First post - Introduction

Welcome to the blog SKA Watches. This blog is intended for newcomers to the world of vintage watch collecting. When I first started collecting vintage watches, I was a college student studying in the US. Since I had only a small budget, I frequented garage sales and flea markets to try to get good deals. Hence I started off collecting American makes such as Bulova, Gruen, Elgin, Hamilton and Waltham.

At that time, in the 80s, there was no internet, hence information was scarce and hard to find. Basically it was hit-or-miss. If the watch was in good shape and ticking, I would buy it if the price was right. I had no idea what the movement looked like as I did not have the tools at that time. So sometimes I would end up getting a franken watch.

Over the years, I have amassed quite a collection, and knowledge of such watches. I have also acquired the basic tools which allow me to open up the watch and examine the movement. I leave the service and repairs to the professionals. I am only interested to make sure the watch is authentic, and would polish it up to make it look presentable.

With the internet now, all the information is available but you still have to search for it. My aim with this blog, is to compile all the info here, in one place (blog). I plan to list the brief histories of the major makes, starting with the American ones and whatever info I think could be useful. Hope you will enjoy it.