# My vintage watch, marjage, etc



## Galimbe (Nov 20, 2016)

I have some little collection)



My favorite mark- Minerva.


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## Galimbe (Nov 20, 2016)

It's caliber. 19.3, 1915y.







Molnia, homage on Pilot watch)


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## Galimbe (Nov 20, 2016)

My first Minerva, call. 18.1, 1927y.



Minerva call. 19.4, 1920y.


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## Galimbe (Nov 20, 2016)

Now I try to restore this Minerva. Its call ETA, near 193x...

Minervs cant answer correct yea of prodaction.


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## Galimbe (Nov 20, 2016)

Long story) Have old Roamer. MST352. In bed condition. Renew dial handmade, luminofor, and nickel refilled.


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## Galimbe (Nov 20, 2016)

Homage Molniya, call. 3601, 1950y.


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## Galimbe (Nov 20, 2016)




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## Galimbe (Nov 20, 2016)




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## Always"watching" (Sep 21, 2013)

At last, a Minerva fan. I also like Minerva and as a collector of stopwatches, I have a few super quality mechanical Minerva stopwatches which I bought cheap from a local jeweller as NOS. How he thought he was going to sell these stopwatches from a small jewellery store in a small town for anything like the proper retail price I just don't know. One thing I do know is that in the world of stopwatches (and chronographs) Minerva is name to conjure with.

Minerva stopwatch, difficult to date but probably c.1950s (pic from rolexandtudor.com):

http://rolexandtudor.com/im/Minerva-PocketWatch-1233.JPG

I have been looking out for a pre-owned affordable Minerva watch in my various haunts for some time but have so far drawn a blank.

In case anyone is interested, the basic history of Minerva is as follows:

The company dates back to 1858 when it was founded in Villeret, Switzerland, by Charles-Yvan Robert and Hippolyte Robert. The next generation of the family owners, Charles and Georges Robert, took over in 1878, with Yvan Robert joining them in 1885. The firm then traded as Robert Freres, Villeret, and the brand name, "Minerva" was registered in 1887. The company also branded its products with other registered brand names, but always incorporated the mark RFV or an arrowhead to identify the company. The firm itself changed its title to Fabriques Robert Freres in 1898, Fabriques des Faverges in 1902, Fabriques Minerva in 1923, and then in 1929, Minerva S.A..

With the change in name of 1902, introducing the Minerva name, the company started to actually manufacture watches, including movements and other crucial components, in their engineering workshops. The first Minerva movement, caliber No. 1, appeared in 1908 and was a cylinder escapement pocket watch movement. The first Minerva wristwatch was launched in 1909, and a very successful chronograph watch with a 17J column-wheel movement was launched in 1923 - the caliber No. 20. This chronograph enhanced the reputation of Minerva as a producer of high quality and complex movements.

A truly magnificent and rare 1920s Minerva giant single-button chronograph watch with 50mm case, porcelain dial and display back. This timepiece is thought to have been worn by a German pilot and the chrono-hand rotates fully once every 30 seconds, twice that of the constant seconds (pics from vintagewatch.ca):

http://www.vintagewatch.ca/Pictures/Picture%203516-1.jpg

http://www.vintagewatch.ca/Pictures/Picture%203516-2.jpg

In 1934, Minerva was taken over by Charles Haussner and Jacques Pelot and two years later, Minerva was responsible for the timing of the 1936 Winter Olympics, In 1940, the firm was joined by the nephew of Jacques Pelot, engineer, physicist and clock technician, Andre Frey, who subsequently took over the company, in 1960. During the War years, up until 1944, Minerva provided the Germans with various technical and military watches and timers, and the firm continued to prosper after the war. Interestingly, although in the post-War years, Minerva developed a full range of mechanical hand-wind movements, their automatic watches were powered by movements from Ebauches S.A.. The final mechanical movement developed and produced by Minerva was caliber No. 55.

The Minerva 140th anniversary watch issued in 1998 and designed to house the Minerva caliber No. 22 pocket watch movement which had been out of production for 20 years. Movement is 39 mm in diam., requiring a case of 43 mm. (pics from ninanet.net):

http://ninanet.net/watches/others03/Mediums/mminerva140f01.jpg

http://ninanet.net/watches/others03/Mediums/mminerva140b02.jpg

The last watch model to be manufactured by independent Minerva, the TZ Limited Edition, c.2000. This model, containing a Minerva caliber No. 48 movement, was a collaboration between Richard paige of TimeZone and Jean-Jacques Frey of Minerva. 50 black dial and 50 white dial examples were made (pic from stacyzhu at i283.photobucket.com):

http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk302/stacyzhu/Minerva004.jpg

Right up to 2000, Minerva was run by the Frey family, but the concern became very small, with the number of full-time operatives limited to 6, producing about 1000 wristwatches a year in addition to a greater number of stopwatches. Andre Frey was responsible for a number of sophisticated and beautiful movements including Minerva caliber No. 48 and the Venus chronograph movement caliber 175. In 2000 an Italian investor purchased Minerva, and under the new manager, Beppo Menaldo, who had considerable experience in the field of high-end Swiss watch production, a range of quality mechanical watches was planned and designed to try and maintain the spirit of Minerva past. This worthy attempt did not succeed, however, and in October 2006 Minerva was sold to the Swiss luxury Richemont Group, which then acquired the watchmaking expertise of Minerva and shared it with Montblanc in a partnership with that concern - thus, today, Minerva is essentially a research institute for watchmaking within Montblanc.

Rare Minerva military chronograph from the 1940s with a waterproof bayonet caseback. Powered by a caliber 13-20 hand-wind chronograph movement (pic from carsandwatches.com):

http://www.carsandwatches.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/1335-1.jpg

Fascinating chronograph apparently used by the Swedish Navy in the early 1960s in a style redolent of the early 1950s (pic from carsandwatches.com):

http://www.carsandwatches.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Min-Swe-Groot.jpg

The elegant and stylish Minerva Pythagore, powered by a hand-wind Minerva caliber No. 48 movement and dating to about the late 1950s (pic from cdn.chrono24.com):

http://cdn.chrono24.com/images/uhren/images_17/s4/2681417g_xxl.jpg?v=1


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## Galimbe (Nov 20, 2016)

Thank you for collection. I Just got the mechanism of 17.23, I want to make homage on 140Anniversary.

I dont have stopwatch by Minerva, but I now, that very high quality mechanism.

About history, Minerva did some watch before 1902. Intresting for me, that some movement Minerva sell for another manufactures, in GB and USA, but which opposite remontuar. In my collection -19.4 and 17.23.

Also interesting - Minerva seldom work with manufacturers, like ETA or another.


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## Always"watching" (Sep 21, 2013)

Thanks for that, Galimbe, and thanks for the various "likes" pertaining to my Minerva sub-topic on this thread.

Although it has been stated that the start date for watch manufacture at the firm which was to become Minerva is 1902, I tend to regard some of these sort of fixed points as being necessary dates of "convenience" rather than being wholly accurate. I would expect that some elements of manufacture might well have pre-dated 1902 even if the main thrust of manufacturing capability came in that year or even slightly after. In fact, in the case of Minerva and its direct predecessor partnerships, there is little information available on exactly what the firm was doing in the early period - merely selling/branding watches made by other companies, designing watches to be made by others, or perhaps assembling/finishing watches for sale using components from other companies.

I forgot to mention your rather nice Minerva rectangular watch, dear Galimbe, and looking at it again I would expect it to date from the pre-War, Art Deco, period of design, perhaps c.1935. Dating it to the exact year will probably be very difficult.


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## Galimbe (Nov 20, 2016)

Rectangular produced until 1940. They replied by Mont Blanc. More precisely by this mechanism no dates. For the rest - have a date.
Since 1858 Minerva produced spare parts. And 188х has produced watches and received awards at exhibitions. On ebey caught early pocket watches of Minerva until 1900. Unfortunately, for me, expensive and do not have much sense.


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## frogspawn (Jun 20, 2008)

Minerva 8 day in regular use


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## Galimbe (Nov 20, 2016)

Maybe we change the name of the theme - Our Minerva(s)))))?


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## Galimbe (Nov 20, 2016)

..updated my marjage Zenith.


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## Galimbe (Nov 20, 2016)

I do not post the straps, but I restored the watch.

Minerva says the production of 1930-1940. The mechanism of ETA717. Minerva is rarely used not her caliber.
Cleaning of the mechanism, restoration of the shell cover, new printing on the native dial, restoration of the phosphor arrows, a new strap.
And enjoying the vintage ...)))


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## Timemachine.fi (Mar 30, 2017)

Hi, Minerva fans! You should check this Minerva chronograph pocket watch in auction: http://www.ebay.com/itm/272631365515?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649


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## WRENCH (Jun 20, 2016)

Just found this post, really like your watches @Galimbe, and I am a long time Minerva fan. :thumbsup:


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## Galimbe (Nov 20, 2016)

It makes me happy. Find me on facebook- Vladimir Galimbievsky or in instagram. There's more photos. Good luck!


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## Galimbe (Nov 20, 2016)

Moment...


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