Wow Chuck, you really do know your watch movements. Ok, so based on everything you just said, what is your take on the value of the 1970's carreras sporting caliber 12's? I paid apprx $1,200 USD for the one listed on the below link. Was that too high considering your assessment of the Caliber 12?

Also, what are your thoughts on the Omega 564 movement found in the Constellations manufactured in the 70's? These were officially certified chronometers. Do you like these movements? Many have said that the Omegas manufactured during the 70's were of low quality compared to those of the 80's and 90's. Do you find this to be the case?

DC

: carcharios Posts: [8/12/04 15:11 GMT]:

: Thanks Chuck,

: So my question now is this; why exactly is
: the Caliber 11 - 14 ranked so low on your
: lists? Is it soley because the rotor is not
: placed between the movement and
: case-backing, or did these microrotor
: movements have other issues with
: reliability? The main reason is because
: I believe the other movements listed above
: it to be better movements. Sounds obvious,
: but that's most of it. I mean the El-Primero
: is a hands down great movement. I'm a big
: fan of the Lemania 5100, and although I
: really prefer the 5100, the Valjoux 7750 is
: probably the most adaptable of the currently
: available automatic chronograph movements.

: Another reason is because the other movements
: do not force the purchaser to do without a
: small second's sub-dial indication. In other
: words, it's really hard to determine how
: accurately a c.11-14 runs unless you start
: and leave running continuously because of
: the lack of a small seconds indicator.

: Third is the lack of a full sized main rotor,
: not that the micro-rotor doesn't work, or is
: necessarily mechanically inferior, but let's
: be honest, none of the c.11~14's is as
: attractive to look at as a full-rotor
: automatic.

: Lastly, the c.11~14 is a module chronograph,
: which nearly always take a hit from a
: chronograph collector. It's a less well
: accepted way to get the job done. Sort of
: like Nitrous on a car... Many people are
: purists, who look down on the use of Nitrous
: Oxide used to gain horsepower. These purists
: feel that a more earnest way, such as racier
: cams, better carburation, better intakes,
: exhaust, supercharging, etc. are more honest
: ways of gaining horsepower because one
: doesn't have to refill bottle's of the
: " magic Horsepower elixir " to
: keep that HP boost. " Babies use the
: bottle " is their retort.

: I'm not that extreme in my views, I like the
: Micro-Rotors, but I prefer the other
: movements if given a choice in most
: instances. I've always been more of a
: 3-Register collector than a 2-Register
: Collector.

: The other thing that needs to be said is that
: while the Micro-Rotors were offered and sold
: well in the 1970's it was always a bit of an
: uphill climb for them to compete against
: their 3-registered full-rotor competitor's.
: First the El-Primero, then the Valjoux 7750
: and eventually the 1341/2 and 5100 Lemania
: movements kept on eating chuck's of this
: market segment and most of the firms who had
: offered them started transitioning ov er to
: the 7750 (primarily but the 5100's were
: close behind, with the 1341/2's bringing up
: the rear) as soon as it was feasible. By the
: late 1970's Heuer was already moving in this
: direction and I believe Heuer was the last
: firm to cease production in the early
: 1980's.

: The movement is a sound one, nothing
: spectacular (either in a good or bad sense).
: It did what was asked of it well, without
: fuss and was a solid performer. The main
: knock with them nowadats are the one's I
: outline above and the fact that replacement
: parts aren't always easy to source.

: -- Chuck

:

: Chuck Maddox

:

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