Ferrari Mailing List: Re: No Ferrari Content - Waltham Aircraft Clocks.

[Erik Nielsen (judge4re]

I have one of those Russian clocks sitting on my desk along with a stand that I purchased on eBay for less than $20.  I think the clock was around $80 or so.  It has become quite the conversation piece and I find the ticking sound to be fairly calming.  It was the same model clock that was in the Yak52 my neighbor let me fly.  I know that it works inverted.

Keeps time more accurately than the digital clock in my Fiat 500...

Erik

On Wed, Sep 28, 2016 at 11:54 PM, Peter Rychel <dino308gt4 [at] hotmail.com> wrote:

I bought mine off of ebay about eight years ago and it was around $600. Ran a bit fast at first, but a minor tweak of the balance wheel hairspring kept it fine. Everything else was excellent. The seller was a collectibles dealer in the Mid-West (can't remember which state).

A quick look just now reveals various brands (Jaeger-LeCoutre, Waltham, Junghans, etc) in the range of $450 to $1600. 

I do remember in my search for one back then, I came across TONS of Russian clocks at dirt-cheap prices. Buyers located in the Ukraine, Latvia, Estonia, etc. Tempting, but I adhered to the saying "Caveat Emptor"...

Peter

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From: John Ashburne <jashburne [at] aol.com>
Sent: September 28, 2016 3:53 AM
To: Peter Rychel
Cc: The FerrariList
Subject: Re: [Ferrari] No Ferrari Content - Waltham Aircraft Clocks.

 

That is an amazing piece of complicated precision mechanics!  I love it!

Just curious, what is the general market value of one of those in good working condition?

John

Sent from my ATT Bell Rotary Dial Phone

On Sep 28, 2016, at 12:19 AM, Peter Rychel <dino308gt4 [at] hotmail.com> wrote:

Hi Doug,

I misread your email... When you said "aircraft clock" my eyes immediately looked over to mine which sits on my desk beside my computer sceen and thought you had the same one (how could I have mistaken Waltham with Hamilton?...)!

The clock I have is a Hamilton H-37500:

http://www.hamiltonchronicles.com/2014/09/wwii-hamilton-h-37500-elapsed-time-clock.html

WWII Hamilton H-37500 Elapsed Time Clock

www.hamiltonchronicles.com

By far the coolest and most complicated Hamilton clock I've ever laid hands or eyes on is the WWII-era H-37500 Elapsed Time Clock. This specialized clock was designed ...

Peter

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From: Doug & Terri <dnt [at] dock.net>
Sent: September 26, 2016 11:13 PM
To: 'Peter Rychel'
Cc: 'The FerrariList'
Subject: RE: [Ferrari] No Ferrari Content - Waltham Aircraft Clocks.

 

Wow Peter – that sounds like a VERY complicated time piece.  Mine is very simple:  12 hour face, one 60 minute stop watch, 12 Arabic numbers.

Easy to read.

DOUG

 

From: Ferrari [mailto:ferrari-bounces+dnt=dock.net [at] ferrarilist.com] On Behalf Of Peter Rychel
Sent: Monday, September 26, 2016 10:14 PM
To: DOUG <dnt [at] dock.net>
Cc: The FerrariList <ferrari [at] ferrarilist.com>
Subject: Re: [Ferrari] No Ferrari Content - Waltham Aircraft Clocks.

 

One less thing to rely on electricity. Back in those days, all instrumentation were mechanical, so that would have included the clock as well.

 

I haven't taken mine completely apart, but I've had the case back off and the componentry are mighty substantial. Must be to survive radical temperature swings, high frequency vibration, etc. Also, it's one of the most complicated clocks fitted to an aircraft, with 24 hour main dial, date, elapsed time (with a night/day display indicator because that sub dial is 12 hr!), hack seconds, and chronograph - all requiring a lot of "juice" from the mainspring (almost a couple of nickels thick!).

 

Mine still has a (faded) US Navy stamp on the back...

 

Peter

 

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From: Ferrari <ferrari-bounces+dino308gt4=hotmail.com [at] ferrarilist.com> on behalf of Hunter Schultz <hunter.schultz [at] gmail.com>
Sent: September 26, 2016 5:32 PM
To: PeterGT4
Cc: The FerrariList
Subject: Re: [Ferrari] No Ferrari Content - Waltham Aircraft Clocks.

 

Very cool clock. Probably an A-13A model. Standard issue for military aircraft for a long time.

 

As a watch enthusiast (ask me about my Citizen Electronic running at 43.200 beats per hour) I can safely say that an automatic version would more complicated to engineer for an aviation environment and to mil spec. That and the rotor would be rather hard pressed to keep turning to wind the mainspring. Can you say barrel roll? 

 

Anyway, as for the 8 day power reserve for the mainspring, that makes sense from an operational standpoint. You had to set it before each flight so it makes sense to have it running for longer periods of time between missions. Less fiddling with it when a pilot got in the aircraft to do their pre-flight checks.

 

I suspect that while they were fairly accurate per se, they did need to meet certain performance standards. So, another reason for the 8 day power reserve is that a mainspring powered clock (or watch) will lose accuracy during the last portion of the power reserve -- in this case the last 24 to 48 hours.  

 

Get it serviced and mount it. great conversation piece.

 

 

On Mon, Sep 26, 2016 at 5:33 PM, Doug & Terri <dnt [at] dock.net> wrote:

Ok – we’re a pretty smart bunch – and I am stumped. I just got a Waltham clock from a military aircraft.  Looks similar as one from an SR71.  Surprise surprise – eight day WIND UP clock with a stop watch button.  Here are the questions:  1)Why is it a wind up; and, 2) why is eight days?

Onward

DOUG

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