Special Bunns

[John Cote]

I picked this up at last weeks SW California Regional in San Diego/La Mesa. It was a really great show, especially for the first time being at this new venue. There were a lot of watches to see both pocket and wrist. I believe this is what Bill Meggers refered to as "7th All Over Gold Circular Pattern."

 

[musicguy]

wow!



Rob

 

[grtnev]

I picked this up at last weeks SW California Regional in San Diego/La Mesa. It was a really great show, especially for the first time being at this new venue. There were a lot of watches to see both pocket and wrist. I believe this is what Bill Meggers refered to as "7th All Over Gold Circular Pattern.

Great watch John!

As I understand it, the 8 damaskeen patterns found on 18s Bunn Specials are:
1. First Pattern Circular pattern, Gold-inlaid, black lettering
2. Second Pattern Wavy Ribbon Gold-Inlaid
3. Third Pattern Circular pattern, Gold-inlaid, black lettering
4. Fourth Pattern Bright Spotted
5. Fifth Pattern Sunburst
6. Sixth Pattern Narrow Stripes
7. Seventh Pattern All-Over Gold-Inlaid Circular
8. Eighth Pattern All-Over Gold-Inlaid Linear-Circular

As you know, the 7th damaskeen pattern is uncommon. Although the Illinois database shows 1183 produced, it would not surprise me at all if actual production is less than what is estimated in by Meggers & Earnhardt in the Illinois Encyclopedia or by the Illinois database - not unexpected for the scarcer Bunn Special 18 size damaskeen variants. .

I picked up a similar 18s, 21j Bunn Special with the 7th damaskeen pattern in Sep 2021 i.e. s/n 1927416 ca 106. It has a private label dial "A. M . Kirk & Son; Curwensville, Pa".

A. M. Kirk & Son, jewelers, had its business location on the corner of Filbert and State streets, Curwensville, Pa. The founder of the business was A. M. Kirk, later brought his son, Henry P. Kirk, into the business. A. M. Kirk was born October 5, 1849, at Lumber City, Pa., and died at Curwensville, September 19, 1904.

Pictures simply do not do these movements justice! Very hard, at least for me, to get a decent photograph.

Richard

 

[John Cote]

Pictures simply do not do these movements justice! Very hard, at least for me, to get a decent photograph.

Richard,

These movements are very difficult to photograph. I screwed around with 3 LED panels for quite a while before getting what I wanted.

 

[Marty101]

John, this brings up LED vs incandescent light. I can't seem to get the color true with LED.
-Sorry for being off subject here. Just can't help myself.
I still use the old bulbs (full spectrum) with the light hitting targets at approx. 90 degrees.

 

[John Cote]

John, this brings up LED vs incandescent light. I can't seem to get the color true with LED.
-Sorry for being off subject here. Just can't help myself.
I still use the old bulbs (full spectrum) with the light hitting targets at approx. 90 degrees.

Marty,

I shoot watches in RAW file format either with an iPhone or a Nikon. RAW allows the files to be color balanced in post processing. Watches and I mean all watches need post processing, even with perfect lighting to look like what I see when I look at them. My brain, each person's brain does the post processing of the image your eye makes but cameras don't have that kind of brain. I have never been able to make watches look like what I see without post processing either in PhotoShop or in the iPhone camera app. So, for me the color of the lighting doesn't really matter, although the LEDs I use are balanced to daylight so if I use 5600k as my color balance I get close.

Now, to lighing, Each watch seems to need different lighting. I can't put my lights and reflector cards in one position and shoot a bunch of watches. I toot around with the lights and reflectors for each watch. As you know Marty, watches are not easy subjects.

 

[Clint Geller]

I picked this up at last weeks SW California Regional in San Diego/La Mesa. It was a really great show, especially for the first time being at this new venue. There were a lot of watches to see both pocket and wrist. I believe this is what Bill Meggers refered to as "7th All Over Gold Circular Pattern."

View attachment 747672

Great watch and great photography!

 

[Marty101]

Thanks John-I must look into this lighting more...LED/5600K. Someday I'll have to switch, I suppose. My earlier experience with these things found the shades of blue tough with LED...perhaps dismissed it too easily.

 

[John Cote]

Thanks John-I must look into this lighting more...LED/5600K. Someday I'll have to switch, I suppose. My earlier experience with these things found the shades of blue tough with LED...perhaps dismissed it too easily.

Any lights can work.

 

[Rhett Lucke]

Here is an eighth pattern that I’ve had for quite a few years, marked “Extra”

 

[Marty101]

These look great in any light!

 

[terry hall]

Thankee John whadda watch!! maybe i can hold it in FL

 

[John Cote]

Thankee John whadda watch!! maybe i can hold it in FL

I'll be down with it in a few weeks.

 

[terry hall]

 

[1908]

Wow, what a pocket watch! That is a beautiful movement.

Stephen

 

[Nigel Harrison]

Beautiful piece John - I also agree on the lighting being very hard manage and depends if you have gold or silver/nickel that you are photographing..as well as other things. Also agree - Usually always the photos have to be "brightened" after the photos are taken to achieve what your brain sees.

 

[John Cote]

Also agree - Usually always the photos have to be "brightened" after the photos are taken to achieve what your brain sees.

I don't really know what "brightened" means but I agree that all photos have to be post processed to achieve what your brain sees. I don't think I have ever shown anybody a photo, and that included the photos I took on film I developed as a boy, which was not post processed. With digital files I use LightRoom or PhotoShop and in the film days I used basically the same techniques only with darkroom tricks. This does not mean I falsify images in any way.

 

[179]

wow!



Rob

I picked this up at last weeks SW California Regional in San Diego/La Mesa. It was a really great show, especially for the first time being at this new venue. There were a lot of watches to see both pocket and wrist. I believe this is what Bill Meggers refered to as "7th All Over Gold Circular Pattern."

View attachment 747672

I don't really know what "brightened" means but I agree that all photos have to be post processed to achieve what your brain sees. I don't think I have ever shown anybody a photo, and that included the photos I took on film I developed as a boy, which was not post processed. With digital files I use LightRoom or PhotoShop and in the film days I used basically the same techniques only with darkroom tricks. This does not mean I falsify images in any way.

John, am I correct that in the film days 2 techniques were burning and dodging as I seem to remember. Film is not dead yet , more using it now than 15 years ago.

 

[John Cote]

John, am I correct that in the film days 2 techniques were burning and dodging as I seem to remember. Film is not dead yet , more using it now than 15 years ago.

People are having some fun with film now.

Dodging and burning were two techniques done during printing but there were many more during the printing from masking to filters to localized chemical treatments and on and on. Most of what is in PhotoShop today came from darkroom techniques. Then there were processing techniques for actually developing the camera film from the amount of agitation to temperature variation etc. Everything was designed to make the resulting image look like what your brain wanted as opposed to what the brainless pieces of film and print paper got you.

 

[179]

People are having some fun with film now.

Dodging and burning were two techniques done during printing but there were many more during the printing from masking to filters to localized chemical treatments and on and on. Most of what is in PhotoShop today came from darkroom techniques. Then there were processing techniques for actually developing the camera film from the amount of agitation to temperature variation etc. Everything was designed to make the resulting image look like what your brain wanted as opposed to what the brainless pieces of film and print paper got you.

Yep, here we are in 2023, in the sometimes foggy recesses of our brains.