Angelus Datalarm - 1st Gen - AS 1568 Calibre

In this past month was this 1st gen Angelus Alarm watch, a true classic and quite a rare find however it was in rather desperate need of TLC in order to get it back to recognisable condition. A full restoration would be needed and this would take time to do right.
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Above we see the earlier AS 1568 movement ( Later 1930/1931 ) with the nice large lettering Angelus and cosmetically in fairly good shape. The stem setting was not quite right and later on we see why but for now lets break down the casing.
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Removing the bezel we see years of sweat and grime that finds its way into every nook and cranny, this will all come off after a clean in the ultrasonic before light polishing.
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The dial whilst original is a shadow of its former self and will need to be refinished, a nice paint and print job will do wonders for the face of this little cricket :)
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Its not the first time this watch has been under scrutiny, the alarm hand has had two previous paint jobs, neither of which were finished well. A thorough clean off of the old paint, light rub on 3000 grit float glass before a good coat of red enamel.
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The date disc has also seen some rather shady attention and the numbers have been hand painted on, we shall have to see about changing that for a new one.
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Removing the dial we see why the stem setting isn't quite right, the setting lever spring has fatigued and so will not function as it should. Further strip down below for those interested ;)
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After some effort the watch came together nicely, the movement runs within a few seconds a day and the alarm has a nice healthy thump to it so you won't be late for anything ! The cosmetic work took a little longer but was worth it in the end, hr & min hands re lumed, dial refinished, casing lightly polished, and finished with a new glass and a basic strap to get it going. Someone somewhere is going to love this watch, fresh clean looks with practical functionality. The 1st gen watches are hard to find so if you can find one then they are worth collecting as their value will only go up. Enjoy :)
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Note : accidental matching red of date disc with red alarm hand :)

Before

After

Coming soon.......Seiko 6139 , Omega Chronostop Cal 865 , Seiko DX 27 Jewel, be sure to check back in the new year for more blog posts :)