Watchmaker Blog - Time To Go Vintage

Coming Soon

Mark Peskin — Thu, 01 May 2025 00:23:46 +0000

Another batch of interesting watches awaiting restoration…

First off we have this nice Bulova tank with some lovely scroll work framing the dial

Next, another Bulova from a completely different era. This one has a much more modern look, with calendar and automatic winding.

Another cool Waltham with a red second pointer. The case on this one is pretty rough, but we can fix that…

Finally, a really clean Tissot SeaStar automatic with a stainless stell case.

Coming Soon

Mark Peskin — Fri, 18 Apr 2025 01:39:24 +0000

I tend to focus on men’s watches, but that’s hardly fair to the other half of humanity, so this week’s new arrivals are a trio of nice women’s vintage Tissots fresh from an estate sale. Let’s take a look…

We’ll kick off with small - a nice 26mm Day/Date Tissot Automatic with a fluted bezel.

Too big? How about this 23mm Tissot dress watch?

Finally, at only 21mm, we have this tiny SeaStar Automatic. The movement, which is only 18mm in diameter, will definitely be the smallest full automatic movement I’ve worked on.

Coming Soon

Mark Peskin — Thu, 03 Apr 2025 00:07:52 +0000

Some new restoration projects just showed up on my doorstep. Let take a look…

Leading off, a nice automatic Gruen

Second, a compact little 30mm Benrus sub-second manual with a nice tapisserie dial.

This Tavannes appears to be in excellent condition for its age. Tavannes has quite a cool brand history, so I’m looking forward to digging into this one.

Finally, we have this quite early example of an Omega wrist watch from 1925. Hopefully a full restoration will be a nice 100th birthday present!

Coming Soon

Mark Peskin — Fri, 28 Mar 2025 00:52:16 +0000

Some new restoration projects just showed up on my doorstep. Let take a look…

First we have this neat little Wittnauer with as stainless steel case. Not sure those hands are original, but they look good.

Next, a Bulova tank with a nice, clean dial.

This Waltham automatic will be looking sharp with a case restoration and a new crystal.

This black face Gruen automatic is mechamically quite similar to this previously-sold watch, with the same movement.

Finally, we have something really special: A Telus triple caledar, pointer date with moon phase, sporting a beaurtiful Cortebert 677 movement.

Coming Soon

Mark Peskin — Sat, 22 Mar 2025 04:13:59 +0000

Some new restoration projects just showed up on my doorstep. Let take a look…

First off is this nice, basic Bulova. Thus one won’t wind or set, so I’m expecting to find a bit of carnage in the keyless works. I have my doubts about the originality of the hands as well, so I might replace that red second hand with something that looks more “correct” on this watch.

Next we have… another Bulova! This time with a black dial and a stainless steel case, which is nice. Looks like those hands will need some work, though - I see some restoration and replating in their future.

Last, but certainly not least, we have something quite special - a very cool 1950s Girard Perregaux automatic. This one acts like it wants to run, so I have a good feeling about the movement. The hands need to be re-lumed, and the stainless steel case could benefit from some TLC, but with a fresh crystal this is going to be a real looker when I’m done with it.

Coming Soon

Mark Peskin — Wed, 19 Mar 2025 21:46:13 +0000

I’m kicking off a new blog series, Coming Soon, that will provide a sneak peek at new, yet-to-be-restored watches that I have just aquired. Eventually, if all goes well, these will find their way to the shop, so these posts will be a good way to keep an eye on upcoming offerings (something that several customers have asked about).

If you have a strong interest in one of these watches, contact me. I will make sure to let you know when they are finished and released for sale.

Since this is the first post, I’ve got a bit of a backlog to go over:

First we have this black face Orvin manual, which has an interesting geometric case lug design. It will definitely need a new crystal and some case work. It’s also missing a crown, but fortunately the stem is still intact so fitting a new crown shouldn’t be a big issue.

Next we have this really interesting Bulova dress watch with a really classy 2-tone dial. The original plating has worn though on the lugs so this might be a candidate for a full case restoration. Hopefully the scratches on the crystal will polish out, because finding new replacements for these can be challenging.

This cool Waltham manual has CZ indices - something that doesn’t usually appeal to me but which works in this watch, perhaps because of the concentric ring pattern on the dial. It obviously needs a new crystl, but the case is in relatively good condition.

A nice Wittnauer manual with a really interesting dial texture.

Here’s a really unique Hamilton tank with a slightly concave sides and a two tone dial. I like this one so much I might keep it for myself. Hmmm….

Really upping the game here, this Winnauer, with a stainless steel case, is the first of two chronographs that will eventually be for sale on the store. Restoring these takes some extra effort, as the chronograph components are quite complex, but the outcome is worth it.

Here’s the second chronograph bound for restoration and, eventually, the store. It’s going to require some significant case work, in addition to movement restoration, as it had solid watch band bars attached to the lugs, which were damaged. I will have to file down the “nubs” of these bars and drill new springbar holes in the lugs. Fortunately I have the tools I need for this.