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https://www.watchpro.com/right-to-repair-law-could-stop-restrictive-distribution-of-watch-parts/ A faint light in the tunnel!? Let's keep our fingers crossed, and why not support cousinsuk.com in the meantime!? I've been doing my shopping from them for a few years now and they have never let me down.

Here's some great news for all European WR-Talkers outside of the UK who usually shop from CousinsUK.com Previously, and to my annoyance, Cousins have unfortunately been unable to deliver hazardous products, such as cleaning fluids, outside of the UK. Consequently I've had to order these products from my local supplier which has prevented me from taking advantage of Cousins' often favorable prices. As a result, I have refrained from buying this type of products and tried to find cheaper solutions. In itself good, but as I said annoying. Well, from now on Cousins offer shipping of hazardous products to outside of the UK. Yes, somewhat more expensive but still reasonable. So I consider this my number one Christmas gift for 2020!

That Timex has a cool dial! I put the old 1680 away again and dug out this gem. It has to be one of the nicest dive watches available today, regardless of cost. Polishing that puts the Swiss to shame; stainless case WITH hard coating to avoid scratches; sapphire crystal; silky and precise bezel “action”; retro 62MAS inspired styling; bomb-proof Seiko movement and construction. I highly recommend it. I wear it on an Isofrane dive strap (navy blue) that looks so right on this watch.

Before buying a new stem/crown I would make sure that the broken portion can be removed and the watch works.

We need it’s Caliber number. Some pics of the case or movement might be helpful.

I usually do not record video, but definitely take photos. Taking pictures with iPhone via microscope is the perfect way, but sometimes it is just easier to use the same phone with x10 loupe as shown below.

Hi, I looked it up: in 2018 I paid 30.- for setup and 3.- per piece (+tax). Tolerance 20µ - what is sufficient here. Lower tolerance will multiply setup cost. Highest cost will be measuring and CAD drawing time here. Frank

A datasheet is helpful if you plan to overhaul this. Felsa made excellent movements.

The case being decided in a Swiss court could be a major factor. The only plus maybe is the UK government and the Swiss government seem to be on very good trading terms. I have said this before, whatever the outcome Swatch made a huge mistake by trying to monopolise the market. They already had this position and Instead of developing a interchangeable low cost smart watch they thought going to court was the way forward. Since there decision manufacturers such a Seiko have gone from strength to strength for mechanical watches and Apple have marched ahead with smart watches.

If Swatch group does tie up supply, and then drive away customers, they will fall back on their disposable Quartz products again, and be back like a bad penny... They have their hands into so many companies now, they are unavoidable. Like the Empire strikes back. Example: the new Oris caliber they are raving about, seems to be another hot-rodded 2892 (more likely derived from the Omega twin barrel movements, also made by ETA). It's nice and all, and certainly good to see some sort of development happening again since the Quartz crisis, but just do business and try not to monopolize the industry. All the parts have to come from you either way- authorized or independent. Price them fairly and make them available. I can't see where they benefit having Stellita parts in an ETA movement, because they hault supply... That would destroy the ETA reputation (assuming the "bad" art causes failure again) which is far more costly that independents having the CORRECT parts to correctly repair their products. And it's not disrespect toward Omega for using ETS for movements. Rolex consumed A. Shlid (maybe? I can't remember- maybe FHF?) for their movements. And they have done VERY LITTLE in the way of modernizing or improving their movement, despite their marketing campaign. Do a 180 and publish everything- all the training tips and tricks to do a first rate service. Charge an admission fee to access the documentation. That's all fair and reasonable. Monopolizing an industry is not reasonable, and Apple sees the writing on the wall, if they continue with their choke hold on their products and their servicing. They are not being more "noble" here; they simply want to avoid the bad publicity of a lawsuit. A suit just like this one. Sales prices rising well beyond inflation (and by the way, the companies made a fine profit, with more overhead, at the old structure) is pure greed, nothing more. Omega raised prices to fill the void left by Rolex going up-scale with their pricing, and the other brands are following, again to fill that vacuum price point formerly above them. Omega was supreme quality and value for the retail price for a long time... that ship has sailed and they are now lower-cost Rolexes. Profit has replaced integrity in the market.

That's a priority mail box. I didn't want to risk a spill with an envelope. I also heat seal the bottle in a bag in case the bottle leaks. The bottle has a stainless needle for dispensing as well. Too much for a watch with the needle, but fine for larger stuff.

Next to center axel, you see the little pin to be moved to release the pinion underneath the rotor and it move inside a L shape slot, pointer right there on the rotor shows you which way to move the pin.

Mr. Cousins certainly states his point plainly. And he is right. I will be seeing what I can afford to donate to this cause. But as Clockboy and others pointed out, we should also consider ways to raise public awareness as to why this battle is necessary. Monopolies are daunting and nefarious, though they can be countered by consumer awareness in many ways. But I don't think the average watch owner knows much about ETA/Swatch. They should though, since their wallet suffers because of them.

Again, I left it in, cleaned the plate with the lower and upper wheels in, oiled the jewel in the middle and reassembled it...although that part was not easy. Video below:) Assembly - Rolex Oyster Everest Precision 1957 https://youtu.be/7AqT-bL7wcc

let's look at something first I have a link to the history of wostep. As you can see it's a school, a school that's been in business for 54 years. a school that starts out small and gets big and finally gets its own building after being in a whole bunch of locations scattered around Neuchâtel. The important thing here is in all of that time there's going to be lots of people involved. Not just the instructors in the school but the students from time to time get to escape and go to the factories that means even more exposure to people and ideas. then one of the things that keeps bothering me where did I get exposed to the tool that I have? Then I am pretty sure that if somebody said use your fingers this is the way to do it I would've remembered. Because I too went to wostep and using your fingers does not seem like the way that would've been approved at all. Not in a school that was obsessed with perfection? http://www.wostep.ch/en/history

Taken by my phone, I have no light everything is so dim. I am building a light box but i am nowhere near to finish it. Once we have some proper light I will take another set of pics using my real camera.

Be reassured that it is ?? I would not be surprised at all to see two guys in a same shop, watchmaker's or otherwise, do things differently and fiercely fight about which is right ?. I won't repeat the old say here as I love cats too much!

and don't mix them up. Perhaps same taste, different outcome ? Happy X-mas to all ?

The impulse pin should be as near center as possible in the pallets, you need it to sound as a nice event tick, in order to get this right you might need to move the balance collect to the left or right to achieve this. If you find that it is way out in time keeping say its gaining a lot and the regulator is unable to make any difference you need to let the hairspring out the opposite is required if the clock is losing a lot, you then move the balance collect into the center of the pallets. If the collect is tight you might need to remove the collect from the staff in order to get it right. Not all types of these movements will start up automatically when in beat unlike a watch, winding it up gets it going.

And a Merry Cristmas to You and Yours enjoy

Hi VWatchie I should stick to Whiskey for the Xmas drink but you may need the above after the festivities If you over indulge.?

That glue is Interesting stuff. Given the age of the piece, there are limited choices. Possibly a latex based gum, which would be a reasonable choice to avoid cracking of the enamel. Good old fashioned chewing gum therefore is not such a daft suggestion as it was traditionally made from a whole bunch of different natural gums, including latex. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chewing_gum#Gum_base Chewing gum takes quite while to set though as anybody who has ever encountered it on a school desk or cinema seat can testify. Possibly even something as simple as linseed putty (window putty), which again is semi-flexible, hence its use with window glass. Maybe even an animal hide gum, but these tend to be brown or clear in colour.

They may not have been designed to be serviced. but that does not meant they can not be repaired.

It’s up to each of us to decide what tools we use. I use my Bergeon Presto wheel puller and have never damaged a watch component with it. And I have used it many times. In fact, I used it for a similar Omega Cal 501 Seamaster 300 very recently. Re-fitting has never been a problem. It’s similar to fitting watch hands - they rarely require tightening. If you refuse to remove all driving wheels then you may have more difficulty cleaning some movements such a chronographs, where it is required for proper disassembly. I serviced a Valjoux 7733 today, and that is an example of where I wouldn’t want to leave the 4th wheel driving wheel attached as you can’t easily remove the 4th wheel otherwise.

This Accutron has a similar vibe (well, not literally) and I think the same fake crocodile pattern on the strap.

unless the original movement was damaged, getting to run again would be rather quick.

I got them today, some of them are damaged as they were put into the same plastic bag and the sharp legs scratched the faces. I was kind of expecting that when I saw them in the same bag on aBay and the royal mail also helped with the damage, most of them are ok though. If you still would like to trade i am going to pick those where there is no damage.

If you look carefully the square the count wheel fixes onto some have a mark on it for a guide for fitting it correctly.

St. Lucia Racer oil #188 (It's the rarest snake on earth!) Product of USA - 15ml There are two other weights available (I have not bothered to stock them yet) #163 (light) and #220 (heavy). The #188 is "medium" weight and ideal for turntable bearings and tape deck capstain bushings etc. I get four bucks for the oil and USPS gets eight n change for the shipping...

I'm attaching pictures so you can see what the other tool looks like. There are two protruding needles which actually look like sewing needles ground on one side. what we can't see is how their attached to the base. Because they're both free to rotate a little bit and move around which is the key. As you can see it goes under the wheel flat side up. Then you just rotate the handle a little bit each the needles rotates and lifts the wheel up works really well.

My advice: leave it alone unless there is a compelling reason to remove it. Older Rolex (15xx) works this way too, and those parts, though easy to find, command silly prices. So, I suggest ultrasonic cleaning (even though mine is busted), then careful oiling with the finest oiler as required. A "compelling reason" to remove it might be a broken jewel/worn bushing for instance. And re-installing it correctly without a jeweling kit probably wouldn't go perfectly. I understand you can't always ascertain that without full disassembly, but sometimes you have to punt.

Timex Tuesday again for me. This time a 1973 Marlin with a great 70s vibe.

All this Timex talk inspired me to wear this 1976 Marlin today.

Latest News from Cousins. Bern Commercial Court View this email in your browser Swatch v Cousins in the Bern Commercial Court At the end of June, we explained the remaining steps in the Swiss Legal process were informal written comments from both parties, a hearing, and then the written judgement. The informal comments were completed and we have been waiting for the date of the hearing. It is worth explaining that the Swiss procedure is rather different to that in England. The right to a hearing is part of the Swiss Constitution, and the Judges are responsible for investigating the evidence, not just applying the law. This means that it is only the Judges that ask questions at a hearing. The two parties in the dispute do not cross examine each other. They are allowed to ask questions of witnesses via the Judge, but not directly and only if the Judge thinks the answer is likely to add value. In our case, the facts are not disputed. Swatch openly admit that they ceased to supply us. The dispute centres on whether or not that action was illegal. All the points of law pertinent to that question have been covered in depth in the extensive written submissions. The Covid restrictions give the Court a range of issues when it comes to holding a hearing. Video links are not normally allowed in Swiss law but have exceptionally been permitted during the pandemic. However questioning witnesses via video in a foreign country raises all sorts of issues about jurisdiction, and would require a range of permissions from the British Authorities. Because of this, and also because the evidence is clearly laid out in the documentation, the Judge in Bern took the unusual step of asking both parties how they would like to proceed. We responded by stating that if the Judge did not have any questions for the parties or the witnesses, we would be willing to waive our right to a hearing if Swatch would do the same. The Judge described the proposal as “reasonable” and wrote to Swatch asking if they would agree to the same approach, which they did. The Judge has been studying the papers in detail for the past four weeks and has now advised us that his initial view is that a hearing is not required, but that he will make a firm decision on this point within the next three weeks. If a hearing is required, a date has been reserved in March of next year, and we would expect the final judgement two to three months after that. If a hearing is not required, we hope that the judgement will come much earlier than we would otherwise have expected. We will keep you updated. Kind Regards Anthony www.cousinsuk.com

Swatch v Cousins in the Bern Court only slightly delayed due to Covid-19 Our fight with Swatch over the supply of parts has only been slightly delayed by the Covid-19 outbreak. Because the Swiss judicial system mainly relies on written submissions rather than Court appearances, the impact on our case has been less than might have been expected. The deadlines for submission of documents were extended for an extra four weeks by the Swiss Federal authorities, and an extra two weeks extension was granted by the Judge in Bern. All the formal submissions by both sides have now been completed. The remainder of the process consists of informal comments by both sides (Swatch are due to submit theirs in the next two weeks and we will reply after that), and then a hearing in the Bern Court. We would expect the written verdict from the Judge around two to four months after that. The date for the hearing has not yet been set. The summer recess for the Courts runs from mid-July to mid-August and we expect it will be some time after that. A lot will depend on travel restrictions and quarantine issues, but hopefully by the Autumn this will not be a factor. As we said in our last News update, we were happy that our first submission was a very robust defence. As before, we can’t go into detail, but we can say that we think our second submission is even stronger than the first, and are very confident that the judge will reach the right verdict. We will keep updating you as matters unfold by email and on our website news page. Sorry about previous post. Hopefully this is better

Forgot to mention that no timegrapher is required during disassembly, visual inspection, cleaning, drying, re-assembling, oiling, winding... what else... oh yes, during attaching the watch strap or bracelet, balance staff replacement, crystal replacement, hydrostatic pressure test ?and it's definitely not needed for taking photographs... I think ??