[two21b]

I have succumbed to temptation and bought a Stauer reporoduction watch, the '33 Graves. It's nice enough for what it is. Stauer does not offer any information on the Chinese movement inside these watches. Does anyone know what is inside? Any information would be appreciated.

 

[bullandvodka]

Here is the only info I was able to find.....


MOVEMENT, AND CONTROLS; Chinese-made,21,800 bph (est), 27 jeweled automatic with single action winding rotor (winds in one direction only). Watch has a hack feature (movement completely stops when crown is pulled out in order to allow for syncronizing). NextTen claims watch movement has 210 hand assembled parts, and is regulated on Swiss machinery for 15 days. 2 position screw-down onion-shaped crown. After unscrewing crown, the first position allows for clutched winding (to start the watch without wearing it). The second pull-out position is a neutral position and does nothing. The third position is for setting the main hands. The A pusher bumps the month indicator hand by one month per push. The B pusher bumps the date indicator hand by one day per push. The C pusher bumps the day indicator by one day of the week per push.

It isn't clear who might produce it. Tianjin, Hangzhou, Nanning? The only way to know is to pop the case back and see if there are any markings. If there are no markings, it might not be possible at all since the Chinese are as likely to knockoff each other as much as a famous maker.

 

[two21b]

Thanks for your help, bull. I probably won't open the back so it will remain a mystery.

 

[GradyPhilpott]

Let us know what you think.

I know a guy who has a Stauer and he loves it, maybe because it came as bonus for something he bought.

The only problem he noted was that the pushers are too easily pushed and the date, etc, were always getting advanced.

A screw down crown would fix that problem and frankly, it could have one, but he might not know it.

He's a really smart affluent fellow, but he really doesn't care much about watches except that they tell him the correct time to within a few minutes.

 

[two21b]

Grady, my first impression is that this is a small watch. But I realize that this is a 1933 design, not a 2003. The complications are small and hard to read. The crown does screw down, but there are three additional buttons to advance the day, date and month. I haven't worn it yet, but I can see how the buttons could get pushed accidentally from moving around.