The Year 2006

Watches and Watchmaking


I did not maintain this blog since March 2006, so sorry! However, I posted most of my new watch projects on watchuseek fora and since October 2006, in French, on "forumamontre" a local French forum under the same pseudonym.


Through about 15 differents projects, I succeeded to service and restore simple vintage watches and my Russian Strela 3017 chronograph that suddently lost its balance amplitude.


My interest for watches and watchmaking was completed by several local tourist visits to our most important French/Swiss watchmaking places : the French Jura (Morteau, Villers), Franche Comté (Besançon), Savoie (Cluses), Swiss Jura (Joux, Le Locle, Geneva).


I completed my collection of different classical Russian watches and chronographs, including two new 3017 Strela, a Sturmanskie 3133 . I continued my discovery of French horology with several Yema watches (Flygraf 1976, Sous-Marines), the marvellous 70's Lip Electronic (Nautic-Ski and Super Nautic Ski in particular).










I also created my "watch station", a small place about 80 cm wide, reserved for watchmaking unfortunately not at the watchmaking size standard (beware to the back pain!) which is shown on an earlier post.

Diving!

I don't know if the idea came from the consideration of some diving watches (!), discussion with friends or just the need to see my world differently, but in december I decided to be trained to SCUBA diving!...

This activity is enough potentialy hazardous and technical to require a proper learning with trusty instructors. I successfully passed the basic level that provide the knowledge recquired for "accompanied diving with an instructor to 20 meter deep maximum". With 4 other trainees we learned in a securing indoor pool with water at 24°C while it was -2°C outdoor...

I was amused to learn this new dimension with a Vostok-Europe "N1" watch that is resistant enough (10 Atm) for this diving grade.





I am going now to train more every tuesday and friday nighday for several month before my first open-water diving (likely in the Mediteranean sea). Humm!

(the big pool at the Lyon's aquarium)

Nice year 2007 in sight!