Hey OSA.
I'm really glad to see that so many people gave a thumbs up to my last watch rebuild post. I'm relieved that writing that whole thing up wasn't a wasted effort. I'll put a bit more detail into this one, so bear with me as it will take a few posts to write everything up and post the pics/vids.
The next watch on my bench was a really unique (I think) retro looking Nino from the 70's. I cannot pinpoint the exact date, but the particular movement that is in it was manufactured from 1969 to 1978. The best info I could find was that Nino was a brand established in Switzerland in the 1920's. It quickly vanished until 1968 when the name was resurrected and a new watch company using that name began operations in Neuchâtel, Switzerland. There were several small Swiss watch companies in operation in the early 70's. This one, like most others, contracted out there work and made very few items in house. The movement in this watch is an A. Schild 2066 model, dating from 1969 to 1978. Nino appears to be one of the several victims of the quartz crisis in the 70's. When the Japanese perfected the quartz movement, and made it where it could be built economically, the mechanical watch industry was hit hard. Between 1970 and 1983, Swiss watch companies decreased from 1,600 to 600 and employment fell from 90,000 to only 28,000 jobs. Smaller workshops and family-run businesses primarily had to file for bankruptcy. Nino appears to have been one of those companies who went under during that time. Ok, enough history, on to the watch!
I bought this one as a non-runner off of eBay for a pretty good price. As you'll see in the first photos, the case, crystal, and dial appear to be in great shape. There was no data given on why this wasn't running, but I could see from the pictures on eBay that it was missing the seconds hand. That was my first indicator that someone else had been inside this watch. There were more tell-tale signs as I dug deeper.
This watch even came with the original strap, which appears to be have been unused! It still has the 'Nino' tag. Unfortunately I have large wrists and it is just barely too small to fit me on it's longest setting. The case back has what I thought to be the factory protective sticker on it. It is somewhat common for people to keep those on the watch when they buy it new, as it potentially adds value if you ever decide to resell the watch. A watch of this age with one still on it is a very rare thing. Upon further inspection, it appears that it is just some sort of color applied by the factory. What few examples I could find of other Nino watches online nearly all had a color of some sort applied on the case back. Mine isn't unique, but I did not want to take a chance to removing any of that coloring, so when I cleaned up the case later on, I left the case back alone.
I started digging into the watch. It wasn't terribly dirty by any means, but I could definitely tell that someone else had been inside the watch and didn't know what they were doing. There were a few parts missing, and things just generally didn't seem to be fitting right.
Here's a few photos of the watch in various stages of disassembly.
Front Side Of Watch:
Rear Side Of Watch
More continued in follow up post (2).
I'm really glad to see that so many people gave a thumbs up to my last watch rebuild post. I'm relieved that writing that whole thing up wasn't a wasted effort. I'll put a bit more detail into this one, so bear with me as it will take a few posts to write everything up and post the pics/vids.
The next watch on my bench was a really unique (I think) retro looking Nino from the 70's. I cannot pinpoint the exact date, but the particular movement that is in it was manufactured from 1969 to 1978. The best info I could find was that Nino was a brand established in Switzerland in the 1920's. It quickly vanished until 1968 when the name was resurrected and a new watch company using that name began operations in Neuchâtel, Switzerland. There were several small Swiss watch companies in operation in the early 70's. This one, like most others, contracted out there work and made very few items in house. The movement in this watch is an A. Schild 2066 model, dating from 1969 to 1978. Nino appears to be one of the several victims of the quartz crisis in the 70's. When the Japanese perfected the quartz movement, and made it where it could be built economically, the mechanical watch industry was hit hard. Between 1970 and 1983, Swiss watch companies decreased from 1,600 to 600 and employment fell from 90,000 to only 28,000 jobs. Smaller workshops and family-run businesses primarily had to file for bankruptcy. Nino appears to have been one of those companies who went under during that time. Ok, enough history, on to the watch!
I bought this one as a non-runner off of eBay for a pretty good price. As you'll see in the first photos, the case, crystal, and dial appear to be in great shape. There was no data given on why this wasn't running, but I could see from the pictures on eBay that it was missing the seconds hand. That was my first indicator that someone else had been inside this watch. There were more tell-tale signs as I dug deeper.
This watch even came with the original strap, which appears to be have been unused! It still has the 'Nino' tag. Unfortunately I have large wrists and it is just barely too small to fit me on it's longest setting. The case back has what I thought to be the factory protective sticker on it. It is somewhat common for people to keep those on the watch when they buy it new, as it potentially adds value if you ever decide to resell the watch. A watch of this age with one still on it is a very rare thing. Upon further inspection, it appears that it is just some sort of color applied by the factory. What few examples I could find of other Nino watches online nearly all had a color of some sort applied on the case back. Mine isn't unique, but I did not want to take a chance to removing any of that coloring, so when I cleaned up the case later on, I left the case back alone.
I started digging into the watch. It wasn't terribly dirty by any means, but I could definitely tell that someone else had been inside the watch and didn't know what they were doing. There were a few parts missing, and things just generally didn't seem to be fitting right.
Here's a few photos of the watch in various stages of disassembly.
Front Side Of Watch:
Rear Side Of Watch
More continued in follow up post (2).
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