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Welcome to the group Stirky. You can search for just about every subject in the craft here. Don't be afraid to ask if you can't find the answer that may have already been covered ( some ad nauseum LOL ). You don't have to buy Bergeon to get good quality. There are many decent mid-range tools available that will last you a lifetime. Cousins would be a good place to start . Cheers from across the pond ! Randy

I picked up a similar amount of these jewels some years ago in a watch and clock fair. Every now and then they come in handy. This week I've got a rubbed in bombe jewel in the balance cock that is cracked and needs replacing. Very handy to have a vintage assortment of these type of jewels!

Thanks Jon.

Great diagram with the teeth and pinion count. Simple way to reduce the speed of the hour wheel by the 12:1 minute wheel. Genius and yet so simple. Always good to reinforce the principal by what you have done in your drawing. Keep doing that. I had a drawing on my wall for years showing me this which is very similar to the drawing you have done. Here's a formula to work out the beats per hour of a watch movement. The movement's BPH is dictated by the wheel teeth and pinion count and the hairspring being vibrated to the correct BPH by finding the pinning up point on the hairspring using a vibrating tool. The reason in the formula there is X2 on the top line is because there are two pallet stones.

So I just wanted to say "thank you" again. The angle is the key bit it seems and yes, it did basically just fall, or float, back into position when I got it lined up just right. I had meant to add that now that I see how it goes in, I totally see how it came out in the first place, and that whomever cloned the original movement didn't pay much attention to the fine details around the setting or how it interfaces with the balance cock or the "rings" on the regulator and/or stud carrier arms.

Well I’ve never seen the make before and cannot find any info, I haven’t got it just yet it’s been left to me among a 1970’s sea master and a mid size yeoman. But if anyone has any information on this one please feel free to enlighten me, many thanks

Hello Horologists, thought I'd introduce myself. I'm a 50ish year old who has been dabbling in watches for a while, did a couple of BHI course here in the UK and have started to dabble at bit more. I also took the level 1 course, which was a good refresher. Now off to look at some Bergeon tools and then buy (and regret buying) the cheaper ones... Stirky.

Hi All, I thought I'd draw a diagram to help me understand the motion works for an eta 6497 so I thought I'd share it here in case anyone else finds it helpful. Any corrections, please let me know! Hope it helps. Stirky.

It's pronounced "bombay" like the city. French for bomb is, , bombe, pronounced the same as in English. Bombé, bombe.

That's a really good idea! I have a 3d printer, I think I'll design something that I can clip on to the edge of my desk to do the same. Thanks for the idea.

I looked up bombè, domed in French. It's pronunciation is bomb, does a bomb (explosive device) get It's name from bombè? I know we're going off subject but it's interesting.

Okay, I checked with the fine folks at the McCaw Company, and they agree it's the correct crystal, and they have one in stock, so with that sorted time to get onto assembly. Starting by getting the spring into the barrel, which was a bit harrowing. It took me several tries to get it hooked onto my worn old winder arbor, but I did find a new use for the micrometer stand I just purchased. Carefully dabbed some Kluber P125 braking grease to the left of the divots around the barrel, and a little HP1300 on the floor of the barrel before popping it in--in case you haven't seen it, this is a great illustration I found somewhere on this site. You're not the boss of me, Bulova. 2172_Bulova 11AOAC 11AOACD 11AOACB.pdf Bulova_11 AOAC, D, B(1).pdf I got the train back in and it didn't seem as free as I'd like. Looks like the driving wheel with cannon pinion has zero end shake. That could explain the low amplitutde I started with. Now if you were me, would you push on the plate jewel or the bridge jewel? I've attached some extra pictures in case anyone sees something else I'm doing wrong here.

I have quite a few watch brands from all over the world. For some reason this Timex electric from 1979 is capturing my attention this week. I am not a particularly fond of battery operated watches or Timex, but this one is different for some reason. Post your watch in your collection that seems to draw you in more now than before...

You can use bombé jewels with regular pivots if you put the convex surface facing the shoulder. You see it on (primarily older) high end pieces, particularly nearer to and including the escapement.

They are for balance wheels only and wheels with similar pivots (B = bombé). You can use flat jewels for balance wheels (not recommended) but no bombé jewels for ordinary wheels.

Not SS but very slight wear on the underside edges have a little brass showing under magnification. New crystal arrived £3 with tax. Nice champagne dial color.

I also just realized I had that tech bulletin saved...but in French for some reason No, I don't speak French. 2172_Bulova 11AOAC 11AOACD 11AOACB.pdf While parts are drying I'm on the hunt for a replacement crystal. I can measure the opening and get a generic one, but it'd be nice to find out what the original looked like first. Of course, case code 3093 does not appear in any of my reference materials. JulesBorel lists a C3093 case code, and shows Bulova part # 1222-5. Does anyone have information on this guy? I found a thread here talking about how the -5 is the height of the crystal, but that's as far as I've gotten. I also found one site that claims to have it in stock, but before I risk my $20 I'd like to confirm it's the right part.

Thanks for the replies. I did the job today and found that the oversized stem fitted just perfectly into the worn mainplate without any adjustment. Original stem diameter was 1.24mm and the oversized was 1.40mm. I did have to make an adjustment to the setting lever though. The small pip that engages with the groove in the stem hub was slightly to wide. I made that a bit smaller with a fine file. Don't ask me why that was too big, it just was. All working very well now. No wobble and not pulling out. New crown fitted as good measure.

Welcome to WRT.

Hi Vandan. Hi from a fellow newbie! Marshall has got a lot to answer for hasn't he! . I also got hooked to this hobby after watching his videos. Good luck with your journey to service your Grandfather's watch. Nick

Hi all, I have a lovely Favre-Lueba dress watch from late 70s/early 80s in a stainless steel case. Its an unusual curved rectangular case and crystal. I'm wondering if there's any possibility I might be able to buy/find a replacement crystal for this watch. The base of the crystal is also curved to match the case, rather than flat. I'm looking at the Cousins website page here https://www.cousinsuk.com/product/rectsq-rounded-corners-one-side-curved-bezel-sternkreuz-rzr but not sure if I'm looking for the correct type. In my case its a rectanglular crystal with rounded corners, and both the upper and lower surfaces of the crystal are curved. Update - OK I now think I know what I'm looking for, but Cousins don't stock the size I need :-). I think I need a Sternkruez RZ 315x220R9, acrylic, cylindrically domed with rounded corners. Any tips or alternate sources for this type of crystal? Many thanks

Getting more interesting this post, innit? Mikeplilk, Waggy. Impressed with your efforts. Makes mine look amateurish. Hey, that's what I am. Still, I have good results with the 'frog'. Apprentice test piece. Paper is from https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/234602659940?var=534248554534 I am aware that the more I delve into the DIY, the more I am gaining understanding of watchmaking. Well, a little each time. Ross

Now, that's a bad boy watch!

High frequency day: 36000 bph.

I bought this box of jewels a few years ago and noticed that the glass containers are divided into two sections. In the first section, the containers have a label with red text colour and always start with the letter B. In the second section, the text on the label is black and lacks the letter B. There seem to be roughly the same number of containers in both sections, and each section has the same sizes of jewels. The only difference is that the jewels in the B section with red text have a slightly rounded, convex underside. My question is what are these rounded jewels for and if I can use them instead of the jewels with a flat bottom if a certain size is missing?