# Medana watches



## Marrick (May 2, 2007)

A few medana watches:

1) Marked antimagnetic - 7 jewel MST 374.

2) Square watch - 17 jewel MST 946

3) Medana special - scalloped bezel - MST 394 - 1 jewel.

4) Medana Lever - FHF 96-4 17 jewels.

There you are.


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## YellowPeril (Jan 13, 2012)

I have a nice little Medana but I know very little about it, so if anyone could enlighten me, I'd be most obliged. 
Information on reverse;Stainless steel back, Swiss made, 45073 221


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## Marrick (May 2, 2007)

Hi - that is nice.

Medana was a brand used by the Swiss company of Meyer & Studeli. Originally good quality, it later became the budget brand of the company as it chose Roamer as its 'premium' branding. See:

Collection: Meyer & Studeli Watchmakers

Vintage Roamer Watch Site

To say much about your watch, I think we would need to see inside it and have a look at the movement. But as it doesn't refer to jewels on the dial we may find it has a fairly basic movement inside.


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## howards4th (Jan 22, 2012)

Great looking watches, The Bob Hope ad is very cool! |>


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## YellowPeril (Jan 13, 2012)

I'm relatively new to collecting - do I just pries the back off (this being rectangular) ?


Marrick said:


> Hi - that is nice.
> 
> Medana was a brand used by the Swiss company of Meyer & Studeli. Originally good quality, it later became the budget brand of the company as it chose Roamer as its 'premium' branding. See:
> 
> ...


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## Marrick (May 2, 2007)

Probably:

OPENING A VINTAGE WRISTWATCH OR POCKET WATCH CASE

Ideally you use a case knife and most rectangular watches open quite easily. But don't use the crown for leverage as the stems can snap off!


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## Mirius (Mar 18, 2011)

Very nice. Yes, just prise off the back, but carefully as your watch looks to be in very nice condition and you don't want to add scratches.

Late Thirties to Early Forties would be my guess and I'd also guess something like an MST 320, but I wait in anticipation!

MST 320 - a set on Flickr


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## YellowPeril (Jan 13, 2012)

Having managed to remove the case, on the movement it says 'Swiss made', '7 Jewels' and on the inside of the case back it had either a solitary 6 or 9 stamped, then hand etched in miniscule characters 'KR4002(Z?)


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## Marrick (May 2, 2007)

Any chance of a picture? Seven jewels is 'not bad'.:-!

The hand scratched bit will be a watchmaker's reference - so he could look it up if the watch came back to him.


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## Mirius (Mar 18, 2011)

You also need to be a little careful - the continental 1 is easy to confuse with a 7, but yes we really need photos!


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## YellowPeril (Jan 13, 2012)

It's definitely a seven (being a graphic designer, I'm used the vagaries of the continent ;-)). Unfortunately my hands shake too much to get a clear picture without me digging my tripod out (and I've put the watch back together) - maybe pictures later.


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## YellowPeril (Jan 13, 2012)

I bought it to wear because I really like the look, so value wasn't the issue and it was listed as a 'doctor's watch' which I was aware wasn't correct. However I'm guessing at £24, that I wasn't robbed?


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## Mirius (Mar 18, 2011)

It's a fair price for it and it is in better than average condition. Values are however quite variable, I've paid more but I've also paid less. Because these are pin pallet most collectors (Marrick aside) avoid them, though that is somewhat unfair as they are better than the cylinder escapements which preceded them and some of the MST pin pallet movements were quite nice. If it's a 320 as I suspect then it would be one of the first pin pallet calibres that M&ST made.


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## YellowPeril (Jan 13, 2012)

Don't suppose you have a picture of the 320 movement, I could then confirm or deny that is what I have?


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## Mirius (Mar 18, 2011)

I linked to it above, and to my shame it's a cylinder movement. Memory fail o|



If it is a 320, and I know you said that you know what the continental seven looks like, but I don't think I've yet seen a seven jewel 320, so a photo of one would be good :-!


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## YellowPeril (Jan 13, 2012)

The movement is similar but the engineering looks more precise. It doesn't have the 'crescent' shaped cut out from the top to two thirds down and the base material is steel. It is definitely a seven and says jewels in the plural. Where yours says 'Swiss made' following the shape of the 'scalloped' edge, mine says Swiss made with 7 jewels under it centred over two straight lines reading correctly with the bezel pointing towards you.

I shall try and take a photo tomorrow.


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## Mirius (Mar 18, 2011)

Sometimes they used a steel coloured plating - often on the more decorated movements. The finish perhaps is more like this?



The curved cut is optional. It sounds as though yours is a higher spec model, so I look forward to the photo. Thanks.


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## YellowPeril (Jan 13, 2012)

No it's quite a bit different, you need to see a photograph - I'll do what I can, as I'm quite intrigued to find out what I have!


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## Mirius (Mar 18, 2011)

When you say it looks a lot different do you mean that the finish is different? (the photo above is of course a different calibre and not one you'd find in a Medana.) I know the 320 came in the stripe pattern, though I've not seen even a photo of one.

Do you mean it's more like this?



or this?



Both of these are finishes that you can find in Medana.


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## ltri (Oct 6, 2009)

I believe he is talking about how the plates are cut, instead of "curvy lines" the plates are cut with strait and angular lines. 
does it look like this (From trim's roamer website)








for example standard timewith angular plates








and Enicar with rounded curvy edges








Am i correct


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## Mirius (Mar 18, 2011)

Mmm perhaps, but perhaps it is as I first thought a pin pallet such as the MST 355. The dial is too modern for a cylinder, and the pin pallets are nearly always "steel."



The MST 357 is more angular, more like the first photo above, but I think it's too small.


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## YellowPeril (Jan 13, 2012)

I have taken some photos today but I'm afraid that they're not much use. Hopefully they'll give you some idea of the movement, but because I haven't a macro facility on the camera the focus is poor.


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## Mirius (Mar 18, 2011)

Blurry but clear enough! MST 355, and what this would look like if I cleaned it (you can just make out the Geneva stripes under the dirt which are clearer on yours).



Pin pallet lever movement with seconds hand, 8.75 x 11.75'" or 19.90 x 26.4mm, introduced sometime in the mid to late Thirties would be my guess, which would back up my original feel for late Thirties to early Forties for your watch.

The strap on yours looks period so given how clean yours is, inside as well as out, it could well be original.


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## YellowPeril (Jan 13, 2012)

Just added this picture to give you a better idea of the strap.


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## Mirius (Mar 18, 2011)

Ah padded? Maybe not original then, but I like it and the colour is good with the gold :-!


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## YellowPeril (Jan 13, 2012)

So how does this stand quality wise?


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## Mirius (Mar 18, 2011)

Pin pallets are generally considered lower quality than lever movements. However there was at least one company who made very high quality pin pallet movements. MST movements are good quality, much higher quality than the cheap cases would suggest and they have a good reputation. In terms of price they are lower than the MST lever movements purely because people make blanket judgements about pin pallets.

The issue with these is really the low jewel count because once the unjewelled pivots wear there is no cheap way to repair them.

Here is a review of a higher jewelled calibre which shows the quality better than I can.

The Metatechnical Cabinet - MST 374


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## Patrick_Ethan (Nov 27, 2010)

*60's-70's Medana Lever 17j - just aquired this handsome fellow*

Goes form a soft silver-white to opalescent in the light. Instant classic and in the permanent keeper box. Signature _Pauly Walnuts _period stainless-mesh bracelet to set the tone just right (its all I had left :-d).

Regardless, a super handsome piece with great personality and just a _touch_ of...class.


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