Advice re Quartz movement to go into Pocket Watches please

[Invicta]

This also doubles as  "Hello from Tewkesbury" from a new member.

A few weeks ago I started to build a couple of watches as a new Hobby.

My father in law gave me three of his old pocket watches from the 1950s and suggested he would like one back with a quartz movement in it for ease of use. The other two I can do with as I like. I like the idea of a Steampunk hard hat with watches as "ear defenders". (I'm a professional gardener so am taking this trade as my Steampunk theme).

Having seen some of the wonderful creations here I thought I would ask if anyone can suggest a quartz movement that I could put into these watch cases. I appreciate I will need to make or adapt a case ring and probably use a stem extender to get them to fit and work.
My main problem at this stage is finding a quartz movement with a simple sub seconds function as all three of these pocket watches have the seconds hand on a small sub dial between the 5 and 7 hr.

Dimensions:
Dials 44mm
Thickness = 15.15 to 17.23mm Including the glass crystal

Any suggestions to a movement ETA, Miyota, etc would be very much appreciated,

Bern

[Drew P]

Photos, photos, dammit we need photos!   

And whatever you do, do not cannibalize those movements! Resist the urge! This is only to be done with non-function/badly broken pieces. Or forever be looked down upon!
*steps down from soap box*

Seriously though, I'm not to familiar with quartz having any seconds, chrono, yes, but only the additional secs? Hmmmm, must go google.

[Invicta]

Drew P,

If I had the time(sic) I would learn how to repair these mechanical marvels but my customer's garden are all busy growing at the moment so I thought I would try and find a quartz solution.

I did try and post a photo but I can't seem to find the download options to link to the file on my PC?

There are quartz movement with separate (sub) second but I can't find any large enough to accommodate my size of dials.
I did think of buying a cheap modern pocket watch from Hong Kong/China/etc and using the movement in that but again at the moment I can't find any donors with large enough dials and sub seconds.

I might meet you Googling, if so I'm the one with the scarf, 
Bern

[Drew P]

Actually,  I have no problem at all with quartz movements. I didn't mean for you to fix them inorder to use them for this project. If you were thinking about using them for a steampunk piece I feel that the only time a movement should be used for it's pieces is if it is originally obtained as an incomplete piece, not to be taken apart just to be taken apart. That's just me.

As much as I love mechanical movements I prefer quartz. Less up keep for the most part.

I know that I've seen a link or 2 on another forum I frequent concerning sellers of movements, I will have to dig that up.
How about trying Seagull? They are a Japanese manufacturer of movements. You may find a automatic mech. movement that may suit your needs. And they may have quartz, too.

[Invicta]

Drew P,

Thank you for the suggestion I will have a look at what Seagull have to offer.

My initial thought is that if someone can find a suitable quartz movement there must be 100s of the old non working pocket watches from the 50's and 60's waiting for a new lease of life which could be done with relatively little expertise?

Thanks for your help with this,

Bern

[Drew P]

I think the hardest part would be finding hands that fit the look. Too big and the quartz may not run correctly, too small may look odd. And then, of course, whatever hands you do find-would they fit the stems(canons?)?

There should exist a forum or 2 that deals with rebuilding old pocket watches. I know of forums for mainly Homages of different makes with a pocket watch thrown in there from time to time, but dealing with this is a little different. And usually people do not concern themselves with quartz in the rebuiling process. It is not considered an art. So it may take a bit to find info.

[Invicta]

Drew P,

All good points.

As a Hobby I also make 1:6 scale figures, weapons and vehicles. I have started to add remote control and sounds e.g. Press the figure's head and one of five commands are issued, press a hidden button and a machine gun flashes and a MG sound comes out of a hidden speaker. This all led me onto looking at Steampunk creations and Watches.

My first watch "creation" a month ago was using a Fossil Big Tic Flame that my son had broken and putting in a flashing LED case ring from a VERY cheap Chinese watch then replacing the dial/face with a photo of an Ammonite (I tried working a real Ammonite but couldn't get it thin enough without it cracking). I am now experimenting with various hands to both fit the movement, (which is a Miyota/Citizen 2025 or 2026 depending on how far you want the hands from the dial), and have the right look about them.

So it may take some time but I expect someone somewhere is converting full size/original old pocket watches to quartz. It's a case of pressing the right Google keys.

I'll continue to search and post back if/when I find a solution,

Bern

[Drew P]

Good, and please, keep us updated.
As well as showing photos of your stuff... like the Fossil one. 

[George Salt]

A lot of the everyday pocket watches from the '50s just aren't worth the effort - I have a cheap Ingersoll Triumph as part of my time traveller costume (not the Indiana Jones model), and these models alongside the Smiths Empire turn up by the hundred on Ebay.  My researches concluded that these unjewelled movements are generally regarded as unrepairable due to the way they were mass assembled.  They don't come apart very easily and are the devil to reassemble according to experienced watch repairers.  I can adjust mine to within a minute or two per day which is good enough as a costume piece.  The cases themselves are for the most part cheaply built.

There are  plenty of second-hand Sekonda and Rotary quartz pocket watches about.  Steampunk has killed all sense of tasteful design when it comes to new pocket watches though - there are some frightful things coming out of China  

[Invicta]

George S,

Would you happen to know if the design and size of the Sekonda and Rotary pocket watches are the same as the old British pocket watches please?
If they are then I would be happy to try putting a Sekonda or Rotary quartz movement into one of my father in laws old cases and reporting back with a "How To".

For a wrist watch option:
I am in the process of modifying a Chinese Quartz movement (from an Oasis via eBay) to get it into the case of a 1920s British "Services" trench watch. The plastic case ring can be filed down to fit into the case. But the sub seconds dial and sweep second hand are for ornamental purposes only. Plus the hands from the services watch have fitting holes bigger than the pinions on the Oasis so I currently going to paint the Oasis hands with enamel to get a gun metal look. So at the moment I have a Services case and face/dial and crown with the Oasis hands, movement and stem.

Cheers for all the help and advice,

Bern

Bern

[Drew P]

I was just shopping at a local big market store(lots of fun!) and saw their selection of cheapo watches.

All were quartz and some of these were those new-style bigger than a wall clock wrist watch. These might be just what you need= a bigger face with matching hands(you could sand down the circumference to fit), comes with a case ring and should also have an extended winding shaft.

Pardon my lack of correct terms for now, thanks.

Oh, and at another lovely store I saw cheapo pocket watches in quartz!

[Invicta]

Drew P,

I like the sound of those quartz watches! If you get the chance at some point would you mind having a look on the face or case back to see if there is a name/model/serial number please? I will then get Googling.

My progress as of this morning:
Using one of the old 1950s pocket watches. (Case approx. 1 3/4" Dia x 1/2" deep including the glass).
I removed the mechanical parts.
I then put in a plastic case ring of approx. the right size to insert a Miyota 2026 "High Hand" quartz movement.
the reason for using a 2026 is that you need a high hand movement as the face/dial on these older watches is a sandwich of metal, glass and enamel.
I sanded off the dial feet.
Hands I used were from a cheap Chinese wrist watch I had over from the Fossil project watch.
I added a stem extender, cut some styrene to make a packing ring (as the watch case walls are curved and the plastic case rings are vertical) then used a tiny amount of silicone putty to hold all the rings in place within the watch case.
I used dial dots (little sticky pads) to keep the dial/face in place.

The compromise currently is that the sub second hand is fake/cosmetic. Its a piece of the original mechanical movement which I have painted black to match the hour and second hands and stuck into place using a dial dot.

I now need to work out how I fix the sweeping second hand onto the central pinion of the Miyota movement. There is normally a tiny tube inside the main pinion/shaft but on the 2026 this seems to be a solid rod.

So at this time I have the pocket watch working with hour and minute hands doing their thing.

I'll post back when I find a solution to the second hand,
Bern