$10 would be an unbeatable value - the sapphire crystal alone or the
watchband alone is worth $10. I think I paid something like $50 for mine
(which is roughly the current going rate on ebay) and I thought it was still
a pretty good deal - it's hard to find a watch with a sapphire crystal for
under $100. At that price, even if the watch was a 50/50 proposition it
would be worth it. I have to say that even though these watches are being
sold as NOS, at this point they are getting a little long in the tooth - I
think Swiss Army discontinued the line somewhere around '98, so these
watches have been sitting on the shelf for 8 years. At the very least, if I
bought another, I'd insist on a fresh battery. Mine ran for no more than a
couple of weeks on the factory battery (and in a way I'm surprised it ran at
all). That way, the seller would have to deal with the consequences if the
battery was already leaking (mine wasn't), debris fell in the movement (this
happened to me), etc.
But overall I'm getting the feeling that this particular ETA movement has an
abnormally high failure rate. You say at least 3 are still in service. Does
this mean that you know of any that failed? I wonder if the watchmakers have
seen a particularly high failure rate on the ETA 980.163? This gets used a
lot in "retro" style watches because of the sweep at 6, so overall it's
probably not that common a movement, but I've seen a lot of failures while
other quartz watches I've had, even the $10 Chinese kind that come "free"
with a bottle of cologne or a pen, just seem to run and run as long as the
battery doesn't leak.
Post by John S.At the time the Ebay dealer was selling them for something like $10.00
per watch, so at that price I forgave any minor styling issues. Mine
had a sub seconds dial, a really nice german leather strap and it was
pretty darn well made. In-fact I grabbed several others and gave 'em
for presents. At least three are still in service.
Yeah, they were being peddled as having a warranty, but I figured
close-out prices mean WYSIWYG.
Post by Jack DenverMine had a 379 (SR521SW).
A lot of the jewels in mine were for the sweep at six - they used a whole
bunch of wheels to bring the seconds down from the center. It's nice that
they jeweled them all but it's really an ass-backwards way of implementing
a small seconds.
Mine ended up going back. The seller sent it to me with the factory battery
which was near dead and ran only a few weeks. When I tried to replace the
battery, a whole bunch of metal shavings fell out of the case, including
one that must have lodged in the movement. I've changed many batteries (not
as many as the pros, but all my family's watches) and I've never killed a
watch before, but the battery changed killed this one. The seller sold them
as being warranted, but when I contacted Swiss Army (the maker of Allenby)
they said no way. The seller was good about it and took it back.
I was glad to be rid of it in the end. In some ways it was a nice watch
(sapphire crystal, high quality ETA movement) but the styling did not grow
on me - it was in a 1920s style but they had simplified it just enough to
lose something from the originals. Also although the watch was marked T for
tritium, the watch was old enough (NOS) that the lume has burned away.
Post by John S.Post by BaGetmailI'm looking for battery replacement for my Allenby watch. I lost the
old one. Does anyone know what kind of battery used in Allenby watch?
Thanks,
Ba
Nice looking watches with a high quality movement. It's a pleasant
surprise to open the case of a watch that might have sold for $25.00 on
Ebay and see a fully jeweled nicely finished quartz movement. The best
idea I can come up with for the battery number would be to contact some
of the sellers on Ebay. (Hi, nice looking watch. Can you tell me which
battery it uses...)
The one I bought on Ebay 3 years ago has since moved on to another
owner otherwise I would get you the information first hand.
