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Polerouter. What would you do?

Overport

Active Member
14/2/13
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I have a vintage Polerouter case set. Dial (no date), hands, case, crystal etc. Everything but the movement and crown.

I can either sell it (no idea of worth), or put another movement in it.

Supposing I go the new movement route (I like the Genta case), what are the options for a no date watch ?

All I know of is SW200 and 2824 date movements. I there a specific no date movement, or do you just ignore the date wheel.

Also, what is the consensus on Speedi-Fit putty if I can't find a movement adaptor to fit the case?
 
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kilowattore

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Not the most common watch in a rep forum I assume.... A pic of the watch in question would have been welcomed, at least out of curiosity.
Are you sure stem will align with crown if you change the movement to a 2824?
did you check hands size?
Do you already have a crown or are you thinking about it later?
 

Overport

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14/2/13
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Yes, not a common watch here at all I guess. I'd kinda forgotten about it, and then saw what folks are asking for them and it got me interested again.

Here is a pic of the exact model - kind of a chunky mid century sport watch. Its 12.5 mm thick with 19mm lugs.



And here is a pic of my crap



I have a hand set, and while I haven't measured them properly, I expect the hand hole sizes might be an issue. Looks like 1.3mm for the hour hand hole and 0.8mm for minutes.

Hopefully I can find similar hands for the movement I get and I can age them a lil bit.

I don't have a crown at this time - more concerned about stem alignment.
 

kilowattore

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I think you'll have a hard time finding somebody who did the same restoring so it'll take a lot of trial and error but it's a nice watch, it's worth it imho
 

jimcon11

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Definitely a cool watch but you have your work cut out for you. Unless you are dead set on wearing it, I would sell the parts and put them toward what you really want.

Find out what movement it took and go on http://www.ranfft.de/cgi-bin/bidfun-...ranfft&0&2uswk

Find the main dimensions that are important.. diameter, stem height, and hand sizes, and compare them to the commonly available movements. Hand sizes are usually not a huge deal, they can be slightly crimped or opened up, or a correct size hole can even be grafted underneath.

​​​​​​You need a stem height that is close and a diameter that is close unless you are able to make a custom movement ring. Then you need a crown that's at least close to the original and you need to cut the stem just right once you have the movement fitted. And of course you also need to worry about affixing the dial to the new movement, you'll have to cut the dial feet.


The other (pricier) option of course would be just look for the correct movement.
 
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Overport

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Thanks for the info, very helpful. I scored this in a trade maybe 17 years back. The bumper movement turned out to be junk and the case has been heavily polished. Nice but originality gone. I reluctantly put it down to learning experience and just threw what was left into the graveyard box.

A correct 138SS bumper movement would be great, but way more than I want to spend. Given the case was over polished, it's never going to justify the investment in the movement.

I like mid century sport watches and the style and heft of this, so maybe its time for resurrection with a newer auto. I'll do some dimension research on the SW200 / 2824 options.

I'm planning on removing dial feet and using double sided tape to hold the dial?

What to do with the date wheel. Ignore or remove?
 

jimcon11

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You can ignore or even remove the date wheel unless the crown having 2 setting positions really bothers you. There are certainly other ETA movements with no date that you could use. I've used a 2451 on multiple builds. Probably any movement could work with enough metalwork to mod the movement and case, but finding one with the closest dimensions will save you a lot of effort.

I use a couple dots of E6000 adhesive for the dial, it's stronger than tape in my experience.

It's a cool design, I like how sport watches of the 50s and 50s still had many "dress" watch flourishes to them, like the twisted lugs, dauphin hands, and engined turned markers.
 

Overport

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14/2/13
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Having quarantine fun so I thought I'd share where I got to. First of all many thanks for all the advice.

I won't go into great detail, as I would only expose my shortfall of skills.

I selected a DG2813 movement (coz I'm a cheaparse), removed the date mechanism and used E6000 to hold the dial in place.

Min and Hour hands from a vintage Milgauss rep (scuffed up a lil' to match the dial) and a sweep hand from a Omega Chrono rep. Some generic crown.

Holding the movement in was problematic as the chrome chapter ring is not part of the dial assembly. Its attached to the movement holder (bugger) so I had to use a holder in a holder. I wound up filing down a holder from an old dead sub rep.

Any how, it turned out OK, if you don't look to close. I have included a reference shot so you can get an idea of size against a 44 PO



 

Spoons

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Great to see this one come together!