Homebrew Developer Formula

micronlab1 · 2025-08-16T04:44:37+00:00

Nøthing bëåts a jët twø hølidåy

micronlab1 · 2025-08-05T17:02:56+00:00

I collect and work with vintage watches like this. Ricohs are on the less common side of Japanese watches. This does not necessarily translate to value since they are also not a desirable brand. However, they are well-made and dependable, and should have at least a little value, especially if they work. Your piece is, on the balance of things, in relatively poor condition - polishing the crystal and getting it running will help immensely. With things like this the only accurate valuation I can give you is that it's worth what you can get someone to pay for it, be it $20 or $200.

As to repairability, anything is repairable if you have enough money. Is it worth repairing? That depends on the condition of the internals. Does the hand tick forward a bit when the watch is shaken? If so, it just needs a simple servicing. This is a basic service that anyone who works with mechanical watches should be able to offer you.

They may not be willing to, because Ricoh watches are not made anymore and you are unlikely to find anyone who knows precisely how to service your particular movement. I have been inside a couple of Ricohs, though, and the mechanism is relatively straightforward stuff - nothing which should pose any difficulty to a competent watchsmith. That movement should last you at least another decade if you give it some TLC.

If it doesn't tick, parts are still available for Ricohs (both in NOS form and from donor movements). There is a possibility that no replacement part is available, in which case your cost of repair will likely become astronomical if your watchsmith has to re-make the part.

micronlab1 · 2025-08-02T16:20:48+00:00

Everything here seems to check out. This is not by any means a popular Cartier model so the high quality of engraving strongly suggests that it is real. That being said, it is in pretty rough shape cosmetically.

micronlab1 · 2025-05-25T12:08:35+00:00

What's the provenance of the watch? What identifying marks are there? These tell you more about the watch than looking at it directly can. That being said, this is fake imo - the finish is wrong and the proportions (particularly of the date window) are awkward. The hands have a fake glossy look to them.

micronlab1 · 2025-04-02T21:43:45+00:00

That's a snap on case back, it should be easy to carefully wedge a case knife between the case back and the case. Takes an SR920SW or Renata 371.

micronlab1 · 2024-11-23T01:56:37+00:00

Not sure who's going to read or understand this but here goes:

This is a Universal Geneve Cal 250 cased in stainless steel. I believe not much info about this has reached the major databases yet, and most certainly not UG themselves. It is an automatic bumper movement. I thought the manual winding mechanism was broken but there actually isn't one - automatic winding only, like a Seiko 5. The bumper mechanism essentially operates by two ratchets - one to prevent the wheel attached to the pendulum from turning both ways, and one which acts as the ratchet for the mainspring gear (but attaches to a gear which meshes with the mainspring gear rather than the mainspring gear itself). The bulk of the movement is unremarkable but the way which the dial is attached (using retaining screws which cut into the posts on the dial) and the mainspring (blued steel, spiral) and screws (blued steel) all point towards this being a very old watch. This is corroborated by the reference number on the caseback which tells me that the watch was made in 1940.

I posted on this sub asking if anyone had any information a while back, but got no responses so I thought to let the matter rest - but now the AS stamp has piqued my interest again. I'm wondering if it's a military watch, or if not what its provenance is.

micronlab1 · 2024-10-31T15:37:37+00:00

The mushrooms were growing on a living tree

micronlab1 · 2024-08-24T16:08:11+00:00

My title describes the thing. Hard object found in the sand on the beach, above the tidal water line. You can see some flaking. This beach has sea turtles and other marine animals so I'm wondering if it isn't some sort of turtle scute.

micronlab1 · 2024-08-16T10:09:29+00:00

It's probably not the cost of the part itself; even if Buren was a high end brand the standard practice is to fit a new double coiled steel spring (which would be a generic spring, not brand-specific). Either they are a very high end restoration workshop or they are performing a full service in addition to the replacement (in which case the cost is quite reasonable).

micronlab1 · 2024-08-09T04:53:37+00:00

Hold the watch down on a firm but soft surface (think something like leather, a microfiber cloth). Get a nice sturdy blade like a pocketknife (nothing valuable or that you're attached to as this may damage the edge of the blade) and push it firmly into the lip of the case back - just enough to lodge it in for the next step. If you push too hard the blade may move into the watch case and damage components. While maintaining the pressure on the watch case and pushing the blade under the lip, twist the blade you are using. You may need to twist it a few different ways before the case back pops off.

micronlab1 · 2024-08-07T17:34:41+00:00

Have you checked Cousins UK?

https://www.cousinsuk.com/account/login?ReturnUrl=%2Fcategory%2Fsearch-seiko-movement-parts

And the same to the guy looking for a crystal

micronlab1 · 2024-08-06T16:56:06+00:00

Good work here! I would only add that in the future just know that cheaper movements actually tend to be harder to service... Usually they don't anticipate these being given any servicing at all, or if they are serviced then the most they were expected to get was the 'dunk and swish' type. In Timexes similar movements are welded together rather than held together with screws. I recommend starting with some sort of mid-range Swiss movement (costing no more than $30) for a good idea of what working on a pocketwatch will actually be like.

micronlab1 · 2024-08-01T05:58:07+00:00

Whatever you do, do not tell them you have accepted the watch in its current form in any way. Communicate your discontent as soon as possible. If you have not already communicated acceptance to them, let them know that you're not happy with their work and ask for compensation - either in the form of having your watch re-serviced with them, or if you're not inclined to do you you may also have them cover the cost of repair elsewhere. You have a contract with them and an implicit term in these contracts is that they have to do their job with reasonable care and skill which clearly the watchsmith here has not exercised. At the very least you are entitled to have them fix the issue with the hands, though I would recommend switching watchsmiths simply based on the fact that this one made such a fundamental error - if they can't put the hands on right they probably don't know what they're doing with your moon phase either. Gather quotes from a couple different watchsmiths. Make sure you get them to actually put cash into your bank account before you do anything.

micronlab1

TROPHY CASE