Movements
Doxa Aquaman Quartz Watch: How to Change the Battery
This quick video tutorial will show you how to replace the battery on your Doxa Aquaman Swiss Quartz Watch.
This video is for informational purposes only. We do not recommend changing the battery in your luxury timepiece yourself. Take your watches to a Certified Master Watchmaker that you trust.
The movement featured in this watch is caliber Ronda 705.
Hamilton Khaki X-Wind
This Hamilton Khaki X-Wind chronograph watch is model H77696793. It has a Swiss made automatic movement with 25 jewels. It is the tried and tested caliber Valjoux 7750, which is often recognizable by the feeling of the rotor spinning powerfully inside. One of the reasons for this mini-helicopter-like spinning is because the rotor on a 7750 doesn’t ratchet backwards.
The case is stainless steel, but finished with a high quality gold plating that is 10 microns. The diameter is a comfortable 44mm (and approximately 50mm including crowns on the right and left) with a thickness of 16mm. The black dial is actually black carbon fiber with rose gold Arabic numerals. The layout of the dial features a day/date window at 9:00 and an internal bi-directional rotating bezel – controlled by the crown located at 4:00. The outer bezel is black (this is available in rose gold tone on other models) and also bi-directional rotating.
The original Hamilton strap is black leather with a carbon fiber texture that matches the dial. The “H” tang buckle is an especially nice touch. If you want to changeto a NATO or other style strap, the lug width is 22mm. The total weight of this watch is 142g. The crystal is a scratch resistant sapphire. Equipped with a screw-down crown, the X-Wind has a depth rating of 100m. This set from KeepTheTime.com includes the Hamilton boxes, manual, warranty card. It is in unworn condition.
Retail Price: $1,795
Kobold “Spirit of America” Titanium
Simplistic yet stylish, this Kobold Spirit of America is housed in a titanium case with a perfect finish. It is model KD657122 and is powered by a mechanical hand-wound Unitas 6497 which was modified into the Kobold caliber K.421. The movement has 17 jewels and a 50 hour power reserve. The case measures just over 44mm without the crown and just over 48mm with the crown. The watch sits 13.5mm high on the wrist and has a lug width of 22mm in case you ever want to buy an extra strap for it. It comes with a Kobold handmade leather strap installed and a brand new and still in the plastic extra strap of the same description. The crystal is a scratch-resistant sapphire with anti-reflective coating. The exhibition caseback is also a sapphire crystal. The Spirit of America has a depth rating of 100m or 330ft. The crown is push and pull style and winds the movement. The Spirit of America was also Kobold Watch Company’s first watch to be completely assembled in the United States. It retails for $3,350. (more…)
How to Open a Fusee Pocket Watch Case
How do you get the cover off? We’re sometimes asked us how to open antique fusee pocket watches, so here is a video to help everyone navigate their way through a case and locking mechanism seen in most fusee style pocket watches.
According to Wikipedia, a fusee is a cone-shaped pulley with a spiral groove around it, wound with a cord or chain which is attached to the mainspring barrel. Fusees were used from the 1400s to the early 1900s to improve timekeeping by equalizing the uneven pull of the mainspring as it ran down. Read the full article
KeepTheTime.com is constantly adding new watches to our inventory. Please check out our pocket watch collection here.
Baselworld 2010: Nienaber Bunde Independent Watchmaker
Nienaber Bunde Antero Watch at Baselworld 2010
In our search for a noteworthy independent watch company, we found Rainer Nienaber from Nienaber Bunde Watch Company. Rainer was demonstrating his new hand made Antero timepiece in the independent watchmaker’s area on the second floor of Hall 1 during Baselworld 2010.
“The purist”
A vintage car’s revolution counter was the inspiration behind this original watch, which indicates the current time by an hours hand alone. Due to its scale, the time can be read with an accuracy of approximately 5 minutes. The small seconds hand is used as a function control. The hours hand skips over the 9 on the dial (anterograde display) so that the seconds hand is not concealed. The design of the dial and hands was adapted from a technical measuring instrument from the 1940s.
A manually wound ETA/Unitas 6497 movement with a power reserve of more than 40 hours ensures that this unusual timepiece runs smoothly. The 42 mm stainless steel casing is 12 mm deep and fitted with two sapphire glasses. The upper glass has an anti-reflective coating.
