P2 Questions

[Higgie]

This is mine:



Early module, marked 11-72 on the GF band.

[bruce wegmann]

That's the one! Without this specific caseback, a watch could not be considered original [or complete; this caseback was made for this one watch...any stainless back would fit, of course, but would not be correct for the solid gold case]. Excellent picture... Just thought about this...what's the serial number of this one? And yes, mine has the same early-type module.

[Higgie]

Just thought about this...what's the serial number of this one?

11150

[azimuth_pl]

......light sensor horizontal to the display and "curly/swirly" battery contacts......

I just thought this might come in handy with this post

[charger105]

Thanks everybody.
Looks like I've got a replacement back on my 2975. I suppose it could've got mixed up when in for repair or servicing at some stage ?

Maybe the butterfly terminal broke off, and a quick solution was to put the "Stainless" marked back on ?

I'm still very happy with it.
All I need now is an extra link for it. Has anyone got a spare GF P2 link ?

Rgds,
Andrew.

[CompuChron]

And this not original back is what made the watch cheap for you because it wasn't marked "14K gold bezel , SS back" on it.

Is it working?

[azimuth_pl]

... It's a sweet score. I was wrapped to get a working module, but to get a gold case as well is awesome....

I figure it does work
so a WORKING P2 = min. 250$
+ solid gold case min. 400$
- 120$ purchase
= min. 530$ above the initial expense

[charger105]

Correct, the module does work.

Correct, one reason I got it cheap was because it didn't have a back marked "14k Gold Bezel". It was also sold as untested, which can generally be thought of as meaning faulty !

It's nice to know it's solid, and nice to know it's worth a lot more than a GF model, but I don't plan on selling it at all. I'm just happy to have a working, mostly original P2.

Rgds.

[charger105]

Well after nearly 5 years, I've managed to jag the correct caseback for my solid gold Pulsar 2975.
And here it is.........



It's a nice feeling to re-unite these two lost brothers !
So, there's hope for everyone that the long lost part you've been searching for might well one day materialise.

A big thanks to Bruce for parting with such a rare item. It's in very nice shape (the smudge on the right is a finger-print).
I might have to give the rest of the watch a light re-brush one of these days.
Interestingly, the '5' in the serial number is upside down. Does this make it even rarer

Rgds,
Andrew.

[vpn]

That's a great news! Now you have an all original solid gold P2... And I'm sure that with a rebrushing it'll look gorgeous! It's quite bizarre that the 5 is printed upside down!

[bruce wegmann]

Actually, it's not...look closely...your "upside-down" 5 is really a 9. Stamping depth and clarity varies a bit among these early P2s. In any event, I'm glad to see the part arrived safely and is correct for your watch. I've developed a pretty good technique for repairing the bowtie battery connector; you might want to post a pic of that, too. You wouldn't believe the methods I've seen used to do this simple repair...I think the one that used model airplane cement takes the prize! The 3115 P3 that did this same solid-gold/stainless steel mix is, IMHO, one of the rarest Pulsar models made, if we're to judge by relative frequency of appearance; in ten years on eBay, I've seen eight P1s, one 3115, three 2975s.
I've usually seen the early-type battery connectors on the module referred to as "fan-blade" or "pinwheel". They are spot-welded to metal contacts and can (and do) break off if too severely flexed.
I have four 2975s now; it appears they were done in two limited, rather closely-spaced runs (my serials are 11262, 11461, and 11621, and one other at 10856). I doubt they made nearly a thousand of these...4-5 hundred seems more likely, given the number known in collections, and their infrequent appearance at auction. The 3115 is even a tougher case...mine is 266535...I'm betting any other will be close...although, I seem to remember seeing a 2975 with a 3115 caseback some time back, with a serial number in the 13xxxx range (should have saved the pic), so there may have been at least two short runs of 3115s as well.
On the metal-allergy suggestion; I'm not buying it...gold is infinitely more corrosion-resistant than even the best stainless, and while nobody is allergic to gold (people who claim to be are actually reacting to the copper that is typically in any jewellry alloy), a LOT of people are acutely sensitive to nickel, a universal component of stainless steel alloys.
The stainless backs were most likely a simple means of telling the 2975s from the 2980s, which had solid-gold bracelets, instead of goldfilled (the 2980 also had a SG caseback ring, but that could be far more easily overlooked than the back itself).
Bearing in mind that the serial numbers on the P2s started at 10001, it is clear that these are all very early P2s, indeed (and, of course, mixed in here are the Hamilton-marked casebacks, too, but that is another story!).

[charger105]

Here's a pic of the bowtie connector:


It's a bit tough to get a good image, but it's been re-affixed very neatly. There appears to be an even ring of blue-grey glue "buttressing" the circumference of the circular part. Top work Bruce !!

Regarding the pinwheel battery contacts, there seems to be 2 varieties. The type shown by Piotr earlier in this post, and the type on my module:

The 3 'arms' of each connector are curved on mine, but straight on Piotr's. These little differences make collecting fun
I think I've seen more of my variety.
I wonder which one is earlier ?
Rgds.

[charger105]

...........oh, and Bruce was right, it was a '9'. Sure looks like an upside-down '5' in the first image.

[Old_timer]

I got it in a job lot, for next to nothing, and it's a worker ! So I'm wrapped about that. I've been looking at P2s for a while, but working units are normally too pricey for me.

Wow, now that is luck... to anyone who says there's no such thing as luck, "luck" is no more than an English language word used to express a meaning, like this great story.

Super to see your 14kt pictures - thank you