This is a video review of the Hamilton Jazzmaster Chrono. Such as great value as far as Swiss Watches go, the Hamilton offers a Valjoux 7750 movement, Swiss Made construction, and a beautiful case and bracelet, along with a Leather Deployant for around $1200 with a street price of around $850. Doesn’t get much better than that!
The Hamilton has a very classy dial, and open caseback so you can see the movement in action. Case is a healthy 42mm in diameter, and wears slightly larger than it’s size would suggest in my opinion. Take a look!
With a watch that you wear daily, especially with a metal bracelet, you will inevitably get scratches. Whether it is Stainless Steel, Gold, or Platinum, they eventually show up, first starting as small swirlies then getting more and more perceptible until your watch no longer looks new.
I’m going to go over a few of the methods that I have used to maintain the and restore that fabulous lustre and shine that almost rivals a brand new watch! Well.. not really, but I will show you what I do to keep them looking as good as I can. There are several different types of finishes out there on the market, including PVD and Bead Blasted finishes that cannot be restored this way. I am going to go over restoring Brushed finishes only in this article. Stay tuned for polished finishes later!
Brushed Finishes
Here is an example of a typical brushed finish:
There are four methods of restoring brushed finishes that I have used: Micron Polishing Cloths, Nail Buffers, Fiberglass Pens, and Scotch Brite Pads.
Micron Polishing Cloths
These are in my opinion the best tool for restoring a brushed finish. These are availalble in two different grits for brushed finishes: 15 and 30 Micron. Usually you can start with 30 micron and work down to the 15, or just use the 30 if the brushed finish is a rougher one. They are sold by Watch Band Renew, and come with finer micron polishing cloths for restoring a polished finish as well fairly detailed instructions on how to use them.
Nail Buffer
These come in a variety of shapes and sizes but the ones that I feel work well are like sandpaper impregnanted sponge blocks. They are a bit more flexible than sandpaper and tend to come in fairly fine grits, and while you can use sandpaper to restore a brushed finish as well, the nail polishing blocks come in slightly more convenient packages, and often with multiple grits in one block as seen above. You can just brush your watch or bracelet in the direction of the existing lines, starting with the roughest grit first and working your way finer.
Nail Buffers can usually be picked up in the cosmetics section of any drugstore or wal-mart location near you.
Fiberglass Pen
Fiberglass pens are very good for spot-fixes of bracelets and cases, and often getting those hard to reach areas, however they are of limited use when you are trying cover a large area, or renewing an entire watch as it is difficult to get long straight lines with them. Think of the Fiberglass Pen as the “Tide Pen” of brushed watch finishes.
These are readily available on eBay or from various watch assessory sites online.
Scotch Brite Pads
Scotch Brite pads may seem like a crude way of restoring that finish to your watch, but they do a great job. While they are not offered in a variety of grits, which reduces their versatility somewhat, they are easy to obtain. The Scotch Brite pad is a mildly abrasive pad, which creates brush lines when it is used on metal. If you’ve ever used a scotch brite pad on your knives, you will probably be aware of that!
Simply brush in the direction of the existing brushmarks on your watch, and they should help cover up any scratches!
Hope you enjoyed the article, I’ll be writing up a similar one on Polished finishes as well, but they are more work to restore, so the article will be significantly longer.
Interesting article I was forwarded from the research company that published it states that “Many videos found online for watches resemble mini-movies more than commercials. Our study finds that for one in five male jewelry/watch buyers 18 to 24, online video does more than entertain, it impacts what they buy or where they buy it.”, according to C. Lee Smith, who is the CEO of Ad-Ology.
I read that and I was wondering, does this refer to MY mini movies? Or does it refer to manufacturer published movies on watches. I do get a lot of feedback on my youtube reviews and a lot of people do seem to watch them before they purchase a watch.
I’m glad they do some good and help people make more informed decisions. Another interesting stat is that over 84% of jewelry and watch buyers prefer to make their purchases at a store as opposed to online.
Hi Guys, just want to remind you guys about watchtrader.ca. I started it almost a year ago as a place for Canadians to list local watches for sale and trade, so we don’t have to deal with customs. We all know how great it is to send expensive watches over the border and receive them, and have customs hold them for long periods of time. No more!
Buy and sell your watches with watchtrader.ca. I even have forums set up.. though they are pretty dead. But the registration is running out, and if no one is using it, its not really worth it for me to maintain it. So hopefully there are some Canadians out there that want to buy/sell and trade watches!
On the top of my list of dress watches that I would really love to own, but can’t afford (especially with the markets the way they are right now! Blech!), are Jacquet Droz. I love the simple lines, coupled with significantly sized cases. They are like the minimalist version of F.P. Journe, in my opinion.
Their new model, the Ceramic Power Reserve, uses high-tech ceramics combined with their signature styling to acheive a watch that is both class, and tech all in one. The case measures 44m, and the movement is a Jaquet Droz caliber 4063D with 30 jewels. Power reserve is a respectable 68 hours.
Some other very cool models from Jacquet Droz include the Grande Seconds, and the Grande Seconde Decentree:
