Vintage Ebel Automatic

[Mediocre]

That is the first vintage Ebel I recall seeing, great looking timepiece!

[WWII70]

I shall consider myself an En-Ebeler

[WWII70]

BTW, this watch went off to the spa today for a cleaning and a new gasket. The hour hand also needs to be aligned properly.

I am not sure about keeping it on the winder when it returns due to the added wear and tear (I don't do this with my other vintage auto - particularly as it is a bumper). I would be interested, Rick, in knowing where you got the new winder stem and crown made.

[Rdenney]

BTW, this watch went off to the spa today for a cleaning and a new gasket. The hour hand also needs to be aligned properly.

I am not sure about keeping it on the winder when it returns due to the added wear and tear (I don't do this with my other vintage auto - particularly as it is a bumper). I would be interested, Rick, in knowing where you got the new winder stem and crown made.

My watchmaker didn't make a new stem. He just installed a crown with a wider shape on the existing stem--easy peasy. Any watchmaker should be able to do that. Crowns are often replaced as a matter of routine maintenance, though I disagree with the practice, but it means most watchmakers have a good selection of service crowns to choose from. Neither the original nor (of course) the replacement are signed, in the case of this watch, so it might have been replaced in the past.

I keep mine on a winder. The A. Schild movements are perfectly decent movements, and once returned to factory spec with a service are as reliable as a new movement. The regulator on mine got knocked out of adjustment on the trip back to me (it happened to both watches that were in the same box), so mine runs maybe a minute a day off. I need to get it back on the timing machine and tweak it.

Also, quick-set date on this watch means rocking back and forth between 8:30 PM and midnight, which is a lot of wear and tear on the (irreplaceable) offset cannon pinion these movements use. On the winder, only the winding gears see any action, and those are robust and comparatively easy to service. If I didn't keep it wound, I'd pass on setting the date when I wore it.

Rick "who doesn't keep his other vintages on winders, but then most are handwinds anyway" Denney

[WWII70]

Thanks so much for the info, Rick, but I think I will keep the original crown for authenticity. Also, it is possible to adjust the time with the recessed crown even though it is a pain (while wiinding the watch is damn near impossible, as you have noted elsewhere).

As mine does not have a date, I do not have the hassle or worry of using the quickset date. Getting it ready to wear just requires a few minutes on the wrist to impart some energy and a couple of minutes to set the time. For the likely once-a-month use that this is likely to get, I prefer this over keeping it on a winder.

Rory "who has limited winder real estate"