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Well after reading these posts I feel ancient as I have a son older than most of you 55, might be an old git but dont feel it or act it. Now the Christmas is over I can move the portable bench inside and get cracking in the warmth again look forward to 2023

Today I received this beauty, a 4th quarter 1951 Molnija. In 1947 the Soviets bought the Swiss Cortebert machinery (cal: 624 & 616). In the beginning these movements were produced to the same high Swiss standards, complete with Geneva stripes. In the 1940's Rolex also used the same movement design in their watches. The Molnija movement I received is the same as the Cortebert cal. 624 The seller revealed that this watch has been in his family for as long as he could remember. The watch shows hardly any signs of use / wear and the movement has perhaps been serviced ones, but is still in excellent / untouched condition. It came with the original box, chain and April 1952 passport. Even the inside of the back-lid is highly decorated. And here the 1940's Rolex version;

Objection, John! Imo amplitude is just 2nd place, after the main topic: beat error. Frank

Taken early retirement, 62 now. I work totally under the microscope - it makes a huge difference. As mentioned above, you have to learn how to anchor fingers to stabilise your hand, either to control the tip of a screwdriver, or tweezers. Also when working on very sensitive areas you have to control your breathing. When working on hairsprings, I only do it when feeling relaxed and work in short spells. As soon as I feel I'm not relaxed, I put it aside for another day - I've trashed too many from rushing to finish.

I've been doing this since I was 25, almost 50 now. Definitely have more trembling than back then. You have to anchor your pinky/ring finger, so much more stability. I only notice it when shellacking pallet jewels or something where anchoring those fingers would result in 3rd degree burns haha. Just colletted a hairspring, under microscope, and managed tremors and all.

Where there is a will there is a way eh Dave ? As you say reducing your tool leverage distance to the minimum possible makes a big difference. So any bracing techniques you can bring into play so that the nearest body joint to the tool is used. Ideally finger joint leverage points instead of the wrist joint if possible. When the wrist is up off the bench then leverage is extended back to the elbow joint, obviously harder to hold steady the forearm and wrist. For some extra steady if working on really fine movements, I've found placing a left finger on my right tweezer thumb or fore finger. Eyup WW. Me at only 55 and really just getting into the hobby. I remember asking you this same question when i joined the forum as i was concerned how long i would be able to do it for. I thought it somewhat personal to ask but you were happy to answer and reassure me, similar to how you have here. That inspired me to dive in deeper and was very much appreciated .

Hi as an old git nearing eighty, diabetic,arthritic hands worse when cold, eyesight not too good but do ok. I am still working mainly on clocks but doing the odd watch also as mentioned good light even breathing and patience and knowing when to walk away and calm down, Doing the job it just takes longer at my age there is no rush. That’s why it’s important when answering queries be mindful that not all of the posters are fit young men in their prime with full faculties and be considerate.

I do apologize from OP for my poor choice of words, its was just that we don't have a Patek being worked on everyday. Rgds

I don't know if the Soviets, at some point in time, changed the design of the Cortebert 624 balance-staff. Most Molnija's do have the 3602 movement and balance staff's are available on eBay. Whether the older types had the same 3602 balance staff I can't say, but you could give a 3602 balance staff a try, they aren't too expensive. For example: https://www.ebay.de/itm/162950763642?hash=item25f09f547a:g:FicAAOSwKV9ihK2u&amdata=enc%3AAQAHAAAAoPZUPW3%2Bb4VjzuuuWrmU9YJMBgeL5OUHqm3uHlMLjeEIh1Q2urUiCB9uO8Lqwk0UqAB7tu9KI2AKJX1fkWQj4bLHxi98IDqwyc4XM5cMhdZhNLFy%2B4YFoxHXLv7k0K7XG5LQRIp7AfHWJmhOR7l3WEFI4DRkvfCPWxE0qmYufW2eeyvO%2BWE3UAKVwZ1uvD6lwYguyLAYFw57K0xrclKB3vo%3D|tkp%3ABk9SR_iqwb2sYQ

That is a very attractive piece. I have a couple of similar Monjas, not anywhere near as nice as that as they are in pretty poor condition. They are sitting on the to do list as I couldn't find a source for the balance or balance staff, but if it is a Cortebert cal. 624 that might give me a better hope of finding any necessary parts.

Yeah, that is hard to read but I think if I squint hard enough it also has the 9/375 mark for 9 carat gold.

So, quick update, just to close this thread. @watchweasol actually there is no pipe to be held in vice... @oldhippy I have tried setting the hand one more time and applied a bit more pressure that time. Also, as mentioned there is no actual pipe... Well... I've been wearing the watch, now almost a month from then, and it still stays in place... I guess its doing just fine Thank you everyone for your help!

Tack så mycket! Jag har fått mycket hjälp och uppmuntran från @Endeavor, som ofta har hänvisat till detta forum och även direkt till dig. Så, jag kände att det var läge att ta första steget in i gänget. Thank you! I thought it was finally time to join and not just sneak peeking

Normally you can say that but this is the safe zone were supposed to be nice. Although that's not the actual wording with the safe zone is but were supposed be nice to the newbies in the safe zone. So is it proper to caution somebody that this might not be the best practice watch because it might upset the newbie? It also probably means I'm not supposed to ask this question either but I'm going to. How exactly did it snap off the main plate? Taken the questions out of order I doubt they would replace the entire main plate. Then a lot a professional watchmaker's probably couldn't fix this because it might be called a manufacturing operation or restoration operation a lot of professional watchmakers don't actually do this type of work. Then we need more information. Look carefully at the back side of the main plate is the post a separate post that's pressed into the plate or is it machined in the plate? If it was just a separate post with the threaded part for the screw whatever's left could be pushed out and a new one could be manufactured. If it was machined into the main plate which conceivably this company would've done then. So if it's not a separate post what somebody would have to do is mounted in a lathe all the plate make sure it's Apsley centered from where the post used to be bore out a section to make a new press in post with the thread for the screw. This is not your casual watchmaking type of operation. Probably because the expense of the watch it be better to send back the factory and let them handle it. But we need a second opinion. nickelsilver Does this kinda stuff and conceivably is familiar with this watch. He would really be the one to answer the question of how to fix this.

I'm not sure about that. At least I think that the 7019 escape wheel is different. Now I can't remember if I've tried to install a 7019 escape wheel on a 7009 movement or viceversa, but the wheel was not compatible and the bridge couldn't be installed on top of it.

What's interesting is for people work in a Swatch group service center all they have to do is regulate to a window. They don't have to please the people obsessed with numbers they just have to hit Somewhere within the window. I don't know how the factory does it though whether the factory actually tries to regulate closer to the actual specification or not. Then of course the problem is you can't see the amplitude on your watch. I suppose if you have really good hearing you could hear out of beat so that might be an issue. But now we have these nifty timing machines with numbers to please.

Hi yes you are doing just remember after the final rinse dry very well to remove any trace of moisture. Use a hair dryer on low mode not to spread the parts all over the bench.

I filed a slot in the end of an old screwdriver to make a suitable tool. If it's a minor tweek, you could do probably do it with tweezers. As @clockboysays, you need good magnification

That clasp is held to the bracelet by friction. In the centre of the clasp you can see a part with a rectangular hole in it, this levers up to allow the bracelet to be fitted through the clasp. Once in place and sized to the wrist this part should be firmly closed which will hold the clasp to the bracelet. Tom

You shouldn't say things like this on this group where amplitude is the most important thing and timing is of no real consequence at all. Yes there was a discussion a while back where they were obsessed with amplitude and I finally asked about the timekeeping but that was not the most important aspect of the watch running it was the amplitude.

Its called locating pin. A genuine patek is not pratice piece. Rgds

I've seen a lot worse. It has nice blue accents on the hands and on the indices (which the camera has entirely failed to pick up). Serviced, scrubbed, polished and the missing paint on the hands restored, it actually looks not too bad... considering its from the 1970s The case appears to be some sort of bronze, so with a little "patina reversal" magic, it now actually shines. I'll probably need to repeat the process in another fifty years, but I can live with that. It did fight me every step of the way I might add. Its slightly idiosyncratic Osco OS 400 beating heart had been liberally doused in used motor oil (at least that was what it looked like), which meant that stripping it down resulted in some head scratching as the date jumper mechanism basically flew apart when the cover was removed. It also had the spring from hell that must have tried to hide at least twenty times. On the plus side, I found several other missing parts in the carpet while I was on my knees with the magnet. The spring in question is the one that is smirking on the brass date jumper wheel. Those two slots in the pusher confused me for a while. There are approximately three point six trillion combinations of spring, wheel and pusher which involve the spring in or on one of those slots. All of them of course are incorrect, trust me, I tried them all before the penny dropped.

Turns out Kellogg’s and Red Bull isn’t the breakfast of Champions. So after laying off that lately I’ve had less tremors as well. But as others have said, hand bracing technique can really helps things; inevitably when I’m trembling under magnification I stop and notice I’m not bracing my hands properly.

Hello Johan, this is a quite nice group of people who are helpful. Welcome! Mark

Here is my cheap and dusty Chinese case back opener. Looks like they reached into the wrong box when putting it together. Under Bergeon it says Swiss made.

Now that I have a new compatriot on the forum, I hope you think it is OK that I write a few lines in Swedish. Absolut! Service och reparation av klockor är definitivt inget för den otålige! Det är bara att glömma att tid existerar, låta det ta den tid det tar, och njuta av arbetet. Långsamt långsamt blir man snabbare men det är en så långsam process att man knappt märker det. Själv kommer jag alltid att ha ryska klockor i mitt hjärta, framför allt Vostok. Utan dom hade jag aldrig vågat komma igång för ungefär fem år sedan. Varmt välkommen !

This really has me confused. Have you now been able to determine that this is by design by Omega? In my (limited) experience the locking depth should be the same on both the entry and exit jewel, no?

Thank you for your introduction and welcome to this friendly forum. We all look forward to your contributions and continued involvement.

Finally ! ......... and a very warm Welcome ! ....... There is lots to learn here. As for leaning, don't focus only on Russian, whether it's Swiss, Chinese or Japanese, the basic principle is all the same. That's a good one @watchweasol, I hadn't seen that one before !

I keep thinking about this imaginary conversation as I apply for watch school - "Yes! I want to repair watches!" "How are your eyes and fine motor skills?" "Well, my eyesight is crap. I have age related macular degeneration, and get poked in the eye once a month with a needle to keep it from getting worse. My hands shake like a leaf in a gale, hard to keep things steady." "Go away" Like you, I use magnification (microscope) and tons of light to compensate for the vision problems, so far so good. Tremors are a little harder. If I try and pick up a part with tweezers and hold it in mid-air, I can't keep it still. So, I've learned techniques to help with that, basically always brace the arm and hand. I had a bit of trouble putting a balance in a pair of calipers yesterday, so I changed the way I was doing it so that everything was braced against the bench surface, then no problem. I've even mostly given up caffeine, anything I can think of to keep steady I try. Even paying attention to how tense I'm getting can make a difference, if I find myself concentrating and tensing up, I stretch, take some deep slow breaths, and try to get Zen . It helps. Unless something drastic happens, I think I can keep this up for quite a while. I've read about some positively ancient watchmakers who are still at it, so I know it is possible. Cheers!

Hi Depending on the movement fitted to the watch a 2 sec jump or a 4 sec jump is idictative of the battery getting towards the end of life and needs replacing. never leaave a dead battery in a watch as they degrade and leak and corrode the metal contacts and in a worst case the entire watch.

Hoping to get started on this (Croton) Nivada Grenchen 25j ETA 2451 automatic. Very lovely dial and Speidel bracelet. Picked it up for $5 US a few years back at a swap meet.

Well I have some news! Thanks to all you who recommended counting teeth; coming from servicing pretty standard vintage wristwatches I would have never thought to bother with it, but sure enough one wheel has 5 more teeth than the comparable one from my parts movement. So I've swapped them out and am now timing it to see how it works. Thanks a lot you all, I really appreciate the help!

Its a face only a mother could love. Actually, arguably, its not that unusual for the period. I'm pretty sure its from the early 1970s, and you know what they say.... "the 1970s, the decade that style forgot". I could be the uber pedant here and point out that it was almost certainly the Germans that sold it, not the Swiss. I'm not sure, will I need to dig out my bell bottom pants, platform shoes and wide collared tartan shirt and bleach my beard blond, before I start working on it?