia?" Quite frankly, machining a high precision part is not nearly as difficult as understanding how to hold the raw material, understand the process itself and then design and make jigs and fixtures. 3 and 5 axis, vacuum clamping, single and multiple watch parts jigs- and much more- all design and in house, in our own workshop by two young kids: Josh and Andrew. Barely twenty years of age yet in full control and in charge of the entire process, from design to manufacturing. Very proud of you kids!
Engraving Timascus
Inserting locating pins into timascus bridge. This is done after engraving and second anodizing . The gold colour of the engraving text is result of quick etching then reanodizing at very specific voltage. The pins are of our own design, made on Citizen R04 lathe. Size 1x1 mm. Pressing them in is an absolute joy!
Background: map of USA, a small tribute to Chuck Bybee and friends from Alpha Knife Supply who made this project possible by providing such an exciting alloy to play with.
Background: map of USA, a small tribute to Chuck Bybee and friends from Alpha Knife Supply who made this project possible by providing such an exciting alloy to play with.
Hot off the press... Engraving looking good! Different colour combo, purple and blue, but the colours dance in the light, so it's impossible to nail down.
Pricing details and availability information coming very soon!
Pricing details and availability information coming very soon!
Timascus caseback
Did anyone say "caseback"? Each and every piece we do from Timascus will be unique. No two watches will ever be the same. Colours, finishes, patterns, all individual.
We will also not be keeping these watches in stock. These will be made to order pieces.
Simply astounded by the response you guys had on the last post, it seems you love the final result!
Timascus dial? - yes. But I have to make one first to see if it looks good!
Stay tuned, more to come.
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