Daily Archives: September 19, 2009

Watch review, Vintage Timex 4144

By | | Watch Musings
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Vintage Timex Model 4144

timex_gold

timex_gold_one_wrist

timex_gold_zoomed

This is my first vintage watch for myself.  I picked it up at a local antique store.  It has some nice, vintage charm, starting with the size, just 34mm diameter.  The 3270 on the dial indicates it is caliber 32 from 1970.  When I got it, it had a funky Speidel Twist-o-Flex band and 4 decades of crud.  After about an hour of work and a new band, it really cleaned up nice.  It stopped a few times during the first day, but has settled in nicely, keeping very good time for a pin lever watch.  I think the lubricants were just a little gummy and needed a little human body warmth to get back to normal.  The quality and workmanship is very good for a bargain watch.  It hand winds and ’self-winds’ with a satisfying rattle.  The second hand sweeps at a relaxed 18,000 BPH, which is normal for a watch of this era.  The crystal is a high domed acrylic, which scratches up pretty easily, but also cleans up nicely as well.   Overall, a nice, easy to live with watch.

Features:
Case: 34mm, base metal, gold plated, water resistant, dust resistant.
Back: Stainless Steel, snap on, Timex makers mark, water resistance and dust resistance marks.
Crystal: Acrylic, domed.
Movement: Automatic, 3270, 18,000 BPH.
Complications: Date.
Other: Leather band, aftermarket.  17mm lugs.

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Watch Revitalization

By | | Watch Musings
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So, I picked up this little guy Friday:

timex_2

The crystal is a little scratched, but no cracks, and the bracelet is not to my liking.  Also, there is about 40 years of someone’s DNA on there that is not mine.  So, off the bracelet goes:

timex_gold_gunk

Ahh, yes, almost 4 decades of filth.  Poor watch, at least most of the plating is intact. Still, eww.

Cleaned that off:

timex_no_gunk

Using nothing more than water and cotton swabs, I was able to get the gunk off.  Now, the crystal:

timex_taped

I taped off the bezel and used a polishing cloth and CD cleaner to buff out the scratches.  It worked just okay, so I switched to a silver polish instead, and it worked much faster.

timex_gold

Here it is on Saturday morning.  Case and crystal polished and with a Fossil leather band I had.  Although the band was 18mm, the lugs are 17mm, but it still fit.  It works much better than I thought it would.  It surprised my wife as well.

timex_gold_one_wrist

It turned out better than I expected.  It is a pleasing, simple, watch.  It is a common watch, but I love the angular numbers.  It looks like IZ, not 12.  So far, it is keeping decent time on the wrist, not so much in the drawer, but that’s ok.  Here is a parting shot of the radial pattern on the dial:

timex_gold_zoomed

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