# THE Book: Glycine Watches Dating



## Emre

The 'Heritage' of Glycine Watches SA.

The company shared THE book where the serial numbers and production dates,specs and quantities are recorded:









There are two books,first one covers the period from 1954 to 1986 and second one keeps the records from 1987 to 2012.We don't know if these were the master records or if there were others completing the whole serial numbers.

When I first saw the book, I was very excited.Since the flood in Bienne in the '40s,there weren't many records left. Having in mind that the factory was robbed in Jan 1975 these records are precious gemstones left/rescued from unfortunate events.

WUS members are the first fans to benefit from this :-!

The records are a bit more complicated than I was imagining.Still in progress of reading-decoding or trying to determine models and serial numbers due to different methods of numbering the cases in different decades.And since we don't have access anymore to the people who actually wrote it,we need to make sense of the records and match them with the timepieces in the market.

I would like to undertake an exercise in this thread in dating and giving relevant information for your Glycine timepieces within the era 1954 - 2012. Please remember this is an exercise to accumulate more information and kind of proof reading. If you have watches from pre-1954, I have enough data to give approximate dates for them also - from my personal archives.

I,of course can not post images of the records or certain details but will expose relevant information upon your requests. If there is something which I don't know yet,I will just admit it. Things will get better and more accurate within time.

So far the '50s look good and accurate,for early '60s I need more time but will do my best,1968 - 83 is a bit tricky,'84 and onwards is fine. So,please don't hesitate to post your Glycine watches,if no images,I will need the digits and markings from the case-back.These are valid for watches cased in Switzerland and manufactured for European market. Earlier watches for the American market -from 1924 onwards - are cased in the United States,therefore movement and dial photos are needed.

Looking forward your posts and beautiful Glycine timepieces,thank you,

Emre

PS: I will conduct this for a limited time in the forum publicly,afterwards will continue via request through the corporate email address :
' [email protected] ' which is created for this purpose.


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## Uwe W.

Very interesting! It looks like you have your hands full. ;-) Are the partial page photos of a ledger that you posted in another thread here from these two books?


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## Emre

Oh yes, you remember well Those partial images were from the first book.


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## Dennis Smith

Wow. Thanks for your efforts and your offer. I don't own any vintage pieces at the moment.


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## achilles

Wow this is fantastic....wish I had collected a vintage Glycine myself......currently I only have the vintage re-issue! ;-)

I am sure folks here with their vintage pieces will come forward...


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## Denke27

Very interesting Emre! 

I'll start with this one:



The only nr I found on the case back is: 425302

Any ideas about it?

Oh, and thank you very much for the bracelet I bought from (what I believe is) you on ebay. 

Thanks,


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## Emre

Denke27 thank you for your post. Happy to provide you the infrmation below:

Serial number 425302
Production Date: 26 Aug 1971
Production Amount : 3000
model ref: 1877
Base Caliber: ETA 2651,modified jewel count and adjustments


As for the bracelet,yes it looks from my sales.Wish you've contacted me through the forum I could arrange a different price.I bought 15 of these bracelets some years ago and just realized I don't need that much Hope you are happy with it.


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## Denke27

Emre said:


> Denke27 thank you for your post. Happy to provide you the infrmation below:
> 
> Serial number 425302
> Production Date: 26 Aug 1971
> Production Amount : 3000
> model ref: 1877
> Base Caliber: ETA 2651,modified jewel count and adjustments
> 
> As for the bracelet,yes it looks from my sales.Wish you've contacted me through the forum I could arrange a different price.I bought 15 of these bracelets some years ago and just realized I don't need that much Hope you are happy with it.


Thanks Emre! Thanks for the help and thanks for your effort to provide the Glycine-community with more information about our watches! Very interesting info! 

As soon as I'll get my vintage Airman back from service I'll post it in this thread. Would be great to have the production year more specified.

Hope to see a lot more vintage Glycines in this (and other) threads.

(and thanks again for the bracelet, it was very nicely priced even on ebay  )

Thanks,


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## HenROCK!

Emre said:


> Looking forward your posts and beautiful Glycine timepieces,thank you,
> 
> Emre


Cool!

How about this one? - 1954?


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## Emre

HenROCK nice old-timer congrats, looks very well maintained also.Thank you for posting. 
I've organized this '50s era pretty well, happy to provide you the information below:

Serial number A 81142
Production Date: 29 Mar 1957
Production Amount : 500
ref: 503
Base Caliber: Felsa 692 Bidynator
Applied patents on watch: CH 314050 and CH 323980

Please note that,the 'production amount' I mention is not the total manufacture of this model. It's the quantity in that production party.
Airmen from late 1953 to early '55 have no hacking pin at 24 o'clock ( CH 323980 patent applied in Mar 1955 ),also the hands are varying:tail-end to minute hand, pencil hands and other varieties were being experienced. Even though I don't see it in the photo,I believe your watch has the tail-end at the hour hand.


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## Olaa

interesting, my should be about 1963 according to previous owner. Can not find the serial number. Good with a bit of Glycine knowledge 



Best reg Ola


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## beeman101

Great Effort emre....... i might be inspired to get a vintage glycine now !

_Pls email me some details so to how to go about it ..._
cheers
beeman101


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## Uwe W.

Looks like you opened a floodgate Emre! ;-)


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## Emre

@beeman : just mind the working/non-working hacking mechanism while buying, otherwise its up to your taste.Will be happy to assist.
@Uwe W.: I struggled a lot for dating my watches in the past and am happy now if I can be at use of this records for Glycine owners. My first ever thread in WUS was seeking information about Glycine: https://www.watchuseek.com/f18/seeking-model-info-vintage-glycine-708583.html

@ Ola, Sverige always amazes me with the premium timepieces surfacing from there. I've sourced two unique Glycines from Sweden and am very happy with them.Your Airman looks fantastic. As for dating your watch, I am afraid I can not without the serial number.It's supposed to be just below that patent number on the case-back. Generally it's not marked as strong as the other markings therefore is fading faster. At this point I can make only an educated guess:

- I can't read the caliber number under the balance wheel, I see the shield of AS ( A.Schild ) but not the digits.Is it 1701,1903 or 2061? I guess your watch is manufactured between 1965-67. These snap on case-backs were not existing in the Felsa and AS 1701 casing Airmen ( they were screw down case-back ).The cross hatched crowns also came with yours' case-backs.It can't be after 1968 also because the United States banned the word ' waterproof ' at that time.

So nice to see all these vintage beauties,use it all in good health.


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## Olaa

@ Ola, Sverige always amazes me with the premium timepieces surfacing from there. I've sourced two unique Glycines from Sweden and am very happy with them.Your Airman looks fantastic. As for dating your watch, I am afraid I can not without the serial number.It's supposed to be just below that patent number on the case-back. Generally it's not marked as strong as the other markings therefore is fading faster. At this point I can make only an educated guess:

- I can't read the caliber number under the balance wheel, I see the shield of AS ( A.Schild ) but not the digits.Is it 1701,1903 or 2061? I guess your watch is manufactured between 1965-67. These snap on case-backs were not existing in the Felsa and AS 1701 casing Airmen ( they were screw down case-back ).The cross hatched crowns also came with yours' case-backs.It can't be after 1968 also because the United States banned the word ' waterproof ' at that time.

So nice to see all these vintage beauties,use it all in good health.[/QUOTE]

TNX! yes, I like this one a lot, it is serviced and still in duty!:-d 
AS 1701 and yes,, hard to read, very faded numbers, 871641
And it's totally okay that you purchase some of our fine Glycine when you manage to broaden everyone's knowledge about them this way:-! Have a nice evening//Best reg Ola


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## Emre

@ Ola: Glycine Airman # 871641 dates to 14 Nov 1966, 1000 pieces produced, AS 1700/01 caliber


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## HenROCK!

Emre said:


> HenROCK nice old-timer congrats, looks very well maintained also.Thank you for posting.
> I've organized this '50s era pretty well, happy to provide you the information below:
> 
> Serial number A 81142
> Production Date: 29 Mar 1956
> Production Amount : 500
> ref: 503
> Base Caliber: Felsa 692 Bidynator
> Applied patents on watch: CH 314050 and CH 323980
> 
> Please note that,the 'production amount' I mention is not the total manufacture of this model. It's the quantity in that production party.
> Airmen from late 1953 to early '55 have no hacking pin at 24 o'clock ( CH 323980 patent applied in Mar 1955 ),also the hands are varying:tail-end to minute hand, pencil hands and other varieties were being experienced. Even though I don't see it in the photo,I believe your watch has the tail-end at the hour hand.


Amazing. Even the date of production.
Correct regarding tail-end hand and my dial has the tiny hole for the stop-pin (non-working).

Many thanks again - this adds more flavor to the watch!


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## romaII

Emre said:


> @ Ola: Glycine Airman # 871641 dates to 14 Nov 1966, 1000 pieces produced, AS 1700/01 caliber


perfect information here!! EMRE--you are great!!


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## marckus

What a great initiative! It is very appreciated that you share your incredible knowledge on glycine watches
What can you say about this piece?
















Serialno on caseback: 722736
Best regards
Marcus


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## Emre

Marcus welcome to WUS,glad to see new members with vintage gems. I thank you for posting. 

This information is exposed thanks to Glycine Watches SA headquarters and is just a beginning. Glycine Airman line is seperate numbered than other models in early and mid '60s.Might be because of Glycine and Altus merge in Aug 1963.

Glycine Heritage hand written registers refer to below information:

Serial No: 722736
Base Caliber: AS 1700/01
Production Date: 12 Feb 1965
Production Amount: 500


The 1960s (especially after 1964 ) are the years where Glycine is expanding its production volume.It manufactures avg. 60-80.000 timepieces per annum until late '70s. Will create another thread for production volumes in different years.

Thank you all for your interest, I am happy if I can provide some information for your precious watches.


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## Uwe W.

marckus said:


> What can you say about this piece?
> Marcus


Marcus, where can I get one of those straps? I can't stand Nato-type straps, but that one looks properly thick and well made.


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## Olaa

Emre said:


> @ Ola: Glycine Airman # 871641 dates to 14 Nov 1966, 1000 pieces produced, AS 1700/01 caliber


I really appreciate help with this interesting information on my watch:-!
there is additional value in knowledge //Best reg Ola


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## Hilts

Excellent work there! Here's my slightly battered dixi case diver:


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## Emre

Now that's a tough one More information brings more questions.

First comes first: the model 4052 indicates a model of 2000 pieces production on 10 Sept 1974 *but* it cases a different and smaller caliber...

I saw this watch when you first posted here in WUS, and I believe the case-back is original and coherent with the overall condition of the case and dial.

Model Depose - is literally 'registered design' but used in watches for during the period of patent applied and registered duration. There is an interesting patent by Glycine ( CH538135 ) from 1973,it's a crown function to regulate the watch - this is my understanding from French translation and drawing in the patent,as a forum member. The patents are being officially translated recently,so we don't leave room to guess,assume....Until we fully clear it, I can say you might have a possible prototype of the watch details mentioned above. I will come back to you for this special case.


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## jarnould

Hi Buddy this is great 
what about this one ?...


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## Emre

@jarnould great to see you again.I've seen your earlier posts with your Airmen,wonderful pieces you had. Do you still keep them all?

As for the above Airman,I am happy to provide the below information:

Serial number A 76976
Production Date: 30 Nov 1956
Production Amount : 1000
ref: 645
Base Caliber: Felsa 692 Bidynator


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## Emre

HenROCK! said:


> Amazing. Even the date of production.
> Correct regarding tail-end hand and my dial has the tiny hole for the stop-pin (non-working).
> 
> Many thanks again - this adds more flavor to the watch!


HenROCK allow me to correct please. While looking up for Jarnould's Airman which is closed to yours' production, I realized that I've taken the page beginning back from 1956 while it should be 1957. I corrected the date in my initial post. Apologies if it has caused inconvenience.


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## jarnould

Emre said:


> @jarnould great to see you again.I've seen your earlier posts with your Airmen,wonderful pieces you had. Do you still keep them all?
> 
> As for the above Airman,I am happy to provide the below information:
> 
> Serial number A 76976
> Production Date: 30 Nov 1956
> Production Amount : 1000
> ref: 645
> Base Caliber: Felsa 692 Bidynator


Hi Emre 
Thanks for the info 
I'll post the other one to have the correct info on my other airman Special 
Thanks again 
cheers


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## Hilts

Emre said:


> Now that's a tough one More information brings more questions.
> 
> First comes first: the model 4052 indicates a model of 2000 pieces production on 10 Sept 1974 *but* it cases a different and smaller caliber...
> 
> I saw this watch when you first posted here in WUS, and I believe the case-back is original and coherent with the overall condition of the case and dial.
> 
> Model Depose - is literally 'registered design' but used in watches for during the period of patent applied and registered duration. There is an interesting patent by Glycine ( CH538135 ) from 1973,it's a crown function to regulate the watch - this is my understanding from French translation and drawing in the patent,as a forum member. The patents are being officially translated recently,so we don't leave room to guess,assume....Until we fully clear it, I can say you might have a possible prototype of the watch details mentioned above. I will come back to you for this special case.


Excellent work, thanks very much!


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## JiiWe

Hi Emre. Do you have any information about this one? The outer back is engraved with 'Swiss Stainless Steel Automatic Waterproof Incabloc Pat 314050 323.1119.
















Thanks in advance!


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## Emre

So nice to see all these vintage Airmen

JiiWE, I am afraid I can not say much without the serial number.There should be some 6 digits number under the Pat 314050 mark,it might be faded away but might be still visible with correct light angle. What I can say just with the photos and information you posted is, 323.1119 is a marking Glycine started to use in 1968 commonly. '323' indicates the movement and so far I've identified two movements with 323 markings: The AS 2163 and AS 1901/03.I guess yours' serial number should be at 900,000 range and dating it to 1967/68 but precise information depends on serial number. Do you know what movement ticks inside? It might be well AS 2063 also,you would see it under the balance wheel with small fonts.


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## JiiWe

Emre said:


> So nice to see all these vintage Airmen
> 
> JiiWE, I am afraid I can not say much without the serial number.There should be some 6 digits number under the Pat 314050 mark,it might be faded away but might be still visible with correct light angle. What I can say just with the photos and information you posted is, 323.1119 is a marking Glycine started to use in 1968 commonly. '323' indicates the movement and so far I've identified two movements with 323 markings: The AS 2163 and AS 1902/03.I guess yours' serial number should be at 900,000 range and dating it to 1967/68 but precise information depends on serial number. Do you know what movement ticks inside? It might be well AS 2063 also,you would see it under the balance wheel with small fonts.


Yes you're right, it has a serial number written with tiny numbers (didn't see it at first)! The serial number is 941397.

I'm also from Sweden by the way... I think the reason why several people from Sweden has visited this thread is because one of the members on Klocksnack (a Swedish watch forum) told us about you and how you could help us get information about our vintage Glycine watches


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## Emre

JiiWe said:


> Yes you're right, it has a serial number written with tiny numbers (didn't see it at first)! The serial number is 941397.
> 
> I'm also from Sweden by the way... I think the reason why several people from Sweden has visited this thread is because one of the members on Klocksnack (a Swedish watch forum) told us about you and how you could help us get information about our vintage Glycine watches


JiiWE,greetings to Sweden and the 'Klocksnack' forum. Happy to provide the below information from the book:

Serial number: 941397
Production Date: 28 Jan 1968
Production Amount : 1000
Base Caliber: A.Schild 2163 ( no hackin pin at 24 o'clock by factory default due to AS 2163 hacking ability from movement )

I just want to mention something important. This service could not happen so precise without the book from Glycine Watch SA headquarters.Credit also goes to them.My own archives could determine year of production but nothing more.

At the other hand there are also members and Glycine fans who always supported and shared their knowledge with me: Andre, Dennis, Uwe, Geoff, Jerry, William, Sam ( who switched from collecting vintage Porsche cars to Glycine Airman watches and an Airman himself; his wife is very happy now, because watches don't need garage and are cheaper- I think he has the largest Airman collection on the world). So it's a network from whom I've accumulated a lot of information. What I realized,apart from being a watch enthusiast and vintage watch collector, especially the Glycine community reflects the stand of the models from the brand, all these people are so unique and special,I am happy to be a part of this not 'me too' community.Thanks all for being around and I am truly happy if I can be at your help.I am sure with more information,new-er fans will increase this knowledge and enthusiasm far more further.

One of the most important thing now is to find out with facts and proof that Airman was in space with the Gemini 5 flight on the wrist of Astronaut Charles ( Pete ) Conrad.Any help to track down the family and find the watch maybe would be a great asset for all of us


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## JiiWe

Emre said:


> JiiWE,greetings to Sweden and the 'Klocksnack' forum. Happy to provide the below information from the book:
> 
> Serial number: 941397
> Production Date: 28 Jan 1968
> Production Amount : 1000
> Base Caliber: A.Schild 2163 ( no hackin pin at 24 o'clock by factory default due to AS 2163 hacking ability from movement )
> 
> I just want to mention something important. This service could not happen so precise without the book from Glycine Watch SA headquarters.Credit also goes to them.My own archives could determine year of production but nothing more.
> 
> At the other hand there are also members and Glycine fans who always supported and shared their knowledge with me: Andre, Dennis, Uwe, Geoff, Jerry, William, Sam ( who switched from collecting vintage Porsche cars to Glycine Airman watches and an Airman himself; his wife is very happy now, because watches don't need garage and are cheaper- I think he has the largest Airman collection on the world). So it's a network from whom I've accumulated a lot of information. What I realized,apart from being a watch enthusiast and vintage watch collector, especially the Glycine community reflects the stand of the models from the brand, all these people are so unique and special,I am happy to be a part of this not 'me too' community.Thanks all for being around and I am truly happy if I can be at your help.I am sure with more information,new-er fans will increase this knowledge and enthusiasm far more further.
> 
> One of the most important thing now is to find out with facts and proof that Airman was in space with the Gemini 5 flight on the wrist of Astronaut Charles ( Pete ) Conrad.Any help to track down the family and find the watch maybe would be a great asset for all of us


Thank you for the information about my watch Sir.

Ah, I see, that they lent you their book is very cool. I love companies who stay down to earth and interact with their customers.

I can imagine his wife is quite happy with his change of hobby... Collecting vintage Porsche cars is quite cool too of course but 10 out of 10 times I'd choose the Airman collecting!

Wow, I didn't know that. We have to track down Charles (Pete) Conrad then! That would indeed be a great asset for all of us. How cool wouldn't it be if an Airman had been in space!


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## Bauuer

Hi Emre!
As always you're far too kind! Any possibilities that you will post some photos and more information of my old alarm watch? Would be interesting 
I'm glad it found such a great home!
Best Regards,


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## Emre

Bauuer, hi.Great to see you again. After I've obtained this book last month,the first thing I did was of course dated my watches and collection pieces.
The nice surprise was that Glycine only once manufactured an alarm watch with AS 1475 and that was in 27 Apr 1956, 500 pieces.To all Swedish friends comes the picture of it, with the Swedish jewelry company,its retailer 'Magnusson' name on it:









I promise, if one day I will liquidate my timepieces for some reason ( not that I am planning ),this one will go back home to Sweden.


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## Bauuer

Emre said:


> Bauuer, hi.Great to see you again. After I've obtained this book last month,the first thing I did was of course dated my watches and collection pieces.
> The nice surprise was that Glycine only once manufactured an alarm watch with AS 1475 and that was in 27 Apr 1956, 500 pieces.To all Swedish friends comes the picture of it, with the Swedish jewelry company,its retailer 'Magnusson' name on it:
> 
> I promise, if one day I will liquidate my timepieces for some reason ( not that I am planning ),this one will go back home to Sweden.


Wow, really rare then! It's good to see it again, its a beaut'! I will keep the cash handy if that day comes buddy!


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## everestx

I purchased this Airman from an estate earlier this week but unfortunately the dial does not appear to be original. The caseback serial number and what is written on the Glycine box differ so I'm not sure which one is correct.


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## Emre

Everestx, thank you for posting and your inquiry.This public information share was for limited time to anounce the availbility of our records.
Please refer to : [email protected] email address for archive records. Hope to meet your uderstanding, thank you.


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## Kyle_Brock

Thank you very much for your help and interesting information. I have an Airman with serial number 722230, can you tell me anything more about it?
Thanks
Kyle


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## topcop30

emre: Much to my surprise, I noticed your comment about an airman #871641. mine looks just like it and has #871646. Can you tell me more details about it? I have owned it since 1972 and the wooden box it came in has a handwritten date of 10/13/69. this watch has been many places including Vietnam, South Africa, Alaska and many other places.


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## Emre

topcop30,welcome to WUS and thank you for your message.Yes your Airman would have been manufactured in the same date with #871641:

14 Nov 1966, 1000 pieces produced, casing the movement AS 1700/01.

The date on the wooden box would be the service date.In the past manufacturers recommended servicing the timepieces more often,Airman manuals show that 18 months of service frequency was recommended.The smaller the movement is,the more frequent service was uniform.
Say the AS 1701 is 11,5 lignes and was recommended every 18 months to be serviced,the 8,75 lignes and smaller movements were recommended to be serviced every 12 months...The lubricants used back then and I believe the sensitive hacking mechanism was demanding the check up so frequent vs actual service durations so as 3-5 years.


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## bighank

HenROCK! said:


> Cool!
> 
> How about this one?
> 
> I have this watch's brother!!
> Ser# A81230.


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## Grootmokum

Hi Emre,
I've recently found a Glycine High Freqency, an ETA 2830 inside.
Is there any information available in "The Books" about this watch, such as year, number etc?
Numbers on the backside are 344.154 and 1251468.
Pictures: 



















Thanks in advance.


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## Emre

Hello Grootmokum,thank you for posting.This public information share was for limited time to anounce the availbility of our records.

Please refer to : [email protected] email address for archive records. Hope to meet your uderstanding, thank you.


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## Grootmokum

OK. I'll try there.


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## Uwe W.

Just to reiterate and clarify, Emre was only providing this information through this thread for a limited amount of time and now requests that anyone reading this thread now should follow the link he provided in post #45 to receive manufacturing dates for your watch.


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