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The Avia Ajustor lets its wearer make small rate adjustments from outside the watch: pushers between the lugs move a regulator inside the movement. Tomas Rosputinsky’s 2022 account describes the mechanism and reports results from one serviced example, but those measurements are not a precision guarantee for every Ajustor.
How does the Avia Ajustor work?
In Tomas Rosputinsky’s account, the Ajustor uses an FHF73 movement base with a regulator that can be shifted without opening the watch. A large, hook-like arm has fine teeth; two arc-shaped levers act on it when the wearer presses a plus or minus pusher. The pushers sit between the lugs, so they can be reached without removing the strap.
Small plus and minus symbols on the dial indicate the controls. On Rosputinsky’s 32 mm example, they sit near the fifth and sixth indices, with corresponding pin pushers on the case side between the lugs. The arrangement makes the function visible in the design rather than hiding it behind the caseback.
What does each press change?
Fratello reports that promotional advertisements from 1960 and 1962 claimed each press changed the rate by plus or minus five seconds. That is the period advertising claim as reported in the article, not a modern specification or a guaranteed result from every press. The feature does not establish that the same increment applies uniformly across watches or conditions.
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What did one serviced watch measure?
Rosputinsky says his watchmaker serviced the watch before it was checked on a vibrograph. The reported sequence was:
| Check | Reported rate |
|---|---|
| Before adjustment | +8 seconds per day |
| After four presses of the minus pusher | −8 seconds per day |
| After two presses of the plus pusher | 0.2 seconds per day |
These are observations from one watch and one test session, not a model-wide accuracy result. Rosputinsky also recorded four daily wear readings afterward: −4.5, −7.4, −6.9, and −0.2 seconds per day. He notes that wearing position and circumstances influence timekeeping, so those figures should be read as an anecdote about his example rather than a prediction for another Ajustor.
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What is known about the system’s history?
Fratello attributes the patent and name-registration details below to Andrew Kelz’s research. They are reported by the article, rather than independently confirmed against patent or trademark registers here.
- Swiss patent CH321947, attributed to Fernand Etienne of La Chaux-de-Fonds, was filed on 20 August 1955 and granted on 31 May 1957.
- French patent FR1155849 is described as covering the same invention.
- Fernand Robert Etienne registered the AJUSTOR name as number 160316 on 26 March 1956.
Rosputinsky reports the system on watches branded Avia, Montdor, Telda, and ZenTra. The examples he discusses are time-only dress watches, with variations in dial and case execution.
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What should collectors inspect?
Rosputinsky’s example measures 32 mm across and has slim, flat, unusually long lugs. For an individual watch, the practical checks follow from the external adjustment system and the condition issues he describes:
- Dial and controls: Look for the plus/minus symbols and matching case-side pushers between the lugs; assess whether their details appear consistent with the particular watch.
- Case condition: Inspect the case and any gold plating closely. Rosputinsky recalls seeing UK auction examples with substantial plating loss, but this was his personal observation at the time—not a current market survey.
- Service and running behavior: Ask whether the watch has documented service history and whether its rate has been measured. One owner’s readings cannot establish the condition or accuracy of another watch.
- Fit and value: Consider the 32 mm size of the described example against your fit preference, and assess the asking price in light of the specific watch’s originality, condition, and service evidence. The article does not provide a current valuation.
Rosputinsky quotes his watchmaker, after service, as saying: “It’s really a simple and effective system. It seems reliable, and I like it much more than the previous one you brought.” The watchmaker is not named in the feature.
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