1980s skeleton watch Men's with brown leather snap band, vintage men's watch, mechanical watch, Steampunk watch, Chinese Goer watch

Sorry, this item has sold.

First of all, let me say that when I found this watch all I knew was that it was one of the coolest skeleton or mechanical watches I'd ever seen. And what I loved most was the contrast of a flashy detailed shiny watch placed on a rugged simple heavy leather snap band. But what I've found out since that first impression has made me love this piece even more. It came from the estate of a man who in 1981 went to open a factory for a US company in Shanghai. He hit the "Tongji," or Chinese Standard Movement, which was a mechanical watch movement developed as part of China's fourth Five-Year Plan in the 1970s. From a Wikipedia entry on this movement: "It was designed by engineers from several early Chinese watch factories as part of a Ministry of Light Industry initiative to consolidate the industry, and with a few exceptions it became mandatory for all factories to discontinue the production of their own movements and to mass-produce the standard movement. Because of this, the production of the standard movement defines an entire era in the history of Chinese watchmaking...Once production of the new watch was established in existing factories, many new factories were built also to make the standard watch. In most factories the complete watch was manufactured in-house, thus the required skills and technologies were distributed more widely across the nation. By the end of the 1970s there were more than 30 complete watch manufacturing enterprises in China; and possibly as many as 50. Watch production in China increased from 6.564 million in 1974 to 33.01 million in 1982. About 82% of Chinese watches produced in 1983 had Standard movements." What we know about this watch is that is was mass produced, by one of those new companies, Goer. We also know that this particular watch was purchased sometime after he arrived, but we don't know exactly when, and he had the simple watchband produced there based on his specifications. The leather is not the highest quality--it's actually a bit dry from age, but it is genuine leather. It has two snaps.

The watch face is about 1-1/2" in diameter. Watch band measures just under 3/4" wide and total length is 9-1/2" from end to end of leather straps. Measuring for size, the smallest it will go is 7-1/2 to 8" and the largest is just under 8-1/2 to 9", so use that as the guide for wrist size. The leather is worn but also dry, and there is a spot where the person who cut the leather made a little detour into the edge. The watch face itself and frame have some scratches from use--this appeared to be a well-used watch--and you can see where the back was opened, as there is a gouge mark left behind. Not sure if this watch will work--I am selling it for the gorgeous look regardless of whether it works.

A fabulous piece of China's mechanical watchmaking history!


See my vintage Native American or Native American inspired jewelry here:
https://www.etsy.com/shop/romaarellano?section_id=17770535

And see all the items in my shop here:
https://www.etsy.com/shop/romaarellano

Shipping from United States

Processing time

1 business day

Estimated shipping times

  • North America : 4 - 12 weeks
  • Europe : 6 - 16 weeks
  • Australia, New Zealand and Oceania : 6 - 16 weeks
  • Asia Pacific : 6 - 16 weeks
  • Latin America and the Caribbean : 6 - 16 weeks

I'll do my best to meet these shipping estimates, but can't guarantee them. Actual delivery time will depend on the shipping method you choose.

Customs and import taxes

Buyers are responsible for any customs and import taxes that may apply. I'm not responsible for delays due to customs.

Payment Options

Secure options
  • Accepts Etsy gift cards

Returns & Exchanges

I gladly accept returns and cancellations

Just contact me within: 14 days of delivery

Ship items back to me within: 30 days of delivery

  • Custom or personalized orders
  • Conditions of return

    Buyers are responsible for return shipping costs. If the item is not returned in its original condition, the buyer is responsible for any loss in value.

    Privacy policy

    This Privacy Policy describes how and when your data are collected and used when you purchase an item from this shop or romaarellano.com, also administered by etsy.com. This Privacy Policy does not apply to the practices of third parties, including Etsy or any third party services you access through Etsy. You can reference the Etsy Privacy Policy to learn more about its privacy practices.

    Etsy or PayPal, depending on which you use, administers payments, and therefore protects your financial per their respective privacy policies. This shop does not have access to credit card or bank details.

    Information Collected by this Shop
    ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
    To fulfill your order, you provide information through Etsy, such as name, email address, postal address, payment information, and details of the product ordered. You may also choose to provide additional personal information regarding the order if you contact the shop directly.

    This shop collects, uses, and shares your information for specific tasks such as:
    • providing services to fulfill your order, to settle disputes should any occur, and provide customer support;
    • when you have provided consent, which you may revoke at any time, by signing up for a mailing list or request detail of future product availability;
    • to comply with a legal obligation or court order or in connection with a legal claim, such as retaining information about your purchases if required by tax law; and
    • as necessary for the purpose of legitimate interests such as Compliance with the Etsy Seller Policy and Terms of Use.

    Information about this shop's customers is necessary to our business. Personal information is used for specific and limited reasons and circumstances, as follows:
    • Information is shared with Etsy as necessary to provide services and comply with obligations under both the Etsy Seller Policy and Etsy Terms of Use.
    • If we sell or merge this business, we may disclose your information as part of that transaction, only to the extent permitted by law.
    • We may collect, use, retain, and share your information if we have a good faith belief that it is reasonably necessary to: (a) respond to legal process or to government requests; (b) enforce my agreements, terms and policies; (c) prevent, investigate, and address fraud and other illegal activity, security, or technical issues; or (d) protect the rights, property, and safety of our customers, or others.

    Data Retention
    ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
    We retain customer personal information only for as long as necessary to provide you with services, as described in this Privacy Policy and to comply with any legal and regulatory obligations, to resolve disputes should any arise, and to enforce agreements. For tax purposes, we generally keep customer data for seven years.

    If you have any questions regarding data privacy, please contact the shop owner via the built-in messaging system. Thank you.

    Frequently Asked Questions

    Worldwide Shipping, Processing & Insurance

    • We ship to many parts of the world. On any listing, enter your zip or postal code into the Shipping box to find out if your country is included and how much it will cost. If you find we do not ship to your country, contact us to find out if we might be able to.

    • We ship within 1-3 days of order via USPS, Fed Ex, and UPS. and any order of $100 or more will be insured via third party insurance.

    • Any package valued at $250 or more will require Signature upon delivery. Third Party insurer requires Signature in certain cases, so please do not ask that we ship without Signature as this creates a risk we are not willing to take.

    Returns & Refunds

    • We accept returns. Per our policies, contact us within 14 days of delivery. Return shipping with insurance and tracking is at your expense. We process refunds once the item is returned in the same condition received.

    • If your item arrives damaged, photograph it with packaging so we may make a claim.

    • Returning an item is no fun; contact us before buying to ask questions or request additional photos. I'd rather talk you out of something vs your being disappointed with a purchase!

    • Our top priority is your positive experience with this shop, and our greatest hope is that you LOVE the item purchased!

    Do you do layaways?

    We can work with you on a payment plan with immediate down payment up to two months for full payment.

    Note that layaways past due over 30 days go into default. Once in default the transaction is cancelled and layaway payments are not returnable due to having removed items from the market and losing potential sales.

    Convo to talk about a layaway plan that works for your budget.

    Do you accept offers?

    Please, no offers. We receive so much correspondence daily that we are unable to respond to offer requests.

    We have loyal customers who return again and again and use the repeat customer discount coupon for 10% off. We set fair prices from the get-go. If something is expensive, you know it's good.

    We do run sales occasionally, so watch for those. And we value community. Whether you are a returning customer, Facebook friend, or Instagram follower--our thanks to you is 10% off for supporting this shop. Please go to the About section of the main shop page and click on the social media links. Follow us on one of those platforms, convo to say you've done so and we'll send you the coupon code for 10% off.

    Will you reserve or hold items?

    We do NOT do reserves or holds. Like any business, we use sales proceeds to keep the shop running. We truly can't afford to take items off the market. But even if you have some funds with which to make a down payment, we can do layaway with you. Just convo to say you'd like to do a layaway, and we'll work with you on that route instead of a Hold or Reserve.

    Can you tell me SOLD prices?

    We get correspondance almost daily asking how much certain items are worth or what the price was of items that have sold, and we can no longer respond to these messages.

    Reviews (1)

    Average:

    Unfortunately I didn't read the fine print...that is it in working order but it is a beautiful piece of jewelry nonetheless


    Legal imprint