A brief interview with Helmut Sinn concerning the 142

 

Dave Bruno, sinn_142@hotmail.com                   7/2003

 

1.Q      What year was the Sinn 142 first produced ? Did you produce

            any prototypes that may have been sold as well ?

 

A         the Sinn 142 was produced first abt. in 1970.

 

2.Q      Did Lemania produce the first 142, and then Sinn purchased

             the rights to it  ?

 

A         Lemania delivered the work only, which was built-in in Frankfurt

 

3.Q      What was your inspiration for the 142 ?

 

A          Interest in watches

 

4.Q      What type of testing did you perform on it ?  I've read that

             is was tested to accept 7g's of force; is this true ?

           

A         The watch can withstand 28.500 Amp 10 G

 

5.Q      What was the band that came with early 142's.  When was the

             German Expandro band first used on the 142 ?

             

A         from the beginning either leather or metal acc. to request of customer

 

6.Q      Was there any significant dial changes to the 142 while you

             were involved ?  When did the wording on the dial

             of 'Automatic' change to 'Automatik'?

           

A         Sometimes there were two suppliers

 

7.Q      How was the 142 choosen for use on SpaceLab and the Mir ?

 

A          The 142 was choosen by Reinhard Furrer, Flade, Ewald

 

8.Q      When did the inscription first appear on the back of the

             watch (The first automatic chronograph in space....)

 

A         Inscription first appeared after D 1 Mission

 

9.Q      Were the early 142's COSC certified?

 

A         only sporadic        

 

10.Q    Did you maintain a list of serial numbers that were in space ? 

              Do you know of any other nationalities (other than German)

              that wore the watch in space ?

           

A           no data abt. serial number        

 

11.Q    Do you have a list of serial numbers with production dates ?

              Was this the total amount of 142's produced before you

              sold the company in 1994 ?

           

A           no list of serial numbers and production dates, date when built 1985

 

12.Q    Are there any sources of historical information for Sinn watches ?

 

A           all corresponding documents are left at Sinn Company, Mr.Schmidt

 

 

A that time i.e.at the beginning of sale of 142 there we no correct figures available,

only customer lists. All documents remains at the company Sinn. All watches have been

soId to same prices, except astronautics who became a discount of 25 %.