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Hi! My name is Sebastian and I know not a lot or anything about watches. But this old xeric is watch my father gave me. The skinny hand on top fell off and isn’t working anymore. I’ve tried taking it to xeric company and several jewelers in town. However, no avail no one is able to fix it. And idk where to go or who to ask to get it fixed. I would love to get it fixed since this is my first watch and it means a lot to me

This movement is a little over my head for a newbie. I wanted a GMT watch so thought I would build one. I am baffled by the mechanism that retains the stem and how did I mess it up. The first challenge was removing the winding stem by pressing on the noted spot in the following image: This is a mystery to me when trying to find this in the technical document [https://drive.google.com/file/d/1juZKswxGGjhlCn_CD255w7OnV31vqrDF/view?usp=sharing] Was the stem position an issue when I pressed this release button? A button that seemed to have no movement when pressed. Is there something in the keyless works that got messed up by having the stem in the hand-setting position when pressing the button? How do I fix it?

I love jump hour watches, and I couldn't resist this black and white Oberon. Overpaid for it a few months ago as "needs repair," I'm finally tearing into it now. It looks like the previous owner did the old "soak it in oil to make it run" trick, but it was definitely not running. Came to me fully wound. The balance seemed free, but wouldn't oscillate, so I set about disassembly. Everything, including the dial, date, minute, and second rings are completely soaked in oil. The main plate is marked BF 866, which looks like Baumgartner's mark. Now I just have to figure out how to get the barrel open. Well, there's your problem. I don't know what that black crud is, but it was definitely gumming up the works.

My latest repair/restorations — running super strong. I’ve done like 2 dozen of these repair/resto this year alone and generally put them back on eBay to try to recoup costs. I like these so much I might just keep them for myself.

Hi all, Can you help me identify this movement? I think I know what it is (cheap chinese) but just wanted to pitch for confirmation... (so won't say what I think it is) I have measured it as: (I think...) Diameter 26.0mm Height 4.9mm Height with hand pinion 7.3mm I am a complete newbie at even taken a case back off despite being a bit of a collector. This movement is broken and crunches when I wind it. So I want to replace it. The watch itself was a gift (and undoubtedly a fake/replica) but I want to get it working again by replacing the movement. Ideally, I want to keep the current hands (hr, min, sec) and crown/stem. It just has a date complication at 3 o'clock. Just a like for like swap seems the simplest thing to do? But open to any suggestions. I'm not bothered if it's a cheap chinese movement, I just want to get it working so I can wear it now and again. Any advice or help would be most appreciated. Many Thanks, Dan.

So I went to a place to get my battery replaced and the person ended up knocking one of the pointers out of its place, now I image to get this fixed I would have to remove the crown in order to access the front part, I however am not sure how to do this in this particular watch as there is no release as far as I can see, but yea in the first picture the sub dial has fallen into the area where the other sub dial is, and I am trying to get that back in place and the second picture I have removed the plastic bit and trying to figure out how to remove the crown but the things I have tried did not work, and I do not wish to damage the watch. Any help would be appreciated thank you!

I got a replica rolex 3235 movement, a complete clone as far as I can see with me. Used for a submariner homage project I embarked on. 2 Months in, when I took the hands out for a polish and cleaned the dial, after I had replaced the hands and recased, the minute hand and hour hand started to intermittently stop and lag behind. The second hand was perfectly running at a nice -5 seconds a day. I took it apart for an inspection, nothing looked broken in the gear train, and the timegrapher numbers were still excellent, but realised that the hands would shift extremely easily when pushed. I never took notice whether that was normal or not, but based on my suspicion and a little extra research I concluded that the canon pinion was loose on the center wheel arbor, So here is the issue, there are no known 'good' watchmakers in Singapore that will work on this replica movement, and its quite difficult to find parts, unless I swap it out with a genuine canon pinion. I've heard of a cheap way to tighten it using a shaved down blunt nail clipper, but would like to know. How 'tight' is tight, when I push the hands while the crown is in the hand-setting position, am I able to push it? will it require alot of force? or just not move at all without breaking it? Is the friction-fit canon pinion just supposed to be tight enough that when the setting gears are tucked away, the centre wheel can continue to power the watch? and while the second hand is hacked, there enough slip that the hand can be set by the crown? Are there any other options to repair it? Im still a student so a cheap option of repair would be nice. Thank you all for reading.

Hello everyone! This is my first time posting here, so please bear with me if I’m not used to the structure or layout of how to properly use the forum. So, I have an issue with this movement which is labeled M 102, and had a curious arrow-triangle engraving on the barrel bridge. I bought this watch for cheap, and even once I screwed a new crown onto the stem (old crown was broken and lost before I got it), it wouldn’t take a wind. I opened it up, and observed the ratchet wheel spinning with no resistance when winding. So my first though of course was a broken mainspring. But in fact, the mainspring, mainspring hook, and the hook on the barrel arbor were all in superb condition (albeit dirty covered in old grease). So my next thought was to see what was happening more closely when winding. And it turns out, when winding, the entire barrel spins with the ratchet wheel! Okay, so broken escapement? But no, the train of wheels didn’t move at all while the arbor spun. FINALLY I looked at the next step in the train of wheels, the center wheel. With just the barrel and the center wheel fitted, the center wheel is turned properly. But with ANY resistance (such as the third wheel being put in), the center wheel itself stops, and the center wheel pinion spins freely, loose in the wheel. With the wheel removed, at one point I put it in a pin vise (with BARELY any pressure applied) to showcase just how loose the wheel actually is, and it is very barely on there, able to spin and wobble freely Attached are pictures of the center wheel removed from the movement. Also attached is a picture of the engraving on the barrel bridge to help ID the caliber if I haven’t already. So, my question is, does anyone have any reference material, or perhaps know which stake/method I should use to stake this pinion back tight into it’s wheel? Thank you so much!

Hi, I've posted about my challenges sorting out broken jewels on three separate movements in another thread (see below). At this point however I've decided that the job requires skills, materials and tools that I do not posses (with skills being the most critical void). That said, I'd like to find some help and am willing to pay to have the work done. I've reached out to JD Richards on two separate channels (his gmail account and this forum's messenger service), since I believe he does this kind of service, however he has not responded--so not sure if he is otherwise engaged or simply not interested. If anyone else on the board is a serious hobbyists with the proper qualifications and is willing to take this kind of job on for a fee (or knows of others who they can refer me to), please message me directly or feel free to contact me directly using my personal contact info below. These movements are not valuable or historically significant IMHO-they were purchased for less than $50 each on eBay as learning platforms for me as I attempt to teach myself basic watch repair through on-line courses, reading and practical experience. In that sense, these movements have been 'successful'. However having reached the limit of my skill with these particular movements, I would like to see them in working order so I can case them up and hand them off to friends/family as originally planned . Thanks in adavnace--Levine98 (804) 998-3519 *****@*****.tld

I decided to build my own ETA 2824 automatic watch recently. I spent time picking out all the parts I wanted, received them and put them all together with minimal trouble. After sizing the stem and fitting it to the crown I cannot get the stem to go back. After struggling for a minute or two I noticed that even when the stem was removed the movement continued to tick. I did make sure that the watch was in a time setting position before removing the stem. But now I’m one step from completing my watch build and have no idea what to do to fix it. This is the only watch experience I have yet had so I really hope it’s not a difficult fix. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Small success story... not long after my wife and I were married (25 years ago) we were walking through Fordingbridge UK and the small jeweller's shop was closing down. In the window they had a display of new old stock Oris watches including an SA7445 with an exhibition back... later on that year, my wife presented me with the 7445 for my birthday. I wore the watch every day for 10 years, had it regularly serviced. However, about 15 years ago I was giving a lecture (cell biology (yawn)) in Belgium and whilst waving my hands around enthusiastically I felt something go cataclismically "sproing" inside it. The auto-winder span round and it died. The watch has sat in a draw neglected since. I've made half hearted attempts to get it fixed but no watchmender has been interested. Recently have been reading around, watching various videos, acquiring tools and started renovating quartz watches. Last weekend I plucked up the courage, sharpened my screwdrivers, got out rhe tweezers, loupe and rodico and investigated the Oris... I found that the all the screws in the rotor and the automatic mechanism were loose and the click had become disengaged. After a couple of hours I reassembled the auto wind, re engaged the click ratchet but the watch still didn't work. Then I noticed that one of the screws that holds the auto wind mechanism in place was missing. As I'd never had the watch apart before the logical conclusion was that the screw was somewhere inside. So... I carefully disassembled everything again and started to delve deeper into the movement... sure enough... there was the screw, jammed in the gear train. Gentle prodding and coaxing loosened it and I was able to shake it loose. Hey-Presto... the watch immediately started ticking and woke up after 15 years of suspended animation. After reassembly and ensuring everything was screwed tight... I proudly showed my wife the fruits of my labours. Sadly... she can't remember giving me the watch in the first place... oh well....

Hi There. I recently bought an Elma Super Elite cleaning machine and need to replace the old metal holder with the new, blue plastic version. The problem is that the old are stuck to the metal rod. When I spin it, the holder turns freely, but when I try to pull it from the shaft it does not budge. I was therefore wondering if anyone had any suggestions as to what to do.

Hi friends, I have a 1970's Slava Soviet made watch my uncle gifted me when I was 9... I have kept it in mint condition all these years and for some reason I decided to have it serviced. I took it to a watch repair shop (had 5 stars) spoke with the employee and specifically asked to have the watch back in the same or better condition, when I got it back 6 weeks later I noticed they had scratched and damaged the bezel and changed the spring (even through I asked to call me incase any part needs to be replaced) Now I need to replace the bezel so thats its not chewed up, the factory does not make parts for it and I am distraught as it was in perfect shape and it took someone else to ruin the watch. I only blame myself but it hurts ? Please help me find the bezel and get it back to its former self as much as possible.

Hello! The outer part of the rotor on my grandpa's lucien piccard seashark (AS 1580 movement) has come loose. Is there any way to repair this rotor or must it simply be replaced?

Hi. Aftet many hours trying to fit a seagull st36 to a hamilton kahki case I think I'm done. First recieved movement and put all parts together with a pleasef smile on my face. Then the second hand stopped.... Aftet advice i took parts apart fiddled with second hand and rebuilt parts. This time the stem just doesn't engage properly and slips in and out easily. Movement is fine it seems but stem just doesn't want to play. It did when first assembled. So i am figuring i just want it working and want to send it off to someine far more experienced than I....any sugestions?

hi am not by any means any type of expert but thought this was the best place to start

Hello Everyone, I recently bought myself a cheap repair kit and I successfully changed the battery on this watch that was dormant in a drawer for about 4 years! However, the problem is I haven't done something right as the day sub dial is ticking away same as the second hand sub dial!, I'm sure it isn't meant to do that. I'm obviously putting it back together incorrectly and also the two little white plastic cogs you can see in the pics, I can't remember where they go?! If someone please can talk me through the process it would be massively appreciated or any pointers, advice would be great. Thank you

Hi I new to this forum and I am looking for some advice please. I have a Breitling Top Time 2006-33 I have removed the rear cover and taken of the winder and unscrewed the screw hold the movement the movement is free within the body, however I cannot see how to remove it from the body. Any suggestion or help would be most welcome. Regards Rob1949

Hi all. I'm absolutely brand new to the world of mechanical watches, but have always been fascinated by the way they functioned. So, I took my first step into them, getting myself a cheap, crappy ebay mechanical watch with a chinese movement. I knew that by all accounts this would be a rubbish movement and mechanism, however I wanted something that I could take a look at without risking any sort of investment, gauge my interest in the hobby etc. However, after receiving it, one of my friends let me know that he had a near identical cheap watch that was broken, and offered me to have a look at it as practice. I agreed, and have spent the last few days doing research and taking it apart, before putting it back together again. I've managed to learn quite a lot from it, however I've found that when putting it back together again, the pole of the escape wheel that keeps it in place either end seems to be too short, as though something had broken off. This means the wheel is sat basically loose and wont reach the crystals at either side to keep it in place while it spins. I see no way to fix this, so i intended to get a new wheel to replace it with, however I can't find the name of this type of movement anywhere. It is the kind used in this: ( https://www.amazon.co.uk/Jechin-Skeleton-Hand-Wind-Leather-Mechanical/dp/B00VPRZC50/ref=asc_df_B00VPRZC50/?tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=290896788181&hvpos=1o3&hvnetw=g&hvrand=13027367026987882679&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9047006&hvtargid=aud-545868369748:pla-468442151749&psc=1 ) . If I really wanted to I think I could just order one of the other watches that I've found that use this movement for £5-6, however I was hoping I might be able to keep to my strict student budget and get just the escape wheel somewhere. Does anyone know where I'd be able to find something like that? p.s. Apologies for the lack of knowledge on the subject, I know I'll come across a bit new to the whole thing, but trying to learn as I go

20190925_101850_1.mp4 My Oris dropped onto the street, no cosmetic issues, rotor spins hands move everything seems in order nothing's rattling inside, yet it's completely dead!?? That 7750 kept better time than my Muhle and Tudor, real workhorse, maybe something really obvious I'm overlooking?

Hey, so I have a question. I've got an Invicta dive watch with a NH35A movement here that whenever I unthread the stem and crown as it is unthreading the date starts changing. Once its unthreaded I can change it to the 1, 2 and 3 positions and set and wind it accordingly. How can I fix this and what is causing this? Yours truly, Josh

Question for those who work on Vintage Timex watches: I've restored several Timex pieces from the late '60s to the late '70s. The technique I learned (from Internet posts and tutorials) say to simply loosen the dial-side balance pivot by unscrewing it 1/2 turn prior to cleaning the entire movement in an ultrasonic cleaner. This method contradicts the official Timex service manuals, which state that the balance should be removed, cleaned separately and reinstalled. Thus preventing the hairspring form being damaged in the ultrasonic cleaner. My experience is this: Leaving the balance in place (slightly loosened) is much easier and will work on the standard movements used in the '70s (M24/25, M32/33, M104, etc.) Attempting the same method on movements from the '50s and '60s (M22, M29, etc) will result in a kinked hairspring that is damn near impossible to un-kink. So my question is this: What do you experienced Timex restoration experts recommend? Leave the balance/hairspring in the movement for cleaning, or take it out to soak in a separate jar? Is the potential for hairspring damage greater when removing/reinstalling the balance - in comparison to leaving it in place? I've messed up a couple of vintage movements that I really wish I hadn't. I don't want to make those mistakes again. Thanks for any insights! -Todd

I honestly just wanted to know how much it would cost me to fix my meylan stopwatch no. 214 if I were to send it to meylan to fix. I feel i should because on the inside the bezel case said to. And if I choose to send it to meylan then do i just send it or can I set up something online because on meylan's website I can't find anything about repairs or my stopwatch in particular. If you can help with some answers I would greatly appreciate it.

Good evening everyone. I am new to this forum and i can see we have some outstanding experts on the site. brand new to watch repair and looking to get some advice. I purchased an Omega seamaster quarts 1342 watch (not currently working and not tested) as it was a bargain and understand that 329 is the equivalent of the original mercury battery used when the watch was manufactured? I am hoping the battery change will mean it is functional but in the event it does not work, how easy/costly is it to repair. (I’ve heard parts can turn this bargain into a money pit) would anyone in this community willing to have a go at fixing it after i try battery change? paid service of course. any help advice would be much appreciated thank you

Hello All, I am relatively new to this hobby. I am an electronics engineer by profession in Los Angeles. I have been designated as the go to person for replacing watch batteries and fixing vintage & modern electronic gadgets for almost my entire life. Recent past, my father told me in casual conversation that his watch was running slow. I didn't know until later on that it was an automatic movement, which got me down this slippery slope. Since then I have downloaded time grapher apps, bought a dedicated chinese time grapher, purchased a set of tools that would rival Marks workshop...lol. I tend to do that, get hooked and immerse myself in things that interest me. I am an amateur radio operator, machinist, wood worker, photographer...on and on. I have learned a lot about a lot of things and have been successful in using that knowledge which keeps me motivated. I fix and restore old film cameras and have a collection of prized fully functional 40's through 1981 SLR cameras. I got so good at it, I had a steady stream of people willing to pay me whatever I wanted to get their vintage/classic cameras re-sealed, cleaned, lubricated and adjusted. I no longer add to my collection since getting married....lol. But always keep an eye out for a rare find. Before the above, I was into machining. I have a full machining table stop workshop. 14" lathe, 24" 3-in-one lathe/mill,/drill, belt sander, grind/polisher, assortment of dremels and many other goodies. I also learned to MIG weld. I built up a dune buggy single axle carrier trailer for my brother-in-law to drag behind his truck (still in service 7 years later). That was a learning experience. I watched lots of videos and talked to professional welders. Ended up doing exercises of all kinds of welds and cutting them open to see the depth of penetration to learn how to dial in my machine for various thicknesses. I have many other interests that I have embraced and learned by doing, going to spare you the rest LOL....I am passionate about learning. My current projects: 1). Refinishing the cabinet and restoring the electronics on a 1930 Philco Model 77 low boy radio. 2). Refinishing and restoring an old library cart. My wife and I have plans for this, maybe a mobile bar LOL... 3). Making a kitchen knife set for my wife. I know, easier to buy, but for me it's all about the journey. I made my first Santoku and she uses it a lot. Bought metal blanks, shaped and grinded it (via printed template from pictures) into what looks like a pretty good knife that holds its edge well. 4). Restoring a 1980 Star Wars themed alarm clock. I have the old record player mechanism working. The Bradley wind up clock is running slow even when the external speed adjustment is maxed out at the ++ mark. That should be a learning experience. 5). Assembled an ETA 2824-2 movement watching Mark's and other videos on youtube. It is in a beautiful watch now (for my dad's birthday) that I built from German and Swiss part sources. I ran into the problem where the stem would not fit back in the mechanism while fitting a new stem/crown to the case. Thanks Mark for the detailed video on how to fix that, took me about 1 hour of trying various things before I figured it out. Watch works wonderfully, in beat in 5 positions and my worst is +3 seconds per day, stem up. Dial up it bounces between +1 and 0. I will ask a lot of question so please bear with me, this is all still new to me :) -Nick