Ain't she pretty? She's a Jaeger-Lecoultre ladies' movement out of an early '70s cocktail watch. I've got the watch, too. She cost me all of $17. Know why the balance is blurry? Because she runs. She wasn't supposed to. That's why she cost $17. But some lunkhead had bent the minute hand over double so it was stuck. Unbend the minute hand and suddenly it ticks. Needs refurbishing but that's just fine. Because here's the reality: - I bike 2500 miles and work 60 hours a week in Los Angeles - And go to 21 credits of CNC and jewelry classes - Because ultimately, opening up tiny, beautiful creatures like this is transformative. It is the fist pump. It is that moment where everything is all right. And it doesn't matter that I'm on hour 13 of my day and it doesn't matter that the 350lb roommate managed to give me athlete's foot on my palm and it doesn't matter that I'll have to be awake again in 7 hours and I haven't even made it home yet because that, right there, is the ultimate cross-pollination between "things that are beautiful" and "things that are mechanical" and it feels so right. Realized today that my CNC classes are about 75% asian dudes. Realized that about the same time I observed that my jewelry class is about 75% white women. Watches? I mean holy shit we've got two whole girls in there this time which means we're at fully 25% integrated but the amazing thing - to me - is that they're all happy to see me. It's weird when your life is so utterly and completely compartmentalized to recognize that you're warmly welcomed wherever you go. I'm not sure when that happened. Maybe it's always been that way but I've been entirely too fucked up on the inside to see it. Right now there's a wrap party I'm not at. There's a producer there who's going to be upset about that. And like quite a few TV stars who will feel similarly. And that's a weird feeling, too. Yeah, I couldn't hang out in Hollywood 'cuz I was too busy in art class. Citizen is trying to sell me a Swiss lathe. They're fond of saying "well of course we make watch parts on our lathes - they're Citizens!" and then they flash the Citizen on their wrist. And then you say "what do you have in the 5mm regime?" and they say "we've got something that goes down to 7." And then you say "do you make watches on that?" and they say "erm, well, we make the watches on a 4mm machine that we don't really sell in this country." And then you say "uh huh. Get back to me when you can price me an R04." I have an instructor that suggests we buy the $20 tool instead of the $16 tool because "she knows it's expensive but it's worth it." And I'm haggling over the price of a $170k machine tool. Guessin' that's "boujie."
I may have told you before that I took jewelry making as an elective in college. I think it was all women except me and a graduate aide but that was a long time ago. I didn’t know what to expect going in but I really liked it and thought about getting another emphasis in my BFA in jewelry but I was in my last semester and already had doubts about how much I'd spent on one useless degree. I maybe should have done it because bench jeweler is a more common job than sculptor. My fist bump moment was my first successful sweat solder. Soon as I saw that solder flow into place and took the torch off I think I did some sort of victory gesture. Lucky I didn’t burn anyone
Mmmmm that movement is gorgeous. Is the casing in good condition as well? If so that’s a pretty penny for such a small fix. It seems like such an odd error-you have to actually take the movement out to bend the minute hand. Who is opening watches and thinks that a bent minute hand trashes the watch?
The case is certainly restorable. It could use a new crystal but they all can from back then. Here's a secret: women's watches are cheap. Particularly small women's watches. Go surf eBay for the favorite unattainable brand of your choice, hand-wound, women's watch, go from lowest price. I see nine Rolexes for under $200. And when you're dumping estate jewelry, you take what you can get. So when that JLC goes for $7 (plus $10 shipping!) yeah you're mad but it's one thing out of a thousand you're unloading. But yeah I'm pretty tickled.
Oh brilliant, there's so much beautiful junk. I have small wrists, I may actually be able to pull something off here. If not at least I have my next mothers day gift set. I hope she enjoys broken watches I broke even further while cracking them open.
If a good deal comes around I'll probably pick one up. You're a horrible influence man... I've already spent close to $5k this year on watches, and I'm planning on picking up a Garmin fenix 5 once my pro deal comes through.