17 Jewels

[Old Expat Beast]

I'd just like to ask our experts, are 17 jewel 1520 movements as durable and long-lasting as their 26 jewel counterparts, and do you still see many of them?

Thank you,

Adam.

[padi56]

Originally Posted by Old Expat Beast

I'd just like to ask our experts, are 17 jewel 1520 movements as durable and long-lasting as their 26 jewel counterparts, and do you still see many of them?

Thank you,

Adam.

Short answer yes I believe the 17 jewel movement was made for the USA market something to do with the tax back in the 1960s on Swiss watches and parts now in short supply.

[shofzr]

Originally Posted by Old Expat Beast

I'd just like to ask our experts, are 17 jewel 1520 movements as durable and long-lasting as their 26 jewel counterparts, and do you still see many of them?



Thank you,



Adam.

Over the years I have services a few of the 17J's, the base movement is only minus 3 jewels ( 2 cap jewels for escape wheel and 1 for upper center wheel). So far i have had good luck, they time out and run as well as the 26J version in my opinion.

The automatic device is where I see the most wear. That is where the lack of jewels is, 2 reversing wheels and 1 driving wheel for ratchet wheel all have bushings. The axle is jeweled.

As mentioned above some parts are not available for the 17J, like the bushings for the automatic device and center wheel, so I replace them with the jewels from the 26J, they are an exact replacement, and so far no one has complained.

So in short with proper service yes the 17J is just as good as the 26J 1520.


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[Old Expat Beast]

Thanks for this. The Dowling & Hess book describes these as 'the most interesting and least discussed version of the 15xx movements'. Any argument there? I'm interested because I have on one the way, in the shape of a 1964 Air King.

[shofzr]

Originally Posted by Old Expat Beast

Thanks for this. The Dowling & Hess book describes these as 'the most interesting and least discussed version of the 15xx movements'. Any argument there? I'm interested because I have on one the way, in the shape of a 1964 Air King.

Congratulations on your Air King I hope you post some pictures when you have a chance.

I would tend to agree, it is not something that shows up very often, I would also guess a good number of people don't even know they exist.




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[bobridley]

Originally Posted by shofzr

Over the years I have services a few of the 17J's, the base movement is only minus 3 jewels ( 2 cap jewels for escape wheel and 1 for upper center wheel). So far i have had good luck, they time out and run as well as the 26J version in my opinion.

The automatic device is where I see the most wear. That is where the lack of jewels is, 2 reversing wheels and 1 driving wheel for ratchet wheel all have bushings. The axle is jeweled.

As mentioned above some parts are not available for the 17J, like the bushings for the automatic device and center wheel, so I replace them with the jewels from the 26J, they are an exact replacement, and so far no one has complained.

So in short with proper service yes the 17J is just as good as the 26J 1520.


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I agree with Adrian in that the original 1520 bushings, if replaced with jeweled bushings will lengthen both the life expectancy as well as the reliability of a caliber 1520 movement.

In general....
I have the opportunity to see/service many 1520 movements and would not be concerned with handling them any different than the other 1500 calibers.

[Old Expat Beast]

Originally Posted by shofzr

Congratulations on your Air King I hope you post some pictures when you have a chance.

I would tend to agree, it is not something that shows up very often, I would also guess a good number of people don't even know they exist.




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Thank you, and I will be sure to post pics. I won't be taking the back off, though, so I guess I can show the seller's pics of the movement here. I'll put a pic of the dial up too, as I believe this type, with no seconds indices, is also quite unusual; I have only seen a handful on the web. This is a birth year watch for me, so I wanted something unusual but affordable, as it's a bit of an indulgence for my 50th birthday.

[powerfunk]

Whoa, sweet dial! That's an awesome find.

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[Old Expat Beast]

Thanks, yeah, I like the 60s retro look to it with those doorstop markers. I gave Joe a look at it for his opinion, forgetting you're our other Air King guy. Glad you like it.