# cyma waches



## Kungfucowboy

I have been hearing that vintage cyma watches were of very high quality but since they aren't so popular now the prices on them are relatively low so i have been tooling around taobao and found a few that seem to be interesting.

unfortunately i don't know much about them and there doesn't seem to be much on the forum about them. so my first questions is are the following movements any good (compared to other cyma movements and to others at the time)?

synchron 45 17 jewel manual wind date

488 18 jewel manual wind date

synchron 40 17 jewel manual wind

synchron 42 17 jewel manual wind

thanks for letting me pick your collective brains


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## rmelle

I have had alway great interest in Cyma.
As it is a manufacturers watch, They didn't bought their callibers from other manufaturers.
I have had quite a few of them some still in private stock...
As in Quality isue: Always good.
Never ever thought of it as being bad, or with problems.
They are finely made, spare parts are a problem though.... :think:
You have to be a creative watchmaker sometimes.
I think that is the main reason you don't see them too often.
But to compare them with others at the same time:
I think BUREN, ROAMER, ALPINA, ENICAR (a bit less) that kind of brands.
But be aware of Frankens..........
As it is a brand on the rise, of which only very few people really know the history, so there are people out there selling Cyma as the real deal.... <|

Succes!
RJ van Melle.

PS: Let us know when you find one...


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## bjohnson

*This is from memory so my facts may be a little off ...*

CYMA/Tavannes (a partnership created in the late 1800s) was a Swiss manufacturer who made a variety of 7J through 17J hand wind movements for pocket watches and wristwatches (I don't think they made any automatic movements)

In the 1970s they were bought out by Synchron (along with Doxa and ... some other brand I forget which one) and they no longer made their own movements (typically used ETA movements from what I've seen)

I don't think they are owned by Synchron anymore (I think they are owned by Swatch) but they still don't make movement and continue to use ETA movements


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## nsmike

Cyma was an independent manufacturer until the 1970's when they became part of the Synchron group along with Doxa, Ernest Borel, and West End. A watch with Synchron, as far as I can tell, would date to the mid 70's. The 488 would date it to the mid 50's. The pictures I've seen of the 1950's Cyma's show a beautifully executed watch.


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## rmelle

1943 first automatic watch by Cyma....
And as far as I know they ceased production 1966, 
then the name rights went to the Chronos compagny.

Copied this from the web:
*Cyma*
​Founded 1891 in Tavannes by Tavannes Watch, F. Henri Sandoz. Frederic Henri Sandoz was in heart and soul a businessman. To get on in his profession he turned his back on his home town of Le Locle and the Henri Sandoz & Co. watch company that he had founded there. In the nearby town of Tavannes he started a new company for the production of simple and complicated watches, including chronographs, an aptitude for which was proved by a chronograph patent registered in 1890. Further patents ensued, among them for a stem-winding mechanism and a chiming movement. The new workshops covered more than 1000 square meters. Forty employees, with the help of 55 modern machine-tools completed more than 40 timepieces a day. Some of these went onto the market under the Cyma name. Towards 1892 the company entered into a cooperative agreement with Schwob Freres of La Chaux-de-Fonds. The company continued to expand after the turn of the century.

By around 1905, daily production amounted to some 1000 watches. New markets in the Far East and elsewhere gave a noticeable boost to growth. In 1938, around 2000 employees and 2200 machine-tools reached an output of about 4000 watches and movements a day The company's 20th-century product range naturally included wristwatches of the most diverse character - for example the shock-proof models with a protective cover issued to soldiers in 1915. These were followed by "waterproof" versions. Catalogs from the 1930s also show wrist-chronographs equipped with Valjoux movements. At that time, Tavannes-Cyma claimed to be Switzerland's largest supplier of precision watches.

In 1943 the company launched its first automatic movement, the caliber 420, with a swinging arm winding in one direction. This movement was fitted into the square-cased "Watersport" model, for example. Another collector's item is the "Autorotor" self-winding caliber 485, launched in around 1957. Thereafter Cyma used ETA calibers.

In 1966 Tavannes-Cyma ceased production and the rights to the brand name passed to Chronos Holding.

History provided by Mr. Laurie Kemp.

regards,
RJ van Melle


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## nsmike

Here is a link to Dr. Ranfft's write up on the 488 http://www.ranfft.de/cgi-bin/bidfun-db.cgi?10&ranfft&&2uswk&Cyma_488_0


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## Kingmatic

Hi Kunfucowboy ;-)

We have a special thread for Cyma-Tavannes in the Spanish Forum of Relojes Especiales.

http://www.relojes-especiales.com/foros/los-esenciales-de-vintages/cyma-tavannes-85746/

Although in spanish , I ´m sure that you (and everyone interested) will enjoy the photos

Saludos

Kingmatic


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## Kungfucowboy

thanks for all the info and links 

so the synchron movements are not in house at all, that explains why they are so cheap.


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## Kungfucowboy

well i looked again and found some non-synchron movements.
does anyone think that these 3 watches are frankens or re-dialed?

r.800 movement

watersport (the font looks kinda weird but i'm to inexperinced to be a good judge)

r.806


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## Noah T.W. Givens

I tink I have... found one at least... and of course I am niave... don't know much about it.








Anybody recognise it?

Noah 8-?


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## Hartmut Richter

I am afraid that the picture is far too small to make out any details. Please repost a bigger image and we should be able to help you.

Hartmut Richter


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## Eeeb

The heyday for such watches was the 30's. Late 20's and early 40's is possible too. A good pic of the movement might provide more dating information.

Sorry, that's all I can say from the image provided. I hope it helps some... and welcome to WUS!


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## watch_rookie

Hmmm, I got a gift Cyma skeleton watch purchased in China which was probably only a couple yrs old... What's the chances the Chinese make a knockoff Swiss branded watch using a defunct brand so they don't get sued easily?

I posted my question in another thread here
https://www.watchuseek.com/showthread.php?t=968019

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## JackW

Bruce Shawkey wrote an article in the NAWCC bulletin in the last year on the history of the Cyma/Tavannes brand. If you are a member, you can access the article electronically (i.e., on line). it is well worth the read for anyone interested in the brand. There is a 1949 Consumers Report that reviews watches and then ranks them in quality. Tavannes is in there, about upper mid-level.

As to automatics, the Cyma caliber 420 is a bumper-wind movement and is as nice as any of the other contemporaneous mid-range ones I've seen (Mido, Gruen) and almost as nice as the Omega 344 or 351. Maybe on par with what was offered from Tissot (don't own one yet), which I believe is related to the Omega's. 

But this all is only my opinion.


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## sam05

Hi ,any leads in securing some parts that i need for a r 480 calibre


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## Cocas

This rare gold plated casing cyma was bought in 1994. Its movement is ETA. I surprise so much its hands have no sign of oxidization, the white dial are in perfect whiteness (no sign of yellowish color and stain). Luckily i did not remove the label as it stated clearly it was made in Le Locle of Switzerland.


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## parrotandpitbull

Is Camy a cheaper version of Cyma or not? Ive seen it discussed on WUS but never fully explained or qualified as a definite. I know the obvious: the same 4 letters scrambled into 2 brand names, but thats it. I have a Camy Geneve that was NOS when I bought it from a dealer in Israel. The place where most Camys were marketed, ie, the middle east. It keeps time within a few seconds a day. It has 2 drawbacks, the power reserve is about 14 hours and the watch sounds like a toy when wound. Otherwise Im very happy with it and would be interested in knowing the full story. If there is one to tell. Thanks in advance, just in case anyone responds. P&P


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## Mirius

Cocas said:


> This rare gold plated casing cyma was bought in 1994. Its movement is ETA. I surprise so much its hands have no sign of oxidization, the white dial are in perfect whiteness (no sign of yellowish color and stain). Luckily i did not remove the label as it stated clearly it was made in Le Locle of Switzerland.


I'd be rather disappointed to find oxidisation or yellowing on a watch as new as that - assuming no mishandling during its life. Not even old enough to be considered vintage.


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## Molliedooker

parrotandpitbull said:


> Is Camy a cheaper version of Cyma or not? Ive seen it discussed on WUS but never fully explained or qualified as a definite. I know the obvious: the same 4 letters scrambled into 2 brand names, but thats it. I have a Camy Geneve that was NOS when I bought it from a dealer in Israel. The place where most Camys were marketed, ie, the middle east. It keeps time within a few seconds a day. It has 2 drawbacks, the power reserve is about 14 hours and the watch sounds like a toy when wound. Otherwise Im very happy with it and would be interested in knowing the full story. If there is one to tell. Thanks in advance, just in case anyone responds. P&P


https://www.watchuseek.com/f11/camy-geneva-17-jewels-2837434.html?highlight=Cyma+and+came

the above posting is fairly explanatory


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## Jessica-Jean

How do I go about learning about the watch my husband found in a snowbank ~40 years ago? On the face and on the back, it says CYMA by Synchron, and it seems to have a serial number on the back: 5601444. The face also says Automatic; it's self-winding. The back has six indentations, presumably for unscrewing it, and it appears to be stainless steel, though that's not written. It has a date window, and there are two set points for the crown; half-way out to adjust the date, and all the way out to adjust the time ... by turning _towards _yourself (widdershins, if you're looking straight at it) - backwards of every other watch I've ever had. It keeps time very well, as long as it's worn.

Thank you.


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