# Phenix 24hr Sidereal dial pocket watch...please help



## porphyry

I bought this watch about a year ago and would love more information on it and perhaps some ideas as to where I should send it to be repaired. I believe the balance wheel is what's wrong. Sorry the pictures are so lousy...I tried to take better ones. If it helps, the case is half white gold half yellow gold and is 19k (.800). The serial number is 426062. I have researched and researched, but I can not even find another example of this watch. It was appraised at $2200. I bought it for $250!


----------



## porphyry

Sorry. My upload failed. Here are the pictures:


----------



## siv

I'm sorry I can't really be much help but I just wanted to say what lovely watch that is! I particularly like the secondary set of numbers for the PM hours - a very nice idea.

Maybe you can take it to your local jeweler/watch repair and see if they can help?


----------



## porphyry

siv said:


> I'm sorry I can't really be much help but I just wanted to say what lovely watch that is! I particularly like the secondary set of numbers for the PM hours - a very nice idea.
> 
> Maybe you can take it to your local jeweler/watch repair and see if they can help?


I took it to a place near me in Atlanta and they wanted $995 to repair it. I have since moved to Vail, Colorado. I'm sure that there's a place to take it here, but I haven't found it yet. Thank you for the compliment! I think it's a beautiful watch...find of a lifetime.


----------



## John MS

porphyry said:


> I bought this watch about a year ago and would love more information on it and perhaps some ideas as to where I should send it to be repaired. I believe the balance wheel is what's wrong. Sorry the pictures are so lousy...I tried to take better ones. If it helps, the case is half white gold half yellow gold and is 19k (.800). The serial number is 426062. I have researched and researched, but I can not even find another example of this watch. It was appraised at $2200. I bought it for $250!


Did the original repairman indicate what he was going to do for $995? That seems extraordinarily high. Indeed it seems so high I wonder if the repairman was indirectly trying to turn down the work.

You should get a quote from another repairer. Jack at IWW http://internationalwatchworks.com/ gets very good reviews.


----------



## porphyry

John MS said:


> Did the original repairman indicate what he was going to do for $995? That seems extraordinarily high. Indeed it seems so high I wonder if the repairman was indirectly trying to turn down the work.
> 
> You should get a quote from another repairer. Jack at IWW http://internationalwatchworks.com/ gets very good reviews.


Yeah, that's almost what I was thinking. He wrote something about the balance wheel on there. I had just figured that he was going to have to reconstruct the entire movement from hand and custom make all the parts. It did really seem high.


----------



## porphyry

John MS said:


> Did the original repairman indicate what he was going to do for $995? That seems extraordinarily high. Indeed it seems so high I wonder if the repairman was indirectly trying to turn down the work.
> 
> You should get a quote from another repairer. Jack at IWW http://internationalwatchworks.com/ gets very good reviews.


Well some further news...I talked to Jack at IWW and he said that he wouldn't even touch it. Oh well. Must be a niche piece.


----------



## siv

Did you get a reason why he wouldn't touch it? Too complicated? Not a familiar movement? Try and get some info that would help you find someone who may specialise in this type of watch.


----------



## porphyry

siv said:


> Did you get a reason why he wouldn't touch it? Too complicated? Not a familiar movement? Try and get some info that would help you find someone who may specialise in this type of watch.


He told me that I would probably be better off just sending it to the original watch repair guy with whom I spoke back in Atlanta. That guy apparently handles all Tourneau and Rolex repair work in Atlanta. I was informed that by a sales representative at a Tourneau store in Lenox Mall.


----------



## Somewhere else

Wait...hold the elevator as my old watchmaking teacher used to say. Is this a Sidereal watch? In other words does it show Sidereal time instead of 24 hour time? These watches are exceedingly rare, and I think what you may have is just a 24 hour pocket watch.

Nice, but not exceptionally rare and unusual. You may have some chewed up gears in the setting mechanism which could account for the repair price. Otherwise, it seems like a quite normal 15 jewel Swiss movement to me.


----------



## the_spy

Sorry to bump such an old thread, but I found one with the excactly same machinery for 30 euros at a junk market and I've had problems finding any information on the watch itself. Here is some pics. Edit: mine is a 12 hour version thou.


----------



## porphyry

the_spy said:


> Sorry to bump such an old thread, but I found one with the excactly same machinery for 30 euros at a junk market and I've had problems finding any information on the watch itself. Here is some pics. Edit: mine is a 12 hour version thou.


Sorry to bump such an old thread, but I have some news. As I previously stated, I live in Vail, Colorado and took it to a local watch shop. He sent it off to be repaired, and it wound up costing me $325. As of right now, the watch works and keeps good time, as well. I'm still trying to find information about the watch, as I still cannot find a single example of the watch on the internet. If anyone knows anything about the watch, please email me at [email protected]. It's a great watch.


----------

