chippyfly
672
Sharing my vintage G-P today
I have not worn this 1957 G-P 7317 for well over two years and do so sparingly now because its radioactivity is high. 1 inch away, my Geiger counter records 7µSv/hour! Is that worrying? I thinks so and I store the watch in a lead-lined box.
However, I cannot resist having it on my wrist during the day for a little while, leaving it overnight on a winder. It is one of the very first manufactured 39-jewelled Gyromatics and I know other purists have them with the inverted Cyclops and blue dates. The dates can be advanced or retarded by the crown but they are not quickset.
It is a lovely watch with a sharp case that keeps very good time. Movement based on a Peseux 330. Despite 34mm case with 17mm lugs width it has well-proportioned presence in my view. I should like to wear it more and will shortly explore the removal of the radium 226 lumen from the hands as a start. Lumen removal from the dial looks problematical because the dots are sunk below the surface. I really do not wish to destroy the even patina of the dial. I believe this particular watch was not worn very much and I acquired it seven years ago from the estate of an elderly collector with some 2,000 watches to sell!
My Geiger counter’s notes say that environmental exposure to radiation at 7.00µSv/hour risks cancer after about 45 to 50 days. Of course here on my wrist, this is not Fukushima but just a point source of radiation. Inverse square law means the measured radiation not far (ie the rest of my body) from my wrist is well below the safe exposure rate of about 0.20µSv/hour. Am I in a fool’s paradise?! I wish I knew the answer. There are lots of vintage watches out there with greater radiation. Are they all worn or all just sadly locked away?
HAGWE
Clive
Sharing my vintage G-P today
There's a movie on Netflix as of 2022
Very nice Gyromatic,
