I have now settled on how I'm going to store and display my Accutrons. Being rather paranoid about getting burgled I ruled out putting them in a cabinet. I decided to make my own boxes. There are are similar sized boxes on the market, but made out of MDF and with glass tops. These have
individual cushions for the watches which take up a lot of room. I therefore decided to put the watches on bolsters. It is quite easy to get the watches on and off as the bolsters have foam around a wooden core. So far I have completed two identical boxes which have Sydney ******** (Eucalyptus saligna) tops and Monterey Cyprus (Cupressus macrcarpa) sides. When I have filled more boxes with serviced watches I will post pics on this thread.
How about other members showing us how they display their watches?
Very nice home made displays vim203!!! I'm liking these displays. This one is mine and its abit old as I have made a few sales and purchases but you get the idea. Each black box holds 20 watches. My six Astronauts and several Accutron Boxes are not in this pic. Been alittle busy this year.
Great boxes Vim! I love wood products, and the wood you chose has nice grains and appearance. I recognize a few of those 218 variants. I have examples of next to far right (top and bottom roll), and far right, middle roll. Perhaps another as well. Nice 218 collection.
Nice displays Skypilot, Spaceview, and AccutronRedux (can't believe all those original cases in the drawer, sheez :blink.
I thought it was about time I posted a pic of my second box of serviced Accutrons. These are all 218s and are all different from those in the first box. I am now making another two boxes out of a unique form of New Zealand Kauri.
That's a great collection of watches but I think I'm even more impressed with the workmanship that goes into your boxes.
Do you keep batteries in all of your watches ?
In reply to Accutronitis and Skypilot, I have just four 214s which I will service when I have done some practicing on old movements. It has taken quite a while to build up a supply of 214 parts. Good 214s tend to be a lot more expensive than 218s and I usually miss out when I try to buy them. I keep all my serviced watches running on alkaline batteries which cost me less than 10c each, when bought in a pack of 200. I guess that there is a divergence of opinion on whether Accutrons should be kept running or not. The electrolytic capacitors will last longer if kept with a polarizing voltage on them, but I suppose index wheels must eventually wear out.
Vim203, great collection of 218's and another fabulous box. Seeing your collection reminds me I'd like to pick up an "up/down" dial, and what about those stainless with vivid blue dials! Not sure I've ever seen one of those before.
Isn't that what they said about Harrisons grasshopper escapement ? To be perfectly honest I only care that it doesn't wear out in what's left of my life time because after that I don't care anymore......... :001_tt2:
Speaking of which, I think a Accuton foundation should be formed with a board of trustees, So when I die I can have it in my will that all my accutron collection be given to said foundation to do with how ever the board feel best meats with my last wishes or if no last wishes are given do with the watch collection whatever the board votes to do with it, that way I know my collection doesn't end up being sold on ebay for $10 each by some moron that doesn't know any dif to some idiot who think it's a kind of cool watch to give to his nephew for his tenth birthday....... hmy:
You make a very good point Accuronitis, one to which I have given some thought and have reached no conclusions. I think I have some neat toys but my kids have no interest in them and I worry about the possibility that, when my time comes, they will just toss them into a dumpster. Maybe by then they won't be worth anything anyway since interest in watches is evaporating. Maybe the answer is to sell them off before then but I'd rather keep getting more.
I have reached the point where I only keep batteries in about 10 Accutrons at a time. I have a few that have batteries in them all of the time and then each month I select a few to bring back to life for a that month.
I don't know if interest is going away, when I try to get a good deal on accutron stuff on ebay it's not easy as there are usually a lot of bidders for everything (good thing I've got my sniper) plus I only think they will go up in value as time goes by and the great one are fewer and far between, Accutron tuning fork is when everything changed a lot in the mechanical watch world, A world that hadn't basically change much in a very long time, That fact alone (well that and accutrons are way cool) will guarantee that Accutron tuning fork watches will always be a big hit with collectors now and in the future.......
I have at last got round to making another storage box. The timber is a very rare form of New Zealand Kauri, Agathis australis. It is called Inanga ( Maori for whitebait, which are tiny fish fry. The wood is shot through with wriggly lines resembling the swimming of a school of whitebait. I have also made my partner a jewellery box out of Inanga. Have added a pretty watch to whet your interest. Also made a serving tray for my daughter with Penrose tiling done in Mahogany and American white oak. Also with another pretty watch!
Here is my latest storage/display box. It is made from Tasmanian Blackwood (Acacia melanoxylon). In it are most of my Swiss chapter ring and pseudo chapter ring 218s. I have been fortunate in having obtained near mint examples of both the ss and gp versions of each case.A number of these have NOS cases. There are some other models to completely fill the box.
I meant to say that the two watches at the right hand end of the bottom row are among my favourites. These have blue sapphire hour markers.
I copied this pic form somewhere on the internet quite some time ago:
I love the presentation of the watches as art, and with my collection (includes a few Accutrons, but not enough!), I could fill a wall. :001_tongue:
If I had the skills (or tools! LOL) I would do much the same as shown here, but hinge the frame tops and place each watch on a hanger so that you could simply flip the frame top open and lift your daily watch off of its peg...
[AT)
Here is my 5th full size box. It has a Camphor Laurel (Cinnamomon camphora) top and Monterey Cyprus sides. Inside are my Accuquartz watches. Unlike the watches shown in my previous boxes these have not yet been serviced. Only a few run and I am waiting till I can clear the backlog of 218s before attempting to get their electronics to work. I just hope that its not the same thing in all that has gone wrong. I've got a lot of old movements to cannibalize.
Here is box number six, filled with serviced 218s. The box is made from New Zealand Kauri (Agathis australis). The second row watches are all up/downs. I particularly like the two down dates in the bottom row.
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