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It's a happy day, a new watch arrived A big shoutout to Bro. John Lind. Clapping! Clapping! Clapping! Image Attachments

Ricky Lee
December 29, 2009 02:25AM
 Registered: April 2005
Posts: 6,047 (2010-02)

He surprised me with a flat-rate USPS box, and a note saying..
Quote
John Lind
Ricky, Congrats to you on winning this prize! All need batteries. Remove screws from Gruen back carefully!!
--John
Whaaaa..? Gruen? WooHOO!

But let's not get ahead of ourselves. First was a li'l black dress number branded Perry Ellis wi', sure enough, a faux Curvex profile to it's case. Alas, it proved to need more than a battery. Yup, it "failed to proceed" upon installation of a fresh 364 cell. Which is a pity, as it's only the 2nd movement from this marque, Akita, that I've seen. And I think a lot of the other one!

Next up was a gold rectangular Benrus..


Click HERE for larger photo or HERE for supersized photo

..and when I saw the Shiojira V-series module inside, I just knew I'd be luckier here. And, sure enough, it fired right up when I slipped in the new cell (luckily, the same 364 that failed to kickstart the Akita 9GB03, thus ruling out a bad battery).

But there's more! Sure, the Gruen..


Click HERE for larger photo or HERE for supersized photo

'twas my defending the M.Z. Berger iteration of Benrus and Gruen as "pretty good watches" the other day that earned me this ' prize', I suspect Wink, so I kind of feel bound to stand by that. Rolling on the floor laughing my a.. off But, seriously, by my standards these are pretty good watches, if not heirloom material. Heck, the Gruen strikes me as quite impressive indeed! Quite finely finished, it uses a Swiss movement (which has a veritable novel printed on the wee 6-3/4 X 8 ligne module: "Gruen Curvex Swiss V8 R/T Fifteen Jewels 980-163 E.O.L."). It uses a 379 battery and, yep, you were right about those screws, John. Not too bad, though, and we Got R Dun. Thumbs up! Look for better photos and a more thorough review Real Soon!

Thanks so much, John!





-Ricky
Messages In This Thread

It's a happy day, a new watch arrived A big shoutout to Bro. John Lind. Clapping! Clapping! Clapping! Image Attachments
Ricky Lee -- December 29, 2009 02:25AM (Views: 98)
Clapping! Clapping! Clapping! (n/t)
Dave Murphy -- December 29, 2009 04:51PM (Views: 7)
Clapping! Welllll . . . Ricky's defense of MZ Berger's Gruen and Benrus quartz was part of it >>> Post contains linked URL
John Lind -- December 29, 2009 05:42AM (Views: 59)
Then there was the rapid-fire Watch Contests thread with Jeremy, Dave and Ricky last Tuesday:

Decided to have my own Watch Contest
Prizes: Genuine Benrus and Gruen quartz watches (as marketed by MZ Berger), entirely appropriate for the winner, with the Perry Ellis thrown in as a bonus.

Didn't even have to ask Ricky for his address . . . already had it! (Remember the watch reviews a while back, Ricky?)

Ah! So karma played a part. I am smiling Cool! Image Attachments
Ricky Lee -- December 29, 2009 07:43PM (Views: 17)
Quote
John Lind
Rule #1: Nobody will know there's a contest except me, the sponsor.
A modest man.. a rare thing around this place. LOL
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John Lind
Didn't even have to ask Ricky for his address . . . already had it! (Remember the watch reviews a while back, Ricky?)
I do! And, I keep meaning to ask.. may I have your permission to mirror the 2 reviews you did on my own server? Smiling

Now, the rest of this, is of course in reply to your private e-Mail to my dodge_boyz account. Hope you don't mind me answering here, as it is germane, to an extent (a Caveman Watchmaking tip, no less! Wink)
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John Lind
The movement is finicky about the battery being fully and firmly seated correctly when installed. If it's not, it can lift up slightly and lose contact with the center contact on the underside of the battery. I don't recommend subjecting it to hard shocks. Anyway . . . if it stops running and it's well before the battery should be dead (especially shortly after a battery change) . . . open the back reseat it.
I noticed that right off, and employed an old Tom Swift Trick to put it right. IOW, I shimmed it. Smiling However, I've done me research, and I use the right sort of shim! No electrical tape or duct tape for me (yes, I've see real cavemen do just that Eek!). Rather, I use a dot of fine closed-cell polyethylene foam (sort of like micro-bubblewrap) custom cut to fit the battery in question. Works a treat! (At least on snapin and screwed-plate style backs, it's obviously problematic on a sure 'nough screwdown caseback)
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John Lind
..the Gruen was one of my faves to wear to work when I lived in California (nearly 15 years ago).
I can see why! It's a classic design, and no doubt about it.

But.. wow, I didn't realize it was that old. Somewhere around 1995 date-of-manufacture, then?
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John Lind
You may have noticed the original strap showed it had been worn much more than the others.
I did!

And you may have noticed my new combo, an XL smooth padded calf strap with Modena deployant. It's like it was MADE for this watch, though this should probably come as no surprise, since I robbed it off the Moulin, which is peas-in-a-pod similar to a Curvex.
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John Lind
These and a few more quartz watches went into a display case after I all but abandoned quartz movements about six years ago. They haven't been worn since then and it's better they have a new home instead of languishing here with near zero likelihood of being worn on my wrist again.
And rest assured that I'll put it to good use. Thumbs up!

Mind you, this watch is more at home with a tux than with the jeans and leather (or Red Kap work uniforms) I mostly wear.. but, still, I do enjoy the style and am not fussy about 'over-dressing'.. at least not when it comes to wristwatches. LOL

Thanks again, John!

-Ricky

Yes . . . no problem . . . go ahead and mirror them (n/t)
John Lind -- December 30, 2009 06:17AM (Views: 7)
Good stuff Ricky. Clapping! for John. (n/t)
PaulGeo -- December 29, 2009 05:39AM (Views: 7)
I had a similar Gruen, 'tho back wasn't secured by screws. Clapping! (n/t)
MCV -- December 29, 2009 05:06AM (Views: 14)
I've got another watch, branded Moulin, which.. Image Attachments Post contains linked URL
Ricky Lee -- December 29, 2009 03:09PM (Views: 20)
..while I already considered a homage to the Curvex, nevertheless surprised me by having a case that's very nearly a molecular-level clone..


Click HERE for larger photo or HERE for Complete review

Though, as you say, it's a snapin caseback.

-Ricky

Congrats, Ricky. Thumbs up! And a round of Clapping! for John. (n/t)
Mark C. -- December 29, 2009 04:59AM (Views: 8)


Catalog Shots of the Kokomo Kousins.. Image Attachments

January 01, 2010 06:58PM


..and that'd be the and clans of sept M.Z. Berger, thankeweverramuch!

I spent a couple o' minutes polishing the Benrus with a microfiber cloth..


Click HERE for larger photo or HERE for supersized photo

..and it responded quite well, I think.

Also gave the..


Click HERE for larger photo or HERE for supersized photo

Gruen curvex a wee bit o' polishin'.


This one's just begging for a deployant. IMHO.

Tried to capure the great etching on the back..

Click HERE for larger photo or HERE for supersized photo

..with only mixed results.

And a pose this one really likes..


Click HERE for larger photo or HERE for supersized photo





-Ricky


Messages In This Thread

Catalog Shots of the Kokomo Kousins.. Image Attachments
Ricky Lee -- January 01, 2010 06:58PM (Views: 117)
Nice watches Ricky (n/t)
Johnny Sako -- January 02, 2010 05:49PM (Views: 6)
Nice watches and nice photos too, Ricky ! Yes, they look great with these combos... I am smiling (n/t)
IF -- January 02, 2010 01:37PM (Views: 5)
Like the Curvex (n/t)
RichLinx -- January 02, 2010 03:12AM (Views: 6)
Beautiful, Ricky. Thumbs up! (n/t)
Mark C. -- January 01, 2010 11:54PM (Views: 8)
Great looking photos Ricky Thumbs up! I like the deployants on them -- phenomenal watches too Laughing out loud! (n/t)
John Lind -- January 01, 2010 11:41PM (Views: 7)
Thanks John! I did a sort of inventory of deployants today..
Ricky Lee --- January 02, 2010 04:39AM (Views: 7)
Figured out that I had two not even being used, and another on a watch that gets worn only infrequently. Got everything swapped around to my satisfaction now!

Another happy discovery was that the OEM Benrus strap is juuuust long enough to work for me, on a deployant. WooHOO! Smile

-Ricky

Lovely! Thumbs up! (n/t)
Dave Murphy -- January 01, 2010 09:02PM (Views: 7)
Are them cousins those kissin' kind? Laughing out loud! (n/t)
MCV -- January 01, 2010 07:57PM (Views: 11)
In Mississippi, that's the only kind of cousin. Rolling on the floor laughing my ass off
Ricky Lee -- January 02, 2010 04:32AM (Views: 7)
No, wait! I am confused I'm thinkin' of Arkansas! Rolling on the floor laughing my ass off

-Ricky

ohhh nice! (n/t)
anjizkit -- January 01, 2010 07:54PM (Views: 13)
Beautiful! (n/t)
Julio -- January 01, 2010 07:19PM (Views: 5)

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