# Leonidas G.s.t.p



## stefano34 (Sep 27, 2009)

Hi all I posted this the other day but then realised that perhaps it should really be here?



stefano34 said:


> I recently had this Leonidas G.S.T.P given to me by an old Aunt, she didn't know where it had come from but my mother thinks it was my great uncles who served in the desert during WW2, sadly it doesn't work as the balance is broken...this may have happened when it was dropped through the letterbox?;
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## Thomasr (Oct 11, 2011)

thats probs means the mainsprings shot. Is the pressure low when you try to wind it. Does the balance swing at all?


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## stefano34 (Sep 27, 2009)

no the balance centre is loose so guessing the staff has gone, just feels the same if you wind it either way with 'ratchet' sound the same both ways also.


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## Thomasr (Oct 11, 2011)

probs a spring gone to then. Is it something you are going to restore, keep as is or sell?


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## stefano34 (Sep 27, 2009)

I'd like to keep it but may sell it depending on cost of repair etc as it has little real sentimental value to me, whereas my grandfathers ols 'Services' watch I'd never sell.


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## Thomasr (Oct 11, 2011)

If it doesnt mean all that much o you it may be better to sell on eBay. Folks on there love militaria.


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## stefano34 (Sep 27, 2009)

I managed to source another LEONIDAS? dial not signed but identical movement GSTP off Ebay for just over Â£20 inc p&p in decent working order, not tried it for time keeping yet ...just wound it and will be leaving it and intend to check it later around 'teatime'....it has a very good un- lumed dial and hands -possibly post war replacements? I'll post some pics soon.

I intend to swap the movement dial etc into my other case as it is in much better condition and the back clips nice and tight......so hopefully I'll have a source of spares for the future and I know intend to keep it put it on a leather strap to run from button hole to breast pocket of one of my many tweed sports coats for autumn /winter use...........a happy man!


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## stefano34 (Sep 27, 2009)

ok here we go;



























time wise it still appears to be spot on showing 15:35 as I type, the same time as the computer and my quartz wristwatch I set it with this morning.


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## stefano34 (Sep 27, 2009)

Ok watch just stopped on one wind at 14:50 having lost just under a minute since 07:29 =ish yesterday, not too bad I think?


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## Thomasr (Oct 11, 2011)

is this after you moved the lever? if so then maybe thats as good as it gets with a watch of this age. You could get it serviced but the watch guy round me charges huge amounts . I did almost exactly what you did with a military pocketwatch. The pics of mine are in the pocketwatch forum bit http://www.thewatchforum.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=77495


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## stefano34 (Sep 27, 2009)

No I haven't done anything yet as regards swapping movements, when I opened the back of the unlumed donor watch I noticed the A R fast Slow indicator was way over to the slow setting so I just set it roughly to the centre and fully(almost) wound it up set the time and left it running... I guess I could get it a bit better but I am definately not to a minute a day, so I'll probably do the movement swap, lume the unlumed dial and hands and leave it be.

Interestingly the earlier un lumes dial watch appears to be Nickel as opposed to the later chrome plated watch.


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## Thomasr (Oct 11, 2011)

I would defo use the back off yours, if it would swap without looking swapped. It looks far cleaner. I'd put the hands from your one on too just to finish it off.


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## stefano34 (Sep 27, 2009)

It will have to be a complete movement swap as the chrome is obviously a different colour to the nickel? case when matched together, I believe it's just a matter of pulling up the winder undoing the two movement screws and removing the movement from the watch front...not sure which secondhand is correct though as both are different.


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## stefano34 (Sep 27, 2009)

under the dial front of Unitas? movement;


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## stefano34 (Sep 27, 2009)

Only problem is that on the good replacement dial one of the dial feet has been previously broken off which lets the dial slip a little catching the edge of the second finger causing it to stall..........hmm!


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## stefano34 (Sep 27, 2009)

ok here's the finished pics of the Leonidas after I managed to get a running example with good dial in a poor case, I 'just' swapped the movement, dial and hands over then lumed the unlumed dial and hands.


































Here's the other plate, it's a Unitas movement (not sure which number?)I think 15J









I put a new 'glass' in too though I am not too happy about a couple of bits of glue that I can see on the pics but in the hand you can't see them, I chose glass as I intend to use it on a leather 'military' strap attatched to a jacket button hole to the breast pocket.


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## stefano34 (Sep 27, 2009)

Just thought I'd update on this 'project'...the watch had been keeping very good time only losing just under a minute a day, then the other day it became difficult to wind once I had started to wind it so I stopped and let it run down.....at first I couldn't figure it out then under the loupe I noticed that the crown wheel was binding on it's housing so I removed it and found that it's centre stem/fixing post was smaller than the wheel's centre..... so I checked my spare movement and found that both crown wheels were identical but that the crown post housings were slightly different and the one that stopped working has an anti friction? washer under the crown wheel, you can just see this where the red arrow is.










Both crown wheels were a sloppy fit on the 'crown post' even when tightened, so I have removed the barrel bridge and will replace the whole assembly, watch this space!


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