# Help Me Identify This Movement



## PDXWatchCollector (Nov 15, 2013)

OK, so I'm on e-bay a couple of weeks ago, and I see what's listed as a 'Vantage Electronic' watch (see these all the time) with a neat Shriner/Masonic dial with a low opening bid ... so I bid the minimum and won (about $12 with shipping.) I have a dozen of these Vantage Electronics in similar cases, but I wanted the dial. Once it arrived, it was running (as described) but the movement was advancing the second hand one tick per second ... what the?? Why would anyone bother to swap the usual Standard balance wheel electronic movement with a quartz movement, I thought to myself ... so I opened up the watch and saw this:



Looks like a quartz controlled balance wheel movement to me, and I recognize the S.T. maker as a maker of small transistorized balance wheel movements used in ladies watches and low profile men's watches from the early 70s ... but when I looked up QC Balance Wheel movements on Silver Hawk's site, it tells me that the only makers of QC balance wheel movements were Record-Golay, Porta, Citizen, Luch and Timex. Is S.T. one of these makers? Or am I off in assessing this movement as a QC Balance Wheel movement?

Oh, here's the dial in question that caught my interest in the first place:



Thoughts and opinons welcome!


----------



## Nigelp (Jan 28, 2015)

Can't be of much help but ive been victim to bodged electronic watches in the past, i purchased a roamer which was running sort of and sent it to silverhawk his assessment was it was beyond repair, someone had at some point removed the feet off the face to install a qtz but failed...so they put back the electronic and the battery was held in with only one screw...it ticked on for about another 5 days before the coil burnt out. Mine was an early and rare roamer mustang circa 1970 lovely watch too. Unfortunately due to the state of it over the years it wasnt worth a new circuit board etc...i love these electronics but they are tricky mine was the standard sort LIC ATO good luck


----------



## PDXWatchCollector (Nov 15, 2013)

Yeah, this one isn't so much bodged as it is unexpected. Obviously, many makers went through a transition phase into quartz-based movements, but it's really the fact that I can't align this movement with any of the known makers of QC Balance Wheel movements, so either this is an undocumented maker, or I'm not recognizing the marks on this movement as belonging to one of the known makers, or I'm completely mis-identifying it as a QC BW movement.


----------



## Silver Hawk (Dec 2, 2003)

99% certain that's an early ESA / ETA quartz. Ignore the name plate with S.T. Co. etc...that was added by the watch maker.

What's the number stamped in the brass round area at 5 oclock near the battery compartment.


----------



## Silver Hawk (Dec 2, 2003)

ESA 9181 looks similar


----------



## PDXWatchCollector (Nov 15, 2013)

Silver Hawk said:


> 99% certain that's an early ESA / ETA quartz. Ignore the name plate with S.T. Co. etc...that was added by the watch maker.
> 
> What's the number stamped in the brass round area at 5 oclock near the battery compartment.


The number stamped looks for all the world like 982, but I suspect it's actually 9182. Here's a photo of the movement in an early 70's Zenith XL Tronic Quartz -- take a look at the numbers stamped on the control module. Very similar to what's stamped on the movement in my Vantage.



So my question (and I suspect I'm going to get a serious schooling on ebauches here ....) is whether this is a balance wheel movement or not? Is what's housed in the compartment with the cap jewel a balance wheel?


----------



## Silver Hawk (Dec 2, 2003)

PDXWatchCollector said:


> and I suspect I'm going to get a serious schooling on ebauches here ....


Yep! :lol:

9180 Date only

9181 Day and Date.

These are quartz controlled stepper motor movements, so no balance wheel, no hairspring etc, but instead a rotor usually containing magnetic segments. The rotor for this ESA movement is part number 4210 shown in the image below:


----------



## Nigelp (Jan 28, 2015)

interesting :yes:


----------



## PDXWatchCollector (Nov 15, 2013)

Me smarter now! :tongue2:

Thanks for the (ongoing) education Paul! :notworthy:


----------

