Vostok Balance Jewel

[KayMan]

I'm in the process of stripping a Vostok movement from a Komandirskie watch and I want to take apart the balance jewel assemblies, each of which has the cap jewel secured by a 3-lobed clip.  How should I go about removing the clip and, perhaps more importantly, what's the correct way to reassemble it?  Apologies for the poor photo quality.

 

[rogart63]

To remove you turn the spring. Use a sharp tweezer to turn it with.  A piece of rodico or something to catch with is recommended . II use a toothpick that i hold with my left hand. Place the toothpick in the hole. A little trickier to put it back though? 

[canthus]

The method I use is to trim a piece of pegwood to match the inner diam of the bit where the spring is.  Then hollow out the end a bit so the arms of the spring will bend towards the jewel.  Press vertically on the pegwood and slowly rotate until one of the arms comes out via the relief on the jewel holder, the rest will come out easily.  This method can also be used for refitting the spring.

[KayMan]

Thanks chaps, I'll try those tips tomorrow which is the next time I can sit down and tinker with watches.

[VWatchie]

On 3/27/2017 at 3:41 PM, canthus said:

The method I use is to trim a piece of pegwood to match the inner diam of the bit where the spring is.  Then hollow out the end a bit so the arms of the spring will bend towards the jewel.  Press vertically on the pegwood and slowly rotate until one of the arms comes out via the relief on the jewel holder, the rest will come out easily.  This method can also be used for refitting the spring.

Demonstrated in this video!

[ajdo]

Excellent quality and very informative video !

AJ