TDBK - "They Made Some Pretty Terrible Watches In The Good Old Days Too"

Andrew C
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upload_2021-4-27_20-20-12.png


Lies, lies, and damned lies.

I'm referencing a HODINKEE article from the good old days of 2018.

I came across the TDBK jump hour chronograph (TDBK 1376) movement in the book Chronographs for Collectors which is a book I have been using to inspire the curation of my vintage chronograph collection.

Let's be clear, this movement is absolutely crazy. Jump hour, automatic, chronograph - how did it not catch on!!!

A sped-up video of my watch in action is attached.

It wears like a brick on the wrist. It's fat and chunky, and frankly ugly. But I really love it. I enjoy wearing it (you know when I need to be sure my wrist will not be near to things - anythings)

I have a small issue with my watch in that the chronograph minute hand is constantly running... But my hope of finding anyone to service this thing for a price that is anywhere reasonable compared to what I paid for the watch is low.

But I guarantee that I won't find anyone else wearing one, anywhere, at any time...
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TDBK
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I had no idea I had a namesake but that's a great watch.
 
Andrew C
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TDBK TDBK
I had no idea I had a namesake but that's a great watch.
Haha, that’s awesome.

It stands for Tenor, Dorly and Brac-Kelek! The two companies that pushed all their chips on this movement...
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Paedipod
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There's a guy in the Netherlands, Fred Dingemans who makes jump hour watches with old Tenor Dorly movements. I signed up, waited the three years, and got one but it did not stick with me......I think that I wanted the "real" thing and the one that you have, I can't find the sales post but I think one was up on the forum maybe ?5 years ago. Anyway, either he or someone he knows must be able to service these. Good luck!
http://www.dingemansmechanischehorloges.nl
 
Wlcutter
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Congrats--that's a great example.

My dad's a retired watchmaker, and he eventually, over the years, cobbled parts for one working example of one of these, but I know even then he had to find a fabrication shop to make some specific part, as the movement wasn't terribly well designed or made, and not in great numbers, either. Wear it in good health+protect it! Lord knows who even touches those things anymore.
 
dsio
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I like it, reminds me of some of the weird looking LIP models I happen to also have a thing for.
 
Wlcutter
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Wryfox Wryfox
So what time is it?

In the picture: it's 12:25. The central chrono hand rotates once/minte, and the minute counter's at 11.
 
Andrew C
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Paedipod Paedipod
There's a guy in the Netherlands, Fred Dingemans who makes jump hour watches with old Tenor Dorly movements. I signed up, waited the three years, and got one but it did not stick with me......I think that I wanted the "real" thing and the one that you have, I can't find the sales post but I think one was up on the forum maybe ?5 years ago. Anyway, either he or someone he knows must be able to service these. Good luck!
http://www.dingemansmechanischehorloges.nl
Cool. Thanks - I will give him a shout.

I found this one on Instagram a couple.of years ago from a UK seller. I think I paid $1,500. Who even know if that is reasonable - there were no data points.
 
MoclovFlop
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Andrew C Andrew C
Cool. Thanks - I will give him a shout.

I found this one on Instagram a couple.of years ago from a UK seller. I think I paid $1,500. Who even know if that is reasonable - there were no data points.

I think that's a good price. They pop up as parts projects every once in a while and go for around $800 in poor condition. Heck, I've seen caseless (but otherwise complete) ones sell recently for around $300-$500. Top examples depending on brand, have been known to sell for $2,000. Yours certainly would meet that.

dsio dsio
I like it, reminds me of some of the weird looking LIP models I happen to also have a thing for.

Something like this perhaps? 😁

Screen Shot 2021-04-28 at 11.32.30 AM.png
 
Foo2rama
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Wlcutter Wlcutter
In the picture: it's 12:25. The central chrono hand rotates once/minte, and the minute counter's at 11.
It’s a sub second. The center second is the chronograph😉
 
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