Job Number 170060

These Walthams sure have a lot of winding/setting parts.

See the whole album for this project here.

These animations are made from 20 or 30 images taken in "burst mode" with my OnePlus One. Unfortunately, sometimes it decides to shift expose or white balance in the middle of a set of photos.

This is a 0 size, 15 jewel Waltham Seaside 1891 model, made about 1896.

Elgin Grade 109, Animated!

Here's some images of a grade 109 Elgin movement.  It's a 0 size, 7 jewels, piece made about 1897. 

These movements are usually found in hunter cases, as ladies watches. 

Occasionally they are also found in very early wristwatches. 

These animated GIFs are created automatically by Google+ when multiple images are uploaded of the same content.  I just use the burst mode on my Samsung Galaxy S3 phone, and off they go, pretty handy!

New Photos

The new lens I've been using for final photos of completed items works great!  It's a Nikon AF-S DX Nikkor 40mm,f/2.8G macro and it has made a huge difference.

This is a Waltham, 16 size, 21 jewels, 1908 model, in a 20 year gold filled hunter case.

New Lens

I'm experimenting with a new Nikkor 40mm lens for macro shots...  So far so good.

Photography

Once in a while, I'm asked about the photos that appear here. Here's a few details on a sample. Click on the photo for a larger view.

This is a real nice Elgin 12 size. We see a lot of these watches, but this one is quite near mint.

Anyway, the photo is taken with a Nikon D70 using a Nikor 120 mm VR lens for 1/4 second at f/5.6, ISO 200. A remote trigger is used.

The camera is mounted on a rig my Grandfather built for the purpose of making photographic copies of family photos. The rig features a heavy vertical post to which an arm, movable up and down by a worm gear, allows the camera to be mounted pointed straight down at a platform.

Lighting is critical. On the post are mounted two flexible arms, below the camera arm, with two bright lights with photo hoods. This together with good sunlight in the workshop gives a nice mix of lighting.

It can be tricky to get a good photo of a watch. They have a lot of detail, and reflective parts. We need the camera close, but some depth of field is needed to keep the internal parts in focus.

I send photos of each watch I work on to their owners.