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I Opened This Box of Watches After 10 Years... I Wasn't Expecting This!

Fascinating Time Machines

5,330 views

I finally opened the last box of watch stuff I put into storage over 10 years ago — and there were a few things in there I had completely forgotten about.

What started as a simple rummage through some old watch boxes quickly turned into something much bigger: an unexpected discovery, a pile of vintage electronic watches, a missing piece of Bulova test equipment, and somehow... a watchmaker's lathe that now needs rebuilding.

More importantly, this box helped crystallize where I want to take Fascinating Time Machines next. I want to explore the extraordinary period when watchmaking moved from traditional mechanical movements through electromechanical and electronic technology, tuning forks and early quartz — eventually arriving at the watches we know today.

Citizen, Bulova, Seiko and others all took fascinatingly different routes to get there, and I've started collecting examples that will let us actually open them up, understand how they work, and hopefully bring some of them back to life.

This one is a bit of a strange episode — part treasure hunt, part workshop project and part look at what's coming next for the channel.

Let me know in the comments what you think of the plan. Is this technological journey something you'd like to follow?

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CHAPTERS:
00:00 Introduction
03:00 The Last Box
04:40 Opening The Time Capsule
05:10 Apple Watch vs Accutron Spaceview 214
07:45 Accutrons
09:00 Vintage Elgin Box
09:20 Spares
10:10 More Accutrons
11:00 Citizen HiSonic
13:20 Vintage Hamilton Art Deco Cases
14:25 Apollo 11
16:20 Omega As Old As I Am!
20:20 Timegrapher Surprise
21:00 Vintage Art Deco Bulova Cases
23:05 Accutron Test Equipment
24:20 Citizen Cosmotron
24:45 Seiko AGS Spirit Titanium
26:20 Bulova 300 Movement Holder
31:10 Watchmaker’s Lathe Project
34:20 “The Plan”
35:10 What Do You Think?
36:20 YouTube Memberships
37:40 Wrap Up

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Here are links to the videos I mentioned:
👉 Behind the Camera My Watch Collection, Workshop Tour & Story: Behind the Camera My Watch Collection, Wo...
👉 I Tested Big Name vs Budget Watch Tools... Are They Worth It?: I Tested Big Name vs Budget Watch Tools......

If you'd like to see more vintage tool evaluations, watch restorations & buying guides, let me know in the comments.

👉 Don’t forget to subscribe for more watch repair videos, vintage timepieces, horology tools, military watches, railroad watches, & mechanical watch adventures: @fascinatingtimemachines

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📌 PRODUCTS & EQUIPMENT USED 🔧
NOTE: All opinions expressed on this channel are my own. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases at no additional cost to you. If you choose to purchase through my Amazon Storefront (https://www.amazon.com/shop/bobwalder) or affiliate links, you help support the channel & enable me to continue researching, testing, & producing independent videos. Thank you for your support.

📌 FEATURED IN THIS VIDEO
👉 Trinocular Stereo Zoom Microscope 3.5x-90x: https://amzn.to/4xlOHVT
👉 4K Compact Microscope Camera with 8X Magnification: https://amzn.to/3TK6WWy
👉 Bergeon 5395-75 Soft Gel Watch Case Casing Cushion 75mm: https://amzn.to/4fGdmyy
👉 QD20 Quartz Watch Movement Tester: https://amzn.to/4w7YP3t
👉 Bergeon 4040 Extensible & Reversible Movement Holder: https://amzn.to/4whBfS5
👉 KINSANINC No.1900 Watch Tester Timegrapher: https://amzn.to/3RD2CIa
👉 Kaisi Extra Large Bench Mat (Blue) : https://amzn.to/45cosoT
👉 Kinetivations KC1 Seiko Kinetic Energy Supplier: https://www.ebay.com/itm/297294537431
👉 Modern Digital Accutron Test Set – MKII: https://vikingsoap.com/product/modern...
👉 3D Printed Replica Universal Movement Holder with Power Supply Leads: https://vikingsoap.com/product/univer...

Below are curated lists of tools, equipment & accessories that I personally own, use regularly, & that have earned a permanent place in my workshop:

👉 What's In My Workshop: https://www.amazon.com/shop/bobwalder...
👉 Photography & Videography Equipment: https://www.amazon.com/shop/bobwalder...
👉 Consumables: https://www.amazon.com/shop/bobwalder...
👉 Microscopy: https://www.amazon.com/shop/bobwalder...
👉 Electrical & Power: https://www.amazon.com/shop/bobwalder...
👉 Computing & Electronics: https://www.amazon.com/shop/bobwalder...
👉 3D Printing: https://www.amazon.com/shop/bobwalder...

Many of these items have been reviewed elsewhere on this channel.

📌 LOOKING FOR SOMETHING ELSE?

Browse my complete Amazon Storefront: https://www.amazon.com/shop/bobwalder

#watchmaking #watchrepair #horology #vintagewatches #pocketwatches #wristwatches

13 Comments

@FascinatingTimeMachines Creator 1 month ago Pinned

I genuinely want your input on where we go from here.
Would you like to follow this journey from traditional mechanical watches → electronic balance → tuning fork → early quartz → modern quartz, actually opening up and working on examples from Citizen, Bulova, Seiko and others along the way?
And the practical workshop videos we have to make to allow all that to happen - like the lathe project and Bulova 300 rebuild?
Or are the individual watch repairs and tool/workshop videos what you mainly come here for?
I'm increasingly thinking the answer might be all of the above... 😂

@jaydub9509 3 weeks ago

I think those 600 series movements were pretty much top of the line for Omega at that time. My late 70s De Ville contains a successor of yours, the 625. Like yours, it also performs well on the timegrapher, without any known service history.

Best of luck on your numerous tool refurbishing projects! Few others are providing this type of content, so it's much appreciated.

@KeBobHope 3 weeks ago

You're flush with Accutrons. I love the smooth sweep, I just can't seem to keep them running.

@markbuilder1338 3 weeks ago

I love the wide variety of content.I dont want it to be a watch repair only channel.Keep up the diversity that makes this channel so awesome mate.

@americoechevarria4505 3 weeks ago

Loved the omega and the video, Thanks

@KeithLuttrell-fj7tu 3 weeks ago (edited)

Me too, I was in front of the TV for any and all Apollo news. I just got my first watch repaired. It was Rouan Woody Woodpecker watch a 1968 model that older brother requested my parents buy me because he was tired of me asking him what time it was constantly. Got it at age 5 and My brother sat down and taught me how to tell time. Question, why do we say “ Telling Time “? The guy below me mentioned that he had a Watchmaker’s lathe, I programmed, set-up and ran a Citizen 7 Seven Axis Swiss turn lathe for years. Citizen started making lathes too make their watches.

@markjones6232 3 weeks ago

I like that you are going into different areas of repair. It's not all about a watch on the bench, the tools you need to do the job well are just as important. That said, your Accutron collection is enviable and I for one am looking forward to you completing the service/repair of each and every one. The different makes do give a degree of variety that also gives each new episode its own character so keep on with whatever your plans are. In effect, as you stated, all of the above. Also, congratulations on finding your original Accutron movement holder, I would imagine that these are not easy to find in the wild.

@mannye 1 month ago

It was a lot of fun watching your glee as you found the watches! I just got a MOSABA from Technos and it's my first tuning fork watch. I'm working on getting every "pre-quartz" watch and restoring them back to working order. So far I have the Elnix, The EL-370 and the MOSABA which is a Swiss tuning fork. I almost won an AGS the other day! I love the idea of the plan as it's exactly what I've been working on accumulating myself!

@Ozzieguy-v4u 4 weeks ago

Hi Bob. I enjoyed the video and look forward to more. I’m surprised you didn’t mention the Hamilton 500, the first electric wristwatch that launched in 1957. It used a partially electromagnetic balance wheel rotating between two magnets that sounds similar to what you describe for the Citizen. It was very fragile but they improved it in 1961 with the 505. The Accutron blew it away with its massively increased bph and improved sturdiness.

@artisan4797 3 weeks ago

Listening to you talk about watching the Armstrong land on the moon when you’re eight years old perk my ears. I was born in March 1961 and I’ve been looking for an Omega birth year Watch. I built your your lab spinner Watch cleaning machine following your design, but I did tweak it a little bit. I put this in a post a little while back and you responded. I changed the jars to square Mason Jars and I also put the jars in an ultrasonic cleaner while it is spinning. I finished up with putting all of the parts in a food dehydrator with modified trays. Their plastic trays and it’s round so I clipped all of the middle part out of the trays creating rings on three of the five layers. This gives me a large volume area so that I can place baskets in the dehydrator for drying parts. I used it for the first time yesterday and was absolutely ecstatic on the results. I can send you a video if you contact me. Let me know how to get it over to you.

@jacekjot1273 4 weeks ago

Dear Bob,

I watched your video from beginning to end. I also have a watchmaker’s lathe. It is an 8 mm Peerless.

I don’t want to discourage you, but I know that copper is a very difficult metal to machine on a lathe. Copper tends to stick to the cutting tool, so machining it on a lathe can be a real headache. Instead of copper, you could use brass. I just can’t say whether this would negatively affect the electrical properties of your holder.

The other issue is finding a suitable lathe chuck. The largest one I have only has an internal diameter of 5 mm.

I wish you every success in completing all the projects you talked about.

Best regards,
Jack

@Southern-A-Ranch 7 days ago

It's amazing how many people posting videos here are all using the same exact words in the title or lead line. Thousands upon thousands upon thousands all using "this".
Completely and totaly non descript.
Kinda leaves a slimey feeling that originality, creativity etc. have all left the building.

@timothyrasch1475 4 days ago

I have omega seamaster automatic from 1960 . I think its 13 14 carat gold.
l Works when i wind it up.
Is this a valuable watch?
Also have a old elgin maybe 1940 square dial ,roman numerals secons dial at bottom. My father git this watch maybe in 1940. What repair is involved because i demagnetized it with a tape head demagnetiser and runs super fast ? 1hr every 5 minutes of regular time.

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