Today we have a look into the service of a Britix triple date chronograph, although the brand name can come up from time to time it is unusual to find them with both the triple date and the chronograph together. The Britix brand was founded in 1932 in La Chaux De Fonds but also later opened a factory in Lengnau in 1945. The brand name was later changed to Apex-Britix and as well as their own brand of watches they also produced watches under the names of Accurist, Festal, Naxe, Augusta and Aventica. The brand has been associated with the likes of Breitling but this is more speculation and not concrete evidence , if you should find an ebay listing stating an association as definitive then take it with a pinch of salt and not gospel. During the last years the Britix brand was changed once again to Jaquet & Girard of Biel, however beyond this i have found no records and assume the Quartz Crisis had finished them off for good. It seems a shame now to think that such great companies no longer exist, but fortunately some examples of their work can still be found. Although not a massive and well known brand some examples can command a reasonable price with rarer examples costing a little more. This particular example arrived in not working condition but did not seem to be overly worn and so some tlc should bring it back to good order. The movement used in this case is the Landeron Calibre 57, whilst the smaller cal 48/51 is more commonly seen this is a nice rare example of one of the more complicated calibres produced. The date functions are controlled by various levers and springs which can be adjusted swiftly using the casing bezel as we shall later see, this bezel has a hidden blued steel catch which pushes each lever in turn to change the various date wheels. Follow below for images taken during strip down, photos may not always be in exact order but im sure you can get the picture :) With the movement cleaned it was time to rebuild and lubricate, there was some wear and tear present which would later prove to be troublesome but nothing that could not be overcome. Sorry no rebuild pictures but it is a reasonably straight forward process of reversing the procedure, of course with some exceptions but you get the jist :) As with many watches of this sort of age wear & tear takes its toll and in this case the chrono pinion as well as the 30 minute pinon are both worn so original hands do not reset to zero correctly no matter how well applied. With some searching i manage to find some suitable hands that should do the job for a while longer, finding these was more challenging than servicing the movement but such is the way of things. The watch now complete is ready to return to the owner, it may be a little worn but it has had a good life and been well used by those who loved it. Hopefully it can be enjoyed once again as these gems won't be around forever :) Next up, IWC TCZ....
7 Comments
Mark
3/4/2018 05:40:15 pm
Wearing it now and loving it cheers Mike amazing job done once again
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Chris Molloy
5/5/2018 12:22:17 am
I have a Britix chronograph in a stainless steel case with a Landeron 48 movement. I am missing the 2 pushers to finish this watch, do you happen to know where o can find a pair?
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W. van Roosmalen
7/19/2018 04:16:52 pm
What is the value of this specific watch? I have exactly this one ans i am thinking of selling it.
Reply
Well a watch is worth only what someone else is willing to pay ! However it varies depending on what condition the watch is in and what the casing is made from. Prices can start from £300 up to over £1000, or as little as £100 for scrap, so prices only make sense when all the variables are known. You can always check ebay or chrono24 for other examples. Regards
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Pat
1/27/2020 09:07:17 pm
Hi. I am a long Time hobbyist and watch repair and restore in the exact same watch however the bezel is missing the little click do you have any other pictures of the close-up of the basil and also under the stars the date and the month the springs that how they adjust on that thank you very much Pat
Mike
1/28/2020 10:03:18 am
Hi Pat
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