# What A Saga.



## Silver Hawk (Dec 2, 2003)

They both have the back-set Timex Cal. 84 movement:


----------



## dobra (Aug 20, 2009)

I like the gold version, but is Saga an Asian outfit? Any more details Paul ?

Mike


----------



## watchnutz (Jan 18, 2008)

Nice, Paul, I have one of the gold ones. Saga name even predates the Timex branding. I have US Time (predecessor of Timex) sales catalogs from the 50's with Saga watches and it appears early on they were marketed by the "Prize and Premium Division" of US Time. I also have some manual wind ones.

Here is a 1950


----------



## Silver Hawk (Dec 2, 2003)

Thanks Bill...I'm glad you've given us some info. I've often seen Saga Electrics on the bay, so I assume they're not particularly rare and I knew they had Timex movements but never owned any until a few weeks ago.

So in terms of chronological order of these West German electric dial markings, what is the order of Laco, Saga and Timex?....or is that the correct order? :huh:


----------



## watchnutz (Jan 18, 2008)

Paul, Timex bought Durowe-Laco in 1958 in order to use their electric watch knowledge. By 1964 US Time sold 200k all made in Pforzheim. The Laco methods of manufacturing never jibed with US Time's, they were unable to produce enough product, and in 1965 Laco was sold to Ebauches SA. Timex then opened another electric manufacturing plant also in Pforzheim. All their brands were made in those two plants concurrently. I never looked into how Saga was marketed in those years but I suspect it was aimed at a specific European market much like the Kelton was in France.


----------



## Silver Hawk (Dec 2, 2003)

watchnutz said:


> All their brands were made in those two plants concurrently.


I think that's what I was looking for...but once Timex bought Durowe-Laco, did they still use "Laco" on the dial?

I certainly have Timex on the dial with Laco marked movements...but if I see Laco on the dial, is that still after Timex bought them? I guess it must be because I don't think any Laco electric watches had been brought to market before Timex bought them.


----------



## Actaurus (Apr 22, 2010)

Hi I too have a Saga electric watch which is almost identical to the gold one shown by Silver Wolf so no piccies necessary. What I also have however is the box in which the watch came and a couple of instuction tags and the guarantee card. I also have a receipt from Boots dated Nov 2 1973 for 14 and a half pence which I guess was for a battery. I bought the watch in a flea market a few months back.

Piccies of the tags below


----------



## watchnutz (Jan 18, 2008)

Silver Wolf????:rofl2:

There were no Lacos (electric) produced pre US Time. In fact one of the disappointments was that they were not as far in development as believed. Acording to the Timex history it was 3 years before they were producing watches.

The Saga docs are interesting and it would appear they were for the UK market. According to the Timex history electric watches were still made in Pforzheim for the US and Europe. At one time Timex accounted for 1 of every 3 watches sold in the UK. Later electric watches were made in Besancon, France for the French and German markets. In 1965 Timex R&D in Middlebury Ct designed their own electric movement (#40) and manufactured them in Dundee and Besancon.


----------



## weslake (Sep 6, 2013)

I have a Saga Electric which i need to be repaired it needs a new case as 1 strap lug is broken, Who could you recommend. Thank You John


----------



## mel (Dec 6, 2006)

weslake said:


> I have a Saga Electric which i need to be repaired it needs a new case as 1 strap lug is broken, Who could you recommend. Thank You John


Finding a case will be your biggest problem, your best bet is likely a donor watch from ebay or a similar auction site that uses the same case style. You may be OK there, as you don't need a working example, and prices will be lower for same non-workers. From there, if you find one, it's a relatively easy swap of movements over, and perhaps a service if needed. Note that the SAGA range uses the same case styles as the main TIMEX brand, and also the KELTON sub brand - - so that widens your search criteria for a case.

Possibly Silver Hawk may take on the change if you ask him, click on the *ELECTRIC WATCHES* banner at the top of this page and drop him an e-mail, I can vouch for the quality of his work and servicing at reasonable costs. Note however, if you were to also ask him to source a case, it may take a while for one to come up on the auction sites, and he may not wish to take on this task.

Post a picture of your watch here and maybe someone will have a non-working example.you could have, and also maybe on the Timex forum

http://www.timexwatchforum.com


----------

