Leaderboard

Don't forget to do all the escapement checks before you start moving stones. Drop lock, run to banking, fork horn clearance, guard pin clearance.

The plot thickens. The upper escape wheel jewel hole is badly worn. Way too much side shake. So my theory is that the escape wheel is leaning in to the pallets messing up the geometry. So I might change the jewel before I move the stones.

Just looking at the pictures your analyses are spot on, at a closer look the entry and exit seems to also differ in depth these should also be equal in depth. If their not you get exactly as you say loss in amplitude.

You get the Genunie Swiss unitas out of vintage Arnex, though used I prefer that to any clone.

I thought that it could be group related, now I can confirm that it works. Thank you.

I went for a joblot of 9 watches yesterday mainly for one particular Breil watch but this Swiss Emperor looks quite interesting. Is it worth searching for a new crystal?

Hi Mark, I exchanged a few emails with "The Naked Watchmaker" and at the end they asked if they could add watchrepairtalk.com to their link collection: "Great thank you Lui, please tell me where you are based and we can add you to our links page. Thanks Daniela The Naked Watchmaker www.thenakedwatchmaker.com" Would you be happy about it? Best regards, Lui

looks like were all in agreement the pivots appear to be missing. Then what about the guard pin is that important even if you had the pivots? Plus the other one looks bent but I can't tell from the angle the photograph.. then depending upon the availability of the correct tools you don't really need a new pallet fork providing to guard pin is still there but that's the kind a guard pin you can replace. All you need is a pallet fork arbor. You can it take the old one out the measure it except you're missing the pivots or the site below shows two of them and no I don't know why there's two of them and yes they both have separate numbers so there has to be a reason that there's two of them it's just not obvious. http://cgi.julesborel.com/cgi-bin/matcgi2?ref=AS_1506

Now I tried to "adjust" them for you it should be something like this. Almost the whole "chamfered" part of the club is locking the pallet at an equal depth at both entry and exit pallet. . The pictures are not good but I have made some cad drawings once upon a time from them you can get a feeling of how it should look like.

It will look like them £35 ones before long if he wears it.

Colledtors view are often non sense. This Emperor is maylin monroe at twenty, them £35 ones are Opra winfry at sixty. There would have been re-issues if a flagship, so lets first find a NOS emperor monroe, we can then talk price. . Regards Joe

I think it's a very lovely watch, but not worth that much. After a little search I've found that particular model, with with the stainless steel back, gold plated case, arabics at 12, 6 and 9 with the date at 3, and the seconds subdial, sold at auctions for anywhere from £35.00 to £55.00. If there's sentimental value, by all means have it serviced and wear it proudly. I would get rid of that bracelet though, and put it on a nice leather strap.

Wow, nice to meet you! I don't consider myself a fop (never been fond of the notion) but some people probably think I am. I just go with the idea that 1) I work in a professional environment so I should dress that way, 2) they knew how to make professional looking clothes much better 70 years ago than they do now, and 3) I just look better in my vintage tweed jacket than in a modern sloppy looking suit coat or casual clothes. Unfortunately, everyone's dress code has slipped a bit this year, even mine... I haven't been able to afford a Boker yet, but I do have a Joseph Rodgers that I am very fond of, as well as a blue steel from Solingen, a Wosty with a monkey tail, and a Union Cutlery from when they were still in Union City, GA. I still have my first razor, a John Williams from Sheffield (most of my blades are from Sheffield), but it isn't my best shaver, so it's kept more for sentimental reasons. My grey Stetson Sovereign with a mode edge was a gift from work for my 10 year anniversary with them (which I painstakingly selected for them to present me with ) and it does go with my dark grey topcoat, but I rarely wear the coat mainly because it's rarely cold enough around here to warrant. The Stetson goes well with nigh everything, and it's about time to get it out of summer hibernation as soon as the smoke clears. My Mont Blanc 146 was also a gift from one of my very generous customers who saw that I use fountain pens. It had been a gift to her many years before, and she wasn't using it any more so she wanted it to go to someone who could get more enjoyment from it. I nearly passed out! The vast majority of my pens are inexpensive mid century models that I have restored myself. The MB blows them all away for performance and class. Its only thing I could wish different is that it is rather bold writing with no flex and has a single-tone nib. I really like the look of MB two-tone nibs, and my favorite writers have been fine and flexible. Still, for an everyday writer, it doesn't get better than whipping out a Mont Blanc! Let's see, what else...? Probably 10 years ago or more I got my hands on some cast iron skillets and have been converted over to using them as much as possible. Still have steel saucepans, but probably greater than 50% of my cooking involves a skillet. When I do dress casual, it's usually with a pair of canvas PF Flyers, so still keeping it oldschool. My general take is that I want to be prepared in case I find myself sent back in time to the early 20th or late 19th centuries! One of my favorite series' is Jack Finney's Time and Again/From Time to Time. The other books I enjoy also take me back in time of sorts, Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey/Maturin series and Raymond Chandler's Philip Marlowe books. I also have a modest collection of Cagney movies... I think I'm painting a pretty thorough picture of myself here. I was rather struck by the similarities between us. Again, nice to meet you! Sent from my LGUS992 using Tapatalk

Is it gold? If gold it will depend on the weight and what karat gold. The movement would be taken out and the glass ,to find its weight. if not gold here in England about £150 if you are lucky, as its not a high class movement like an Omega or Rolex just to name two. I can see that the bracelet isn't gold but plate. With a stainless steel back I would say it isn't gold.

That is a beautiful watch. I am not sure if its movement is by Pesuex, ETA or AS manual wind, supriority of any over other two is debatable, I personally am fond of peseux. As new as this is, selling is a shame and I am hesitant to appraisae, should fetch two to three folds the price of a used one in good shape, One with Stainless steel back , anywhere between 275 to 350 USD wouldn't surprise me, smell of the bracelete or sign of having been worn, ha ha if its been worn knock up to 50 buck off the price. Please note I am violating WRT policies cuz your watch is so beautiful. Wind three to four turns of the crown every two months, if it runs inaccurate or starts to at anytime, have it cleaned and lubed by a reputable serviceman. Continue the two months ritual. Good luck.

Hi all, can anyone tell me anything about this watch I recently inherited it, i know its from around 1970 and is in its original box and has its original strap, in excellent condition, thank you.

initially to start watch repair it's nice to have a broken watch something you don't actually want to repair. So you can practice taking it apart and putting it back together multiple of times. this is because to really get good at watch repair you need to practice and practicing as you go is okay once you get the basics down but initially need something to practice on that's disposable. usually finding a really cheap American 16 size pocket watch works well. Then one of the reasons for purchasing the Chinese clones is that we know what the condition is specifically it's running. the reason it's nice to start with a running watch with no problems is that if for some unknown reason it's not running after you taken apart and put it back together it really narrows down whose fault that is. purchasing these watches off of eBay is problematic let's look at your first link problem solved it sold already. But it's not running the balance is claimed to be good and it's missing a plate screw? Plates screws don't just fall off all by themselves so you have to ask what was somebody doing this watch and it's not running so what is wrong with it? the next link at least you're getting the whole watch. The description is interesting isn't it? it's running that's a good sign it doesn't keep time maybe that's not really an issue? Then there's the interesting description of audible metallic ping sound. Oh and if you look carefully somebody pushed the regulator to an extreme far position occasionally when they do that though totally screw up the hairspring it's hard to tell in the pictures here. then is that discoloration I see on the steel parts of know that couldn't be almost looks like water spots. Oh and if you look really carefully one of the reasons that might not be running is the regulator is now touching the center wheel. it used to be on eBay you can find these movements are really cheap I typically didn't used to pay more than $30 each and they were for the most part pretty decent condition. Sometimes regulators got moved sometimes hairsprings were little bend on one occasion the regulator parts it mysteriously fallen off wasn't that weird. But today it's a popular movement anytime someone lists the movement number the price will go up. So basically after look at every single pocket watch movement and see if they'll surely a picture. Sometimes you can guess but if you guess wrong when you don't have a movement picture it may end up with a smaller size watch or worse yet the quartz watch. then of course you to purchase a brand-new from the wholesale material houses their online. But just because their online at our material house does not mean the price is the same. For instance noticed the discrepancy in price between these two links. http://www.julesborel.com/products/movements-eta-eta-mechanical/ETA-6497-MVT-Watch-Movement http://www.ofrei.com/page206.html#37980

An alarm watch is on my list to acquire after reading about them for the first time in a 1999 essay by William Gibson called “My Obsession”: https://www.wired.com/1999/01/ebay/ Gibson describes some of the delights and perils of eBay in a delightfully dated way that makes me miss my first Internet experiences circa 1995. Relevant to this thread, he waxes poetic about the charms of a Vulcain Cricket alarm watch. Long story short: That’s a super cool find [mention]KarlvonKoln [/mention]!

you could go generic. But since the threads are probably worn I would go with a new movement and crown. That watch probably has a 12 dollar ronda movement in it which would come with a new stem.Its not hard to do. If you want to just do the crown you will need to know the tap size,tube diameter and outside crown diameter. Esslinger is a good place to look if you are in the US

Welcome! We're glad to have you join us!

Thank you for your introduction and welcome to this friendly forum.

Welcome to the forum.

Welcome here, I hope you will be able to share some knowledge or advice from your professional experience.

I didn’t have a Tissot 27 on my bench, but this old Omega has almost the same type of 5 spoke wheel as yours. This tool is for a 5 spoke wheel it has an automatic push and lift movement when you press on the springs. The small claws grip the wheel. Grip the wheel with the one spoke in between the side with two grippers and the single one ends up on the opposite side. Keep the tool vertical and gently squeeze the blades and voilá the wheel pops out. When putting the wheel back I actually just use my peg-wood. Just push gently a little at the time and it will get in place nicely. Don’t push too hard! And here we are back were we started

I thought of making a silicone strap for my wife sister fashion watch, which is special having 28mm lugs and being super short for a butterfly clasp and ladie's wrist. The maker is one of these Italians brands, leaving aside the look there is nothing to argue with the full SS case and Swiss-Asian chrono module, but they used the crappies ever plastic which fell to bits being left alone in the box few years. The project is a made a bit easier because the two parts of the strap can be made identical. I have seen that printing flexible materials is totally with a good choice of filaments But I'm not sure that will work good for this need: I understad is not not be possible to have any groove on the inner side which would have to be completely flat and with sharp edges to edges. I don't think the springbar holes can be had directly, and precisely drilling soft materials can surprisingly difficult I am not sure about the finishing from a consumer level printer would be adequate A specialized printer is recommended, although from the video decent results can be had with a standard one. So i thought of printing moulds, and there is at least one company which makes a two component silicone exactly for that. Still: I don't know if printer and filaments good for moulds are special Same worry as in direct printing about the finishing Should be able to easily get the holes fitting a pin in place before joining the two moulds, which could also be identical. Now, leaving aside that the cost of making this can easily be 10 times the price of a new watch, and the project level is probably too high for a total beginner, I am intrigued by the possibility of doing something at home that otherwise is not available at all, and wanted to hear some opinions here.

Welcome to the forum. You may only learn so much from looking at videos or reading books. You must get hands on experience to learn and train. Whatever approach you have it will probably cost som money but doesn't have to be very expensive to get started. You will need som basic tools like screwdrivers, tweezers and movement holders and probably a basic set up of lubricants and greases. Then, of course, you need something to tinker on like some scrap movements or cheap chinese clones (clones of UNITAS 6497/6498 is popular and simple enough). Start with some simple basic watch with perhaps a small seconds dial. I started by taking the three steps of Marks course and it is a good basic start that will take you through the basics with tools, lubrication and working environment. I found it very helpful. Good Luck.

Well, no guts no glory. I felt stupid for being aggravated with the situation rather than seeing it as an opportunity to improve my knowledge and skills. I went ahead and jumped into the fix today. Wasn't really that bad at all. I think it took maybe an hour or two. I didn't really pay attention to the time. Pulling the hands was interesting because I couldn't put the watch in "time set" mode, nor could I hack the movement. I considered waiting until the watch advanced to a time more conducive to removing the hands easily and decided the heck with it - this is a good chance to practice removing hands with levers under less-than-ideal conditions. After the hands were off I removed the dial and then put the movement in a movement-specific holder for the ETA 2824/36 / SW 200/220. I mention this only because in HSL's excellent walk through to fix this issue (in another thread) he removed the rotor to ensure the movement could be held in a movement holder without interference from the rotor. This was not necessary with the movement-specific holder. Speaking of HSL and his walk-through, my thanks to him for it. I'd taken the date jumper, jumper retainer, date wheel, and minute bridge off of a 2824 before, but the only keyless works I've ever messed with was the 6498 that I did in Mark's classes. HSL's pictures were a great help. I should have taken pictures of what was messed up with my keyless, but I didn't. Suffice it to say things were not as they should be. I examined each part and found that nothing appeared to be bent or out of sorts. Then I followed HSL's guide to remove the various keyless works components and reinstall them in the proper arrangement, with the caveat that some of the parts are a little different in the SW 220-1 than the SW 200-1 (owing to the presence of a day wheel in addition to the date wheel. Reassembly of the remainder was pretty straightforward and went fine though I did the assembly in a slightly different order, using the method I was used to from playing with the 2824 previously. I put the minute bridge on first, then the date wheel, then the date jumper (which is also the day jumper on the 220) and the date jumper maintainer. Then I had to reinstall the day wheel and it's circlip. The day wheel was slightly tricky just because I've never put one on before, but its jumper works pretty much the same as the date wheel jumper - except you can't see it and you have to catch and compress it by feel. So now it's all back together and seems happy. All of the functions seem to work fine (winding, rapid day and date advance, and time setting). Having it all back together I lament that I didn't bother to re-lubricate the various parts. Also, at one point during the reassembly the setting wheel became dislodged - jumping completely out of the movement. I examined it at the time but apparently not closely enough as I concluded there was no difference between the two sides of it. Looking at the technical documentation for the movement I now see that there is indeed a right and a wrong orientation. Damn. I'm not tearing it back down to find out at this point. Especially since I still have to finish trimming the stem to the right length which means several more removals and re-insertions and the chance that I screw the keyless works up again. If that happens I'll examine the setting wheel and make sure it's right side up, and I'll also lube anything that seems like it needs it. Anyway, thanks to HSL and this fantastic community for being such a great, supportive resource.

Welcome to the forum Murks. One can be a watch mechanic by practice, then you would need education to learn horology. I start with scrap movements. Good Luck.

Hi I have a collection on my computer gathered from various sources over time, Cousins uk have some as do esslingers w.m.Mcgraw and others, The SCWF seiko site has tech bullitins as well. now known as the watchsite)

Absolutely brilliant..........well done! There are many things that I would like to continue to do as a hobby, but I just do not have the space. However, I can get some pleasure from seeing what others' have achieved and admire their workmanship.

Old original B&W Gameboys, Tomagachi (sp?) dial phones maybe.

HI A Drawband can be made up of a flat bootlace had to do it when we had not any in stock they worked well enough but we always changed them for the real thing later but they got you out of a hole.

I'd guess not as they are designed to be consumed... wear and tear...

I wonder, in a hundred years from now, what antiques will our grandchildren be restoring? Apple iphones?

In my youth as a typewriter Tecnician(Office machine Mechanic) we stripped these Underwood 5s down and had them stove enameled and re chromed , They were a simple mechanism and would work for years Nice little machines.. These machines along with Imperial 50s 55s, 60s were the staple of the Yorkshire Post reporters room. Many of the roving reporters used Imperial Good companion portables, another solid machine will give you years of pleasure and use

Re scrap yards: I remember reading a while back that there was an issue with Chinese imported steel alloys showing up radioactive. Seems they were recycled, and certain medical equipment gets dosed high enough to start emitting some band or another. When it gets recycled, the whole lot becomes an emitter. The point of the article was if your purposes need to be not radioactive, be super careful sourcing material... A year or so after that, I was working for a software startup in the hip part of town. We out grew the office, and moved into a recently decommissioned hospital. They really weren't ready for prime time, but rent was cheap. Out front, there were a few dumpsters, and a ton of really nice looking 1/4" steel plate that came from some corner of the hospital. I snagged several plates, and tossed them in my truck bed. In the back of my mind, that story about radioactive recycled stock coming from recycled medical equipment loomed. It's still sitting uncut in a corner of the shop... I keep telling myself I'm going to get a geiger counter or something some day and see if it's clean or not before I vaporize any of it with a welder... Meanwhile, I live in the mountains just above a Lockheed facility. Lots of top secret stuff, Mars rover bits (I'm told), Titan missiles, and other spooky fun. The guy who lives across the street from me is a 90 year old Bavarian rocket surgeon who retired from that facility. I recall his son in law telling me he holds a patent on a type of radiation detector. Seems applicable given the alpha particle detection conundrum. I may need to poke him and see if he has any prototypes kicking around in a box or something that might be able to solve my steel mystery. https://patents.justia.com/patent/4104523

The Swiss Emperor chronos used Landeron 248 movements like mine (fettled by Mark):