Intro

[440_Magnum]

Hello all. Just wanted to introduce myself and my Zodiac.  I'm the original owner of a triple-date moonphase, purchased circa 1974 or 1975. I wore it hard for a few years, then put it away in favor of trendy LCD digital watches and generic Seikos. About 5 years ago I pulled it out, had it serviced, and have been either wearing it or leaving it in the watch winder ever since.



I've since ditched the gold bracelet band in favor of a black leather band. I continue to be amazed at the accuracy- its good to within a minute or two per month, depending on temperature. Just an amazing piece of machinery! One thing I do worry about is that I'm starting to hear a little play in the self-winding weight. It isn't touching the case or dragging as it winds, but it sounds like there is some end-play. Concern, or normal??


As for me, my name is Steve and I'm an electrical engineer, but my hobbies seem to revolve around machinery. I have a few 60s American cars (my username, '440_Magnum', is a reference to my favorite big-block V8 engine in my '69 Dodge), and a small watch collection including a pair of 1954 Bulova automatics, the Zodiac (my most treasured watch), a modern Bulova automatic (Japanese movement), and a modern Bulova Accutron Corvara chronograph. My collection favors Bulova for sure, but the Zodiac is by far the most impressive of the lot. I'd have more Zodiacs, but I haven't found them quite as readily or in as good condition as the Bulovas. I also gave my wife a 1950's Wittnauer ladies automatic that she wears almost daily, and some years ago I gave my daughter a modern quartz Z-brand-that-must-not-be-named-here, which is a surprisingly well-made machine itself.  . Nice to be here, and I hope to learn more about vintage Zodiacs.

[jon p]

    STEVE, welcome to the best watch forum anywhere! watches AND vintage muscle cars, do you like guns and shooting?? we have a lot of various intrests here, of course ZODIAC WATCHES number ONE!!

[Dutchsiberia]

Welcome :) I've heard some comments on other forums about watch winders, causing excessive wear on auto winding parts. It might not be the cause of the noise in your amazing Zodiac, but might be something to think about. The zodiacs I've got all have some wear in the bearing of the winding weight, which is just a hole in the metal really.



In contrast of the watches with ancient "bidynator" Felsa movements I've got, big ruby as a bearing, (almost) no wear after many years 

[440_Magnum]

Jon: thanks for the welcome! Sorry but shooting is a hobby that I haven't picked up... yet!  I'm definitely a pro-gun guy, just haven't gotten heavily involved. I do know a few competitive shooters that keep tempting me to get started, but I've got enough bottomless pits to throw my $$ at already!   I'm entirely hands-on with the old cars- I'll do every job except painting (tried that- don't have the patience to meet my standards). Engine or transmission build? Lemme at it, I love that. Wiring, carpeting, interior? Sure.  But with the watches- I just don't have the steady hands. I admire them, but I wouldn't dare try to tear into one with my hereditary hand tremors. 


Dutchsiberia: Interesting, and thanks for those photos comparing the winding mechanism bearings. I would have thought that the winding weight would be a place where watch designers would ALWAYS have a ruby bearing because of the force of that weight.

I've pondered the whole use of a winder in my mind a LOT. On the one hand, I would think that stopping the watch for a few days/weeks and then re-setting it and re-starting it would cause more wear and would let the oil settle. On the other hand, constant operation does cause a small amount of wear all day every day, but avoids setting mechanism wear and keeps the oil 'stirred.' I like to wear this watch AT LEAST once a week sometimes a lot more (I've worn it for a couple of weeks straight within the last year a time or two), and setting all the functions of a triple-date moonphase is a bit of an exercise! The winder I use is one that holds the watches near vertically as they rotate, not "reclined" at a 45-degree angle like some. I bought it in the hopes that such a design would minimize wear on the thrust bearings of the weight mechanism. So, I've erred on the side of keeping the watch wound and running. I do have the winder on the minimum number of turns per day that seems to keep the watch going.

Just as a point of interest, both my '54 Bulova winding mechanisms are so heavily worn that the weights actually drag lightly on the caseback. They function fine, but the drag is there and my local watchmaker claimed they were unable to do anything about it. I don't keep either of them in the winder since they don't have any calendar mechanism at all.

[440_Magnum]

Finding this forum inspired me to organize my photobucket watch photos into an album. Here's the album link:

http://smg.beta.photobucket.com/user/440_Magnum/library/Watches

Here's a picture of the Triple-Date with the current black leather band, most similar I could find to how I recall its original band:



Here's one of most of my collection (notice which one gets the center spot!) I like how it shows the growth in size of men's watches since the 50s. The black '54 Bulova starburst-face (right of center) is about the smallest diameter men's watch I've seen. Of course plenty are thinner, but this one is such a small diameter. The Zodiac and green 1954 Bulova are about the size I grew up with. The Accutron Chronograph and Marine Star automatic (everyday watch) look gigantic by comparison. 

[abzack]

   Extremely nice triple-date.  One like this is on my wish list.