1975 Benton

When it comes to 1970s watches I always think,  "I like 'em big, I like 'em chunky".  Like Moto Moto from the movie Madagascar II: Escape to Africa.  Watches from the 1970s are a style unto their own and they are easy to spot.

Of course, 1970s models are probably still smaller than today's tuna fish can designs that you'll see people sporting.  I'm not really a fan of really large watches because they're all show and no substance.  I have found when you open the tuna can you'll find a tiny movement surrounded by a really large plastic space ring.

That's not to say that there aren't really great watches being made today.  I'm just pointing out that bigger isn't really a measure for better.  

However, in the 1970s watches did get a lot larger and featured very prominent metal bracelets, like you'd still see offered today.

A good example of this emerging trend was the 1975 Auto Date Benton.  It was introduced in 1975 and produced through the end of the available catalogs so presumably through the end of the 1970s.

It also goes by the model number 826019-4.  It was presented in a 14K yellow gold electroplated case with a stainless back.  In some years it was also available in just stainless steel with a gray dial so I presume the model number would be 826019-3.

The Benton is interesting it that it specifically calls out having a mineral crystal in the catalog ad.  So that could mean that replacing the crystal could be a challenge.

My project watch is another bowl award watch, this time from the 1979 Sugar Bowl.  It's missing it's metal bracelet and just to give you an idea of size, the lug width for this watch is a very large 22mm, approaching an inch!

The 1979 Sugar Bowl was a rematch for the 1975 Sugar Bowl pairing Alabama versus Penn State.  Penn State was ranked No 1 and undefeated for the season and Alabama was ranked No 2.

Alabama would go on to defeat Penn State (again) 14-7 in what proved to be an exciting 4th quarter.

This award watch is interesting because it lacks any of the usual markings on the case back to denote model number, etc.  It's also very unusual because the case back is secured in place by four substantial screws in each corner.

The case back has an unusual recess on the side near the crown, I guess it's to allow better access for winding.  It still features it's original crown.

Case back has the remains of a gasket that has turned to black goo.

I've been dreading opening this watch because it makes a crunchy sound when I tried to wind it.  It's not running and who knows what I'm going to find.  Looking at the movement, it's a 837 caliber.  It's based on an ETA 2879.  Based on the model number, you might expect to see an 826 inside, which is also a day and date caliber.  So it's possible earlier examples have a different movement inside.

This setup is also interesting... the movement is secured to a spacer ring by case screws and the spacer is secured to the case also with case screws.

The crown has come apart so the gasket fell out when I removed it.  I might be able to repair it.

The movement is removed from the spacer and now I can start to disassemble it.

The dial is held in place by two opposing J-shaped levers that press against the dial feet.  My screwdriver is pointing at one of them.  It's also pointing at an open hole - one of the barrel bridge screws is missing and I suspect that's why the movement is crunchy to wind.

With the dial out of the way, I can now see the day and date wheels.  This day wheel has two languages... English and French.  So you can pick the language when you set the day and when the watch advances days, it will skip to the next appropriate day.

The first part off is the C-shaped snap ring that holds the day wheel in place.

There are a lot of bits that work together to advance both the time and day and date complications.

Everything is disassembled and placed with it's proper hardware so after it's cleaned I can reassemble it with the correct screws.

While the parts are in the cleaner I will remove the gooey gasket residue and install a new gasket.

There... new gasket installed.

All the parts are cleaned and ready to be reassembled.

One of the challenging parts to get back into place is the pallet fork.  You should be able to see the pivot in the jewel before you try tightening the screw for the bridge - otherwise you risk breaking the pivot off.

The basic movement is back together and at this point this is your typical ETA manual winding watch.  Now it's off to the timer.

Looks like it's going to need some tweaking but it's easy to do on this movement.

There.... the timing is right on the money, although the timer didn't complete calculating the amplitude and beat error when I took the photo.

Everything goes back into the case and it looks a lot better now that it's cleaned.

The finished watch looks pretty good.  The crystal could stand to be replaced but that's going to be a challenge.  It may need to have a crystal specially cut to fit the case.  In the meantime, it's ready for some wrist time again.