Acquired a Gruen Guild 15J 3 adj 14K, but need the above crystal.

Ser. 186913; anyone have a source for Gruen serial numbers?? I am guessing from Shugarts that it is 1925 to 1935??

Jim Hathaway
NAWCC #159457
IHC Member #285

hathaway5522@earthlink.net

Jim, maybe I can fit you up with one if I had a pic of the watch.
I have a big bag full of ww crystals but don't know how to match 'em up.

All in little blue envelopes.

Jim,yes,please post photos;I gave a friend 2 cabinets full of ww crystals,so sure he would check and see if one of these is in there.

Sam Williamson
NAWCC 154312
IHC Charter Member 14
Member Chapters 96 and 185

Sam and Mike,

Thank you for your offers. I will have to get a photo posted.
BTW-Rich Kuhn has offered to look the watch over and fit a crystal.

Sounds like there IS a crystal out there somewhere. I too had a friend with a large box of crystals and spent a couple of hours looking but found only three of the correct shape but off a millimeter or two.

Jim Hathaway
NAWCC #159457
IHC Member #285

hathaway5522@earthlink.net

I would take Rich up on his generous offer,it's much better to have the watch in hand for correct fitting.

Sam Williamson
NAWCC 154312
IHC Charter Member 14
Member Chapters 96 and 185

I think I have it this time. Reduced the size of all six.

Jim Hathaway
NAWCC #159457
IHC Member #285

hathaway5522@earthlink.net

more gruen

Jim Hathaway
NAWCC #159457
IHC Member #285

hathaway5522@earthlink.net

next

Jim Hathaway
NAWCC #159457
IHC Member #285

hathaway5522@earthlink.net

#4

Jim Hathaway
NAWCC #159457
IHC Member #285

hathaway5522@earthlink.net

#5

Jim Hathaway
NAWCC #159457
IHC Member #285

hathaway5522@earthlink.net

last one

Jim Hathaway
NAWCC #159457
IHC Member #285

hathaway5522@earthlink.net

Sorry to bore all you collectors, but its fun when you figure it out.

Guess I will send to Rich Kuhn for a little work.

Jim Hathaway
NAWCC #159457
IHC Member #285

hathaway5522@earthlink.net

Sorry, don't have one in my bunch, everything else, but

Jim sent me the watch for a crystal and overhaul. Here is how it turned out. I cleaned the dial as requested. The watch is keeping time and running great. I will wear it for a while just to make sure. Then back to its owner.


Rich Kuhn

NAWCC 128623
IHC Member 155

eMail: rich@watchmakerfinds.com

Web-Site: http://watchmakerfinds.com

eBay Auctions: watchmakerfinds eBay Auctions

picture 2

Picture 3

How in the world did y'all get a watch from Pasco Washington to Strongsville Ohio, get it serviced, and get pictures of it posted here, all in just 2 days?

That's got to be a world record!

========================

Steve Maddox
President, NAWCC Chapter #62
North Little Rock, Arkansas
IHC Charter Member 49

Steve,
I had Scotty beam it to me. And a little BLACK MAGIC!


Rich Kuhn

NAWCC 128623
IHC Member 155

eMail: rich@watchmakerfinds.com

Web-Site: http://watchmakerfinds.com

eBay Auctions: watchmakerfinds eBay Auctions

Hey Steve down in Arkansas-

How is it going on the Rolex?? I know you are a busy man.

Rich is fast isn't he; I just mailed it to him on Thursday, 10/9.

Jim Hathaway
NAWCC #159457
IHC Member #285

hathaway5522@earthlink.net

Jim,

Serious work on your 1955 Rolex, which I received about two weeks ago, has not yet begun. Some of the necessary parts for it were ordered last week, and have not yet been delivered. They may arrive on Monday, or two months from Monday, depending on whether they're backordered or not. In any event, after the parts arrive, it will yet be a matter of weeks before the watch works its way to the top again in the order of rotation.

As you noted, Rolex Service USA has declined to attempt repairs on your 48 year-old watch, and at least one other horologist has already failed in his effort to obtain the necessary parts. If you're in a big hurry to get it back, however, I'll be more than happy to return it to you immediately, and you may forward it to Rich, or anyone else you like.

Again, I strongly urge you to start shipping watches and other delicate and/or valuable items by "Registered Mail," and stop sending them "Next Day." You're not only wasting your money, but putting your watches at more risk than you can possibly know. My wife has been employed with the US Postal Service for the last 9 years, and if I didn't know what I was talking about, I certainly wouldn't have gone to the trouble of offering specific instructions about how to ship such items in the first place.

You asked me privately to work on your watch, and in the future, I'd greatly appreciate it if you'd continue discussing our business matters in private, rather than putting them before the whole world. I think it's fair to say that I'm one of the premier horologists in the country today, but I'm just one man, and if anyone has the impression that I'm soliciting business, or that I don't maintain a significant backlog of work at all times, they're greatly mistaken.

In June of this year, I completed a watch for the the leader of the Mars Exploration Rover Scientific Team, which keeps precise Martian time. As far as anyone knows, that's the first pocket watch ever created to keep time on another planet.

Most of my very limited spare time, I choose to spend here, but that's purely my effort at "public service," to assist people with similar interests, and to promote horlogy in my own small way. I'll match the quality of my work against that of anybody in the world, but I make no attempt to compete with anyone for business, nor for speed.

=============================

Steve Maddox
President, NAWCC Chapter #62
North Little Rock, Arkansas
IHC Charter Member 49

Your Gruen above is not "14k;" it's "14k Reinforced with Metal," which is another way of saying that it's "gold filled."

Also, I apologize if I sounded "grumpy" in my reply above. That certainly wasn't my intention, it's just that there are only so many hours in the day, and I already work all of them that I reasonably can.

======================

SM