tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-46269380724990552232012-01-09T10:26:23.075-06:00A Repositary for Obscure InformationTed Cossinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15542151849202572471noreply@blogger.comBlogger491100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4626938072499055223.post-14511957608983493262011-11-27T09:19:00.001-06:002011-11-27T09:23:39.883-06:00

The Gory Details Was curious as to how Nikon's D50 in-camera JPEG compression compared to that of PhotoShop Elements 6 (PSE6). According to the D50 manual, Nikon's "Fine" jpeg compression is 1:4 and their "Basic" compression (i.e. smaller file size) is 1:16. I was thinking of using Nikon's "Basic" compression quality to save a few steps in PSE6 when making images for auctions or quick forum

Ted Cossinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15542151849202572471noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4626938072499055223.post-85082279797358262432011-11-04T21:10:00.000-05:002011-11-04T21:10:29.980-05:00

1900's Stadler Mabel Enameled Solid Silver Lady's Watch White porcelain dial with no hairline cracks. Breguet-style numerals with red 12. Classic poire shaped hands. Sunken seconds sub-dial. Purple enameled bezel. Clear mineral glass crystal with no dings or major scratches. Fine Swiss hallmarked 0.935 silver case by the Stadler Watch Co. in Solothurn, Switzerland

Ted Cossinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15542151849202572471noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4626938072499055223.post-86971324028637327052011-09-22T22:08:00.003-05:002011-11-27T09:33:43.438-06:00

You want to sell a watch but you're not sure what to ask for it. Too high - it may not sell; too low - you lose out. If you have the time, here's a scientific way to figure a market value. First go to your country's eBay and do a search for the same model as your watch. Then, staying in that search, click on the checkbox that says "completed listing only" or words to that effect. Now start

Ted Cossinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15542151849202572471noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4626938072499055223.post-42497550365210204932011-09-17T13:10:00.001-05:002011-09-17T13:12:24.165-05:00

In the beginning, there was simple HTML which stands for HyperText Markup Language. Couldn't do a lot with it but it was nice to be able to include "hyper" links to related documents or to be able to link to other places within a long document. The ability to link to pictures stored elsewhere was especially welcome as means of creating an illustrated document without having to learn how to "

Ted Cossinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15542151849202572471noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4626938072499055223.post-14158148080732478392011-08-12T13:31:00.000-05:002011-08-12T13:31:11.140-05:00

I've often read that oil can spread around inside a watch and that proper watch oils are designed to "stay in place". I was a little skeptical that oil could move around all by itself until I tried an experiment involving a comparison between Moebius 9010 (a Swiss oil designed for general use in wristwatches) and "Mobil 1" 5W-30 (an automotive engine oil). Here are the results:

Ted Cossinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15542151849202572471noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4626938072499055223.post-3014892147021423442011-07-30T11:14:00.001-05:002011-07-30T11:16:31.867-05:00

Flat crystals have their place in the scheme of things, I suppose, but the one annoying thing is reflections - especially from nearby lamps. By comparison, a domed crystal makes a reflection smaller and, if the underside is equally curved, it's reflection is also smaller. For example, this Stocker & Yale model 490's flat glass crystal shows no mercy when it's under a desk lamp. The standard

Ted Cossinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15542151849202572471noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4626938072499055223.post-72055556218842066352011-06-14T17:53:00.295-05:002011-08-06T10:37:32.846-05:00

Some watch enthusiasts are proud of how bright the luminous paint is on their watches. They publish highly edited photos or use heavy exposure settings and then post a "lume shot" with the full intention of impressing the reader. Others, of a more pedantic persuasion, might wonder exactly how bright their lume is, as measured in (usually) milli-candelas per square meter i.e. mcd/m2. And not all

Ted Cossinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15542151849202572471noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4626938072499055223.post-20460411298862367742011-05-29T15:50:00.004-05:002011-06-08T10:44:11.949-05:00

The later Stocker & Yale military watches had this ugly seconds hand with a huge paddle on it: I've read that the paddle acts as a counter-balance to the much longer arm with the arrow on it - but you can't really judge by just looking at it. However, it can be calculated if you know the areas of the various geometrical figures that go to make up the seconds hand's outline. So I took a

Ted Cossinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15542151849202572471noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4626938072499055223.post-91602882469126688112011-04-28T19:58:00.001-05:002011-04-28T20:14:18.888-05:00

Many of us like to see a smoothly-moving seconds hand, as opposed to that of a quartz watch which clunks it's way around the dial, only occasionally aligning with the marks thereon. And a good few of us think that the higher the beat rate the smoother it will be - which is true to an extent, but why? One could be forgiven for thinking that our so-called "persistence of vision" has something to

Ted Cossinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15542151849202572471noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4626938072499055223.post-46516444837984806782010-12-07T07:19:00.003-06:002010-12-07T07:41:23.367-06:00

Let's say that you bought a perfect watch on January 1, 1972. By perfect, we mean that each and every second measured by this hypothetical watch is exactly equal to a SI second - defined in 1967 as "the duration of 9,192,631,770 periods of the radiation corresponding to the transition between the two hyperfine levels of the ground state of the caesium 133 atom". Let's say also that, comforted

Ted Cossinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15542151849202572471noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4626938072499055223.post-72138090037351266642010-11-29T12:52:00.003-06:002011-10-09T11:27:42.293-05:00

My Military Frankenwatch Sorry, this article has been moved to my website, please click here Best regards, xpatUSA

Ted Cossinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15542151849202572471noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4626938072499055223.post-84715512873664381282010-11-18T20:34:00.002-06:002010-11-18T21:01:47.588-06:00

Made by the Swiss Gallet Watch Co for Marathon, the 6 prototypes were called "Desert Storm" on the dials. I wonder why? This one is a 1990, steel-bodied, signed "Marathon". Have a look: The Harley-Ronda 373 movement was ticking - but only moving the seconds hand back and forth, even with a fresh battery. A spare movement from my parts bin fixed that problem. The bi-directional bezel

Ted Cossinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15542151849202572471noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4626938072499055223.post-2223178089705535012010-08-12T21:38:00.000-05:002010-11-05T09:53:39.711-05:00

My First Built-up Door CasingOur 12x24 ft. Shack is of plain construction, more or less Southern Country style, conventional wood framing with a shed roof, supported on concrete blocks. Inside, it is equally plain. Thin, faux white pine walls and no trim work until now. After several years of living under 2x6 rafters and drooping insulation held up by staples, a start was finally made on the

Ted Cossinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15542151849202572471noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4626938072499055223.post-30001393804409555302010-04-19T13:14:00.000-05:002010-11-05T09:53:39.746-05:00

Many guitarists use harmonics to tune up by ear, or to check their tuning. For example, they might ping the A string over the 7th fret and then ping the bottom E string over the 5th fret. Or ping over the 7th and 5th frets for any other pair of strings (except B and G which are pinged over the 5th and 4th frets respectively). We might expect these pinged tones to sound exactly the same, ie in

Ted Cossinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15542151849202572471noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4626938072499055223.post-86465040274436318482010-04-16T14:03:00.000-05:002010-11-05T09:53:39.766-05:00

Well, here it is . . .I built this "Schallercaster" guitar as a contrast to my "Yamacaster" (Yamaha Pacifica). I was looking for a jazz/latin/blues sound and had some Schaller Golden 50's pickups lying around with nothing to do. I had bought the neck some time back, was it a Mighty Mite? - I forget. The neck is of the wider variety and pretty flat, thereby suiting my long fingers. The body was

Ted Cossinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15542151849202572471noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4626938072499055223.post-44572731153768055312010-04-16T12:42:00.000-05:002010-11-05T09:53:39.791-05:00

Hello guitar-pickers,Time for a bit wiring action . . .Here's the pickguard with the stuff installed but not yet wired. It's a custom leftie from Warmouth. I added two extra holes between the pickups for extra pickup support. Just one volume and one tone control, it's all I need. I'm looking for a Gibson sound - but without having to reach down there to mess with all those 4 knobs and then up

Ted Cossinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15542151849202572471noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4626938072499055223.post-45542750066699483772010-04-11T22:13:00.000-05:002010-11-05T09:53:39.810-05:00

Hello guitar-pickers,More progress this week. Even had some strings on for a while!Put the Schaller machines on - silky smooth feel. The holes were 3/8" but, being German, the post sleeves are 10mm - so a bit of filing was needed. I don't like the string tree on the 5th & 6th strings, it will be removed. Too steep an angle over the nut and heavy string wear - even just installing them seriously

Ted Cossinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15542151849202572471noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4626938072499055223.post-19912386301705973152010-04-06T09:15:00.000-05:002010-11-05T09:53:39.830-05:00

Hello guitar-pickers,The next step was to fill in the pre-existing tremolo hole in the body. I will be fitting a Schaller hard-tail (non-tremolo) bridge. Full of promise, the saddles are adjustable sideways - in addition to the usual up/down and back/forward. By that means, the string spread will be made perfect and then locked in place with the built-in cam screw.So, I'll be needing to fill the

Ted Cossinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15542151849202572471noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4626938072499055223.post-72818011591343312452010-04-04T14:44:00.000-05:002010-11-05T09:53:39.847-05:00

Hello guitar-pickers,I'm building a Strat-style from bits and pieces. Many of the bits were made by Schaller, in what was West Germany. Since my "Yamacaster" (Pacifica)has been reverted back to single-pole for the neck and middle pickups, I'm going to go Les Paul and use a pair of Schaller Golden 50's humbuckers combined with a Schaller 475 hard-tail bridge. The machines are also by Schaller so,

Ted Cossinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15542151849202572471noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4626938072499055223.post-16474247320459353662009-11-13T10:57:00.001-06:002011-10-11T00:05:09.555-05:00

I like vintage rectangular watches, popularized by Cartier in the form of their famous "tank" watch. Have you ever wondered how watch designers come up with the proportions, e.g. dial width x height, used in that kind of watch? After all, a rectangle can be virtually a square or, at the other extreme, almost a line! Surely their bosses didn't just say "draw me a dial for our latest answer to le

Ted Cossinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15542151849202572471noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4626938072499055223.post-10590087657075767422009-10-13T14:40:00.002-05:002011-10-09T11:40:09.924-05:00

It's not too hard (assuming that the bezel marks are engraved). Use Tesors or Humbrol modeling enamel and some really good quality fine artist's brushes. Here's my Longines Weems bezel, before and after. Paint the marks and numbers, doesn't matter if you go over the edge of the engraving. Wait until the paint gets tacky. Wet, but do not soak, a cloth in thinners or acetone. A nap-free cloth

Ted Cossinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15542151849202572471noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4626938072499055223.post-50812273189217273552009-08-14T10:34:00.001-05:002010-11-25T20:32:28.463-06:00

These military backs are really hard to remove. If you do manage to struggle one off, putting it back on ain't that easy, either. I'm sure that there are proper tools out there that will do the job perfectly but, if you're brave, here's how I do it. First, using a small screwdriver or a plastic cocktail stick, put a few drops of your favorite penetrating oil around the join and leave it for a

Ted Cossinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15542151849202572471noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4626938072499055223.post-12382918466805039492009-06-28T10:16:00.000-05:002009-09-02T00:40:19.173-05:00

When a reference is made to wabi, it is usually made with respect to the external aspects of a watch - a dinged-up body, scratched crystal, a repair and so forth. The word itself derives from the Japanese phrase wabi-sabi, see Wikipedia here."Wikepedia" wrote:Wabi . . . . . can also refer to quirks and anomalies arising from the process of construction, which add uniqueness and elegance to the

Ted Cossinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15542151849202572471noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4626938072499055223.post-90893583381860363892009-05-25T22:52:00.000-05:002009-05-27T19:26:24.227-05:00

Modern movements are mostly mass-produced - in fact, it has been said that some are untouched by human hand.  While the technology and the use of exotic materials has progressed indeed, there is something enduring about a movement made the "old-fashioned" way.  In the first half of the 20th century, Hamilton was in the forefront of American watch manufacture.  This 987 movement was made at the

Ted Cossinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15542151849202572471noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4626938072499055223.post-28275456291254360102009-05-22T20:06:00.000-05:002009-06-13T01:52:55.405-05:00

Saw this nice-looking Hamilton on eBay and was lucky enough to win it. When it arrived the Art Deco influence was quite obvious. The phrase "Art Deco" was derived from a 1925 Paris exhibition - the "Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes" - see here for more about that. Art Deco succeeded the Art Nouveau movement which was full of natural motifs e.g. vines,

Ted Cossinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15542151849202572471noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4626938072499055223.post-32266172780508425452009-04-05T01:39:00.000-05:002009-04-24T00:18:19.720-05:00

Some time back I was less than complimentary when comparing a newly acquired (eBay) Breitling Aerospace to the trusty Citizen Wingman, See here.Well, after I worked out that I can set it to local Solar time and still have Central Daylight time on the LCD, I began to warm to it a little. But somehow after making that adjustment, the hands would show up slow to the sun after a day or so. The LCD

Ted Cossinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15542151849202572471noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4626938072499055223.post-49594354613166077722009-03-12T13:01:00.000-05:002009-03-12T13:05:53.535-05:00

A gold watch owned by Abraham Lincoln bears a message marking the start of the U.S. Civil War, but the president never knew of the "secret" inscription uncovered on Tuesday at the National Museum of American History.Click here for full story and a link to some pics.Makes quite a change from just the watchmaker's initials or State license number!Best regards,xpatUSA

Ted Cossinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15542151849202572471noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4626938072499055223.post-91901036325837400212009-02-05T07:53:00.001-06:002011-10-09T15:05:53.878-05:00

Well it took a week to get here via U.S. parcel post for which I paid $20.00 a là classic eBay transaction with the over-priced shipping. I put it straight to work . . . . It's the SuperQuartz model no E75362, blue dial. I have to admit to not falling immediately in love with it, in spite of it's name and general reverence among our community. Pros: Accurate, simple layout, titanium, medium

Ted Cossinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15542151849202572471noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4626938072499055223.post-66184295609146488962008-09-30T21:00:00.000-05:002008-09-30T22:00:27.742-05:00

Occasionally, it's nice to wear a high-quality vintage watch. It tells the time and nothing else. So any activities to do with time required some mental effort, maybe even a little mental arithmetic in the form of base 60 addition or subtraction. Such effort is good exercise for the mind, thereby keeping it in good condition.The other day, I was wearing this beautiful watch:(more pictures here).

Ted Cossinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15542151849202572471noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4626938072499055223.post-65032127290920743542008-07-30T02:00:00.000-05:002008-12-13T04:36:54.335-06:00

I've read a lot of reviews of quite expensive or rare watches. But sometimes a cheapie comes along that represents an awesome value for money. One of my many watches was bought on eBay when it's auction was just about to close at $2.99 and no bids. $2.99??!!! I just couldn't resist snapping it up! SWMBO took a liking to it, and I've just installed it's second battery. Seems like it was part of a

Ted Cossinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15542151849202572471noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4626938072499055223.post-91693936713064818582008-05-30T12:47:00.001-05:002011-10-09T15:03:01.521-05:00

I prefer hours - good for other time zones, like eBay, or for living by solar time with one eye on the real world. But, on the other hand, I often need to time something in minutes. I also find that uni-directional bezels are a pain because I don't actually scuba-dive daily. And how do you set half-hours on a 60-clicker? So, in my mind, I just bought this SandYathon: The bezel would be

Ted Cossinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15542151849202572471noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4626938072499055223.post-59507709126089210712008-05-29T10:21:00.000-05:002008-05-31T15:02:49.803-05:00

Old measure wasn't much of a problem BC (before computers). We mixed together all kinds of units and bases but we were quite used to them. The Brits coped quite admirably with pounds, shillings, pence and even the occasional sovereign up until the early 70's when Heath took them kicking and screaming into the E.U., or EEC as it was known back then. To this day, Americans still struggle on

Ted Cossinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15542151849202572471noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4626938072499055223.post-25468552705998710352008-05-28T22:02:00.000-05:002008-05-28T22:37:18.277-05:00

I've serviced a good few Hamilton GG-W-113's over the past year and have become accustomed to various engraving styles used to designate their 17-jewel Cal. 649 ebauche ETA 2750. Some are even marked "seventeen 17 jewels unadjusted" with no mention at all of "H W Co Inc" & "649".But, until today, I've never seen this style - the movement is from a one-piece case model dated May 1982:The turned

Ted Cossinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15542151849202572471noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4626938072499055223.post-28432787563090103142008-05-25T12:12:00.000-05:002008-05-26T17:48:45.961-05:00

Having recently purchased a 38-LED 2-Watt UV lamp, I decided to take some lume shots. UV light is best for charging photo-luminescent paint, see my article on watch lume. Here's the set-up:When I switched on the lamp, the watch lume glowed like it was on fire!! However, the first shot was a little disappointing and there seemed to be no camera setting that brought out the brightness. It seemed

Ted Cossinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15542151849202572471noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4626938072499055223.post-90228783376250947742008-05-24T12:17:00.001-05:002010-07-10T09:52:59.697-05:00

Hi All,This 1981 watch sits on my work bench all the time. The only functions that work correctly on it are the chronograph and the countdown timer.Here it is, in all it's glory!It was quite a fancy watch in it's day. 60g of heft, 20mm lugs, 13mm thick and a 41mm slide-rule bezel. It sports gold trim on the bezel, gold pushers, a white dial and the well-known Citizen C300 movement. This movement

Ted Cossinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15542151849202572471noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4626938072499055223.post-52578576877182520572008-05-24T07:47:00.001-05:002011-08-07T08:58:10.680-05:00

It was so fascinating to see those stress patterns that I just had to play a little more. This time, the goal was to simulate the gap between a cap and a pivot jewel such as found on a balance cock. The top of a pivot jewel is slightly curved and the bottom of a cap is flat. When oiling balance pivots, the goal is to provide sufficient oil to form a ring of oil around the end of the pivot between

Ted Cossinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15542151849202572471noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4626938072499055223.post-69544949512370851412008-05-23T17:23:00.001-05:002011-08-07T07:58:23.867-05:00

Oiling a watch movement is serious business. If you use the wrong oil, there's plenty of people out there to wag their finger at you and say "I told you so!". On the other hand, Swiss watch oil is pretty expensive and some might be tempted to seek alternatives. On a whim, I decided to compare Swiss watch oil with automotive synthetic oil. After all, motor oil is designed for a much harsher

Ted Cossinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15542151849202572471noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4626938072499055223.post-28587521174859894732008-03-29T08:26:00.000-05:002009-09-24T08:06:33.641-05:00

In the past, humans arose with the Sun, went to work (with perhaps a break for lunch at noon) and quit their labors at Sundown. All very natural.Then came clocks with equal hours followed by minutes and finally seconds. Now we have to have the most accurate watch possible in order to keep in sync with what could be called "civil time" complete with timezones and the changing of the clocks twice a

Ted Cossinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15542151849202572471noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4626938072499055223.post-90775891765501286002008-02-03T08:59:00.000-06:002008-05-15T16:21:54.148-05:00

Our "tool" watches usually have a water resistance rating marked on them somewhere. The term "water resistance" is the liberal, politically correct version of the older and proudly unambiguous "water-proof". The rating is usually marked in meters - but it never says what kind of fluid those meters represent. Certainly, if I plunged my watch 200 meters deep into a pool of mercury I would expect

Ted Cossinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15542151849202572471noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4626938072499055223.post-35913236927770876562008-01-29T18:33:00.000-06:002008-01-29T18:39:47.259-06:00

So, there you are, cruising along at 36,000 feet and the cabin door blows out. Will your watch crystal pop out or not? Would you really care? If so, read on . . .The force on the crystal is the pressure differential between the outside and inside of the watch, multiplied by the area of the crystal.Most planes are pressurized inside to about the equivalent of 8,000 feet and airliners fly at around

Ted Cossinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15542151849202572471noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4626938072499055223.post-38302889549796399362008-01-25T12:43:00.000-06:002008-05-15T16:27:48.263-05:00

When you've collected more than a few watches, there comes a time when you want sell one or two - or you're unsure which ones to keep.  You look at one and you want to keep it but it's lume is poor - or this other one keeps perfect time but it's ugly, etc, etc.  Then, when you've looked at them all, you have to remember what you thought about each one.  There is also a problem for many folks in

Ted Cossinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15542151849202572471noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4626938072499055223.post-22398339889420597782008-01-22T09:12:00.000-06:002008-01-22T09:48:09.414-06:00

Many people think that the most precious metal available in a wristwatch would be platinum or possibly palladium. Surprisingly, that is incorrect. The most precious metal found in watches is probably staring up at you as you glance at the time. I refer to rhodium - often used to impart a good shine to watch hands or dial markers because of it's high reflectance. There's quite a good article on

Ted Cossinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15542151849202572471noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4626938072499055223.post-5884631681614147852007-12-10T11:04:00.000-06:002007-12-10T11:56:47.797-06:00

Days, months and years are all based on easily observed natural events. But where did the "hour" come from? Why 24?According to a book I have, the origin lies with the ancient Egyptians and comes to us via the Babylonians, Greeks and the Romans.Sometime in the third millenium (3000 - 2000 B.C.) the Egyptian administration felt the need for an official year, nicely sub-divided. They observed (most

Ted Cossinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15542151849202572471noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4626938072499055223.post-9690270560006375552007-11-22T09:21:00.000-06:002008-05-15T17:06:34.553-05:00

From time to time, I find lines scratched inside vintage watches. I even posted a pic last year of my 1906 Waltham wire lug watch bezel but nobody seemed to know back then.The penny finally dropped as I took it apart yesterday and made notes, as I do these days. I duly noted down the Wadsworth case serial number xxx9394 and then removed the bezel. By chance, the scratches were lit and oriented

Ted Cossinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15542151849202572471noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4626938072499055223.post-49278680061393811062007-11-14T17:11:00.000-06:002009-08-07T06:36:40.360-05:00

Probably not, I'm pleased to say.  Please read on . . .This question came to mind while I was mowing the lawn.  I had glanced down at my wrist to check the time and, to my horror, I saw that, instead of my Traser "beater", I was wearing a vintage 1929 Bulova cut-corner watch with no shock protection on the balance jewels.  Not only that but, because of the unbalanced mower blade and general

Ted Cossinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15542151849202572471noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4626938072499055223.post-88109737982963402552007-11-05T11:27:00.001-06:002011-10-09T15:30:08.724-05:00

Somebody said on a popular watch forum:I've heard the best way to keep a watch for a long time - especially allowing the lubricant's condition - is to pack it in a vacuum [bag] and store it in a freezer (-18 degrees C).Myself, I think it's pretty good way to mess up a watch . .1) Take an expensive watch at room temperature 20 C and a not unreasonable 60% relative humidity (RH) inside the watch.2)

Ted Cossinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15542151849202572471noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4626938072499055223.post-21957181724468863322007-10-23T11:23:00.000-05:002008-05-15T17:13:40.481-05:00

This is really about the different ways of representing "the equation", but first a little preamble. (or you could Google "equation of time" and view all 94,700 results :wink:)Watches are, of course, mainly instruments to measure the passage of "time". However, "time" in that context is a man-made concept and is dependent on the machinations of atomic clocks and such-like. Furthermore, the

Ted Cossinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15542151849202572471noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4626938072499055223.post-23782742316965338892007-10-22T02:37:00.001-05:002011-10-09T15:39:40.514-05:00

As I recall, you can buy a special filter to get the sunburst effect - but the tiny sparkle below, just above the balance jewel, was completely accidental and no filter was used! My setup uses three lamps, hence the six-pointer. You'll notice that the angles between the points and the point intensities are not equal because of my unequal lamp placements and distances. So, how did the sparkle

Ted Cossinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15542151849202572471noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4626938072499055223.post-52197303194533189302007-10-18T06:35:00.000-05:002007-11-06T22:06:39.570-06:00

People tend to fear that all kinds of nasty stuff will rush into their watches the moment the slightest opening appears, such as when setting the time.  Rest easy - it just ain't so.  Stuff only gets in if air flows in.  Air only flows if there is a pressure difference to cause it to do so.  Usually there is no difference in pressure between the inside and outside of your watch - even sealed ones

Ted Cossinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15542151849202572471noreply@blogger.com0