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You probably need to open it to find out? Or take it to a watchmaker to install a new battery.

Found this by doing a google search. The "Phenix Watch Co., SA" was founded in Porrentruy in 1873 as "Dubail, Monnin, Frossard & Cie." The company set a mark in Swiss watch history as it was the first watch company that had a registered caliber. On February 3, 1900, the company "Dubail, Monnin, Frossard & Cie" was registered as "Société d'horlogerie de Porrentruy." They won a gold medal at the Paris Exposition in 1900 already under the new name. The "Société Horlogère de Porrentruy" then changed its name to "Phenix Watch Co." in the 1920s. In the 1960s, PHENIX was part of a three clock brands entity: the two other brands were the renowned and famous Thomen and Vulcain.

Slightly off watches, but having used this method successfully on broken stems in crowns in the past, I have moved onto larger items, namely removing a broken steel bleed nipple (circled, under the cloud of bubbles) from an aluminium motorcycle disc brake calliper. Not quite there yet after about 5 hours of gentle simmering, but heat certainly speeds things up... Note the item is placed in the alum solution within a glass pyrex bowl or it would eat the steel saucepan!

Reminds me a lot of this recent acquisition, something about the case shape and dial really works for me.

A suggestion to those using aqueous cleaners: mix with distilled/deionized water, not tap water. The minerals in the tap water can cause deposits, particularly in crevices where it is difficult to dry. You can usually get distilled water at the grocery store for your iron.

Hi Mr Roundel. I’ve been taken directly to dr ranffts site before when searching for a known movement I’d, but to be honest I’ve never looked at it from the perspective of using it as a comprehensive, searchable data base. Thanks for the tip. I don’t consider myself to be experienced by a long chalk in comparison to some of the longer served folks on here - but I’ll try not to let the compliment go to my head :-). Thanks again and I’ll keep you all updated on what I find out. Regards Deggsie Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I've found that the sizes listed on the old glass crystals is more of a guide than anything. I've measured several that we all marked the same, but still varied in diameter by a tenth or two from what was stamped. You CAN resize a glass crystal, but it is painstaking and not always successful. I made a wooden bobbin on my lathe, about 1" in diameter, then slightly beveled one face, and coated it with a thin layer of silicone rubber sealant. Mounted on a 1/4" dowel, I chuck it in my lathe and use the tailstock with a loose fitting wooden "pusher" to hold the crystal to the bobbin. Run the lathe slowly and use hand pressure on the tailstock while centering the crystal on the bobbin, I use the wooden handle of a burnisher to apply pressure to the edge of the crystal until it runs true. Then I tighten the tailstock in place. Using various grits of carbide emery cloth, I gently reduce the diameter a little at a time. You MUST polish the sanded edge using the finest grit cloth you can find, at least 2000, or when you try to install the crystal it WILL chip! Heat the bezel up! This will slightly expand the ring and allow the crystal to go in, and when it cools it will shrink back down and hold the crystal tightly.

it's certainly true to say that there are a lot of watchmakers out there who consider Timex's own published service procedures to be inadequate, and the design philosophy and build quality of their watches to be contemptibly inferior. This is something that I have never understood; it's almost as though there is amongst watchmakers a culture of bias against the brand, dare I say it, an element of snobbery. It's also quite correct that Timex's service procedures would be wholly inappropriate for a fully jewelled movement, in much the same way that the service requirements for a Ferrari differ from those of Ford, but if your garage tried to tell you that they need to service your Ford in accordance with the Ferrari service procedures (and that they should charge you accordingly), because the published Ford procedures are inadequate you would quite rightly question their rationale and take your custom else where. I can only speak from my own experience and that includes quite a lot of Timex watches. There are definitely some aspects of Timex design that I dislike, just as there are design aspects of many other Swiss, American, Russian, and English watches that irritate me, however, I don't think that their durability can be questioned. What is more, from experience I can happily say that the vast majority of apparently dead, 50 years old and never been serviced and look like they've spent most of their life in a war zone Timex's that I have then given the Timex spa treatment, have straight away sprung back into life and gone on to perform as designed. If that isn't evidence of an effective service procedure then I'm not sure what is. And as I said before, I have never encountered a broken Timex balance staff. Obviously other people have different experiences and accordingly (and quite rightly) will have arrived at their own opinions. What I find so difficult to accept, let alone understand, is the (so often repeated) assertion Timex watches were never intended to be repaired or serviced. The fact that Timex went to the trouble and expense of publishing service manuals and tech sheets, and providing a supply of spare parts is proof positive that they were meant to be serviced. And my own experience with them has demonstrated to me that the published service procedures are not only perfectly effective, but also incredibly simple to carry out.