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Well done indeed as jdm says there is much snobbism in watches and timex and the russian watches take the brunt of it. You do your own thing and enjoy doing it and learning at the same time. After all a Rolex and aTimex just tell the time, a watch is a watch the only thing relative is the cost.

Hi, the tube is crushed because of my stupitidy. i tryd to take it out with a tool and it got misformed. The rotor I had already removed to have a better look i side. I had ordered a new breitling crown with tube, but now I have experienced that this is out of my leage, I will stop trying

When I enrolled for Mark's courses I picked up a Seagull ST36 from ebay to follow along with. It's relatively nice and $40 a go, so I wanted to practice destroying something else first. I ended up buying a batch of 7 grimy non-working vintage manual wind and automatic timex watches in various states. I figured they would be super-simple and at a couple of bucks a piece hard to beat it. I probably should have researched those movements first, what I saw once I removed the casebacks was this odd 2-plate movement. So far have encountered both the 21 and 24 variants https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Budget_Watch_Collecting/Timex_movements Researching and playing with them (and totally exploding one) I got a little more familiarity. These feel relatively disposable and a full service would be more difficult than other watches because of the two-plate design. This bummed me out at first, concerned that I would waste time/money on watches that wouldn't move me forward in the best way. Then I followed advice found here on the forums, soaked my first movement,with a slight wind on it, in Mineral Spirits then Naptha, blew it off. tick-tick-tick. Then I was able to get enough dexterity to remove the top balance screw / cup, and drop in some lube Took a while, misaligned the bottom balance pivot, overoiled the wrong spot and had to soak it again, but it came out OK. I spent a long time removing filth from the case, polishing the crystal, cleaning up the dial with rodico, placing the hands, like new!... then I started in on the other 6, started seeing differences in casing and movements, scrubbing and repairing old bands, and continuing to be amazed when these 50 year old watches fired back up after long periods of abuse and neglect. Anyways, I'm hooked and having a blast, meandering my way through course 2 on a dry-run and will get to that Chinese movement soon - hoping after the tiny Timex bits it will feel a little more roomy. sberry Austin, TX First one down, 2nd movement ready to case.

Thank you for the clarification. I think that if the crown / tube you've ordered is good you may spend much less with a reputable independent watchmaker. In any case the decision to not mess with it further is the right one, good luck.

yes and even a broken Rolex has the time right twice a day. But, it will cost you more to fix than a Timex!

I'm not expert in authenticating watches based on externals but the case doesn't scream fake to me. If an owner is willing to mess with the insides of the watch (movement missing a screw by the way) I wouldn't imagine them putting any effort in keeping the outside looking especially tidy either. As for crown tube treading i wouldn't know on breitling super avengers but I have seen tubes with the treads on the inside on IWC's for example. Even if the rest of the watch is fake I'm quite certain that the movement is a chronometer grade 7750, which is no throwaway item.

I don't know about the rest of the watch but I do know my 7750's. Guys it's a genuine ETA 7750. I've worked with enough fake and real 7750s to know. First thing is that it has an etachron regulator. The fake mainplates cannot accept these. Other small details include the chronograph brake and the cam. The fake cams have two holes for guide pins/rivets holes drilled all the way to the top and the brakes a casted part. The genuine cams do not have such holes on the top and the brakes a stamped part. The movement is also has a glucydur balance and serialized on the automatic device bridge which leads me to believe it's a chronometer grade movement and gives good credence that this is a genuine watch. Back on topic: no you cannot wind a 7750 without a crown without some major disassembly to access the ratchet screw for winding. You either have loads of cash to throw around or are unaware of the value of this watch fiddling with it the way you did. It's expensive by most counts. Please, take it to a watchmaker.

OK, the pics are not that bad, and pushers are connected. Now, on the video below on this very subject, 1:49 the "25 jewels etc" stamping is not present on the authentic, but is on the OP, which comes type of finishing. Indeed, the wring is present on this other one by our Mark, but it's about an "unfinished" 7750. I think it's virtually impossible for counterfeiters to reliably mimic the endless small variations that the big brands continuously introduce. I'm definitely a knob about 7750 and fakes, but I think that if one keeps looking can spot more differences.

Fair comments, however I did state that any attempt to straighten the tube might render the waterproofing useless. "... however this may also compromise the waterproof nature of the watch" ... and... Given the probable value of the watch if genuine, any repair would be best left to a professional, however if the watch is a clone, then I doubt if it would be worth the expense. In other words... "This might however be uneconomical if you sent it to get this done by a professional, depending on the value of the watch to you obviously." .. so as with every repair, it is down to the owner to decide what they want to do. I can only advise that if the watch were mine, and I was unable to perform the repair and it was a genuine watch, then I would take it to a professional, as this would probably be the least risk solution. If the watch was mine, and not genuine, and I had the skills to repair it myself, then I would personally attempt to repair it.

Very good, you have demonstrated again how prejudice and snobism can be crumbled with application and positive thinking. Like any other object nice watches can come and go, but your skills will stay with you forever.

You must lubricate the jumper for the date disk. Almost anything will do, 8200, 8300, Jismaa, D5, HP-whaterver, your choice. Put a bit, advance 5 days, a bit, 6 times. Can make all the difference in the world. Of course also the pivot point of the jumper and the contact point of spring on the jumper. It can work fine after cleaning with no lube then get pissy a few days later. It may be that the spring is to weak to handle decades of wear, or there is damage to the disc teeth as JDM said (this does happen, burrs develop and drag). Try the lube and see how it goes.

Check date ring teeth and date wheel finger for wear. Problem can be there, not with the spring.

Today is my vintage 1950s Gallet Multichron 45 fitted on a vintage 50s Gemex rice bead stainless bracelet.

Hi all, I found and bought another movement and replaced pallet, lower shock absorb jewel, lubricated then adjust the rate. Now the watch keeps about 38 hours will fully wound, rate is about 10-20 sec/day. I think its is acceptable for a nearly 60 years old movement. Thank you for your advice.

Just wanted to let you all know the bag and pegwood worked perfectly. Cheers

I have just finished a clean and rebuild of a 2472. I needed to change the calendar date spring which is U shaped. The watch had not run for over 20years and is now keeping reasonable time. The calendar date wheel sometimes only flicks half way between dates. A gentle knock will flip the ring to the correct position. I have checked the spring dims and all seems okay. Any advice would be very welcome. Its a great watch and good to have in my collection.

Ah, over the pond it's 'hissy fit', at least in the south.

I was not aware there was more than one Scotland.But I suppose there might be impostors.Welcome.

Hi and welcome to the happy factory.

Welcome John to the forum I am in Scotland too, St Combs Fraserburgh, The guys on here are knowledgeable and helpful so enjoy the hobby.

Great proposition and still practicable for a 20 pounds tweezers or 50 for a screwdrivers mini-set, then things change when you face that a Swiss timegrapher starts at 2,500 but a Chinese one 200 or less, the relation gets a bit better like 4 to 1 in case of bench case opener, crystal press and die set, pressure tester, etc. You will find and evaluate by yourself in the due time, plenty of full discussion threads, check the pinned and starred threads in the tools section.

This is currently on the way to me. It's the first brand new watch that I've purchased in many, many years. No special occasion but the watch commemorates 1963, the year I graduated from high school. It is 42.5 mm in diameter which is right in the size range I prefer. It comes with either a black or silver bezel. I wanted the silver which was out of stock so I waited just a bit. If purchasing a new "anything" one should receive his heart's desire, not just what happens to be available. This one features a Miyota 6S20 movement with the smooth second hand. I've not personally seen that feature so I'm looking forward to it although, the normal one second advancement of a quartz second hand is not an issue for me. According the the USPS tracking system, it is scheduled to arrive on Monday, 4/29. Can't wait to see it up close and personal.

When I was working as a watchmaker back in the 70' & 80's the company I worked for would send them away. Back to Dundee, Timex on many occasions would send back a replacement watch for the same price as a repair. I would laugh and say to the staff even Timex can't be bothered to repair there own, that's how bad the movements are. Little did I know that in this day and age people would still be repairing and collecting the things.