Hello from a Newbie!

[MarissaAnne]

Hello!  My name is Marissa, and I live in Sacramento CA. 

I am sooo new to this so please go easy on me. I recently came into possession of several vintage watches, a wide variety from the 1950s to 1990s. There are wrist, pocket, and pendant watches - some more valuable than others, most not working after winding or replacing the battery. I decided to take a few into a repair shop to get a feel for the cost...and quickly bolted after picking my jaw off the floor. I was quoted over $600 for one of my pocket watches alone! Anyway, it got me thinking that I could use a new hobby, and now I am here. I am thinking about cracking some of these open myself and learning what makes them tick.

Here are a couple reasons why I am joining your forum. First, I am looking for any words of encouragement for a beginner. Next, I will obviously practice with the less valuable pieces, but I have no idea which are worth more than a few bucks, other than this Omega (I heard thats a good one?). I need to know which I should NOT touch due to the value and my lack of expertise and general clumsiness. I also dont know what tools I need or where to buy them  And, once they are repaired I would love to find them homes. I know we dont sell things on this forum, but any direction you can point me in would be appreciated. Anyway, I'll post my actual questions in the appropriate places, but thought I would share a little about me.

I am excited to learn from all of you and I am open to any feedback, tips, advice, and words of wisdom you would like to impart!  

 

Warmest regards, 

Marissa 

[FLwatchguy73]

Welcome aboard. Feel free to share photos of your watches inside and out and perhaps we can give you a run down on them and steer you in the right direction.

[Nucejoe]

Welcome to WRT and good luck with your forey into horology.

[VWatchie]

Welcome Marissa!

$600 for a single watch... Yes, that's a lot of money, I agree. I've been doing servicing and simple repairs as a hobby for a few years now and so I have, to some degree, the perspective of time and cost from the watch repairer's point of view, and in all honesty, I now find it a small miracle that anyone can make a decent living out of servicing and repairing watches even when charging $600. Just yesterday I spent somewhere between three and four hours cleaning and polishing an oscillating weight bearing. Of course, much of that time was spent figuring out how to go about doing it (how it was constructed, what tools and consumables to use, and so on). Still, being able to service and repair a watch in just a few hours (I usually need several days) is still beyond my comprehension.

I certainly don't mean to discourage you. This hobby has by far been the most engaging I've ever done and I've been around for quite some time now. If you want to get your feet wet without taking any financial risks whatsoever I recommend you start with Russian watch movements. They have Swiss heritage, cost next to nothing and can be very captivating aesthetically. You might find my walkthrough of a Vostok calibre 2409 a good starting point.

Good luck!

[oldhippy]

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

I always recommend you get an old pocket watch and practice taking it apart and putting it all back. Get to know what the parts are called, you can do this with a few inexpensive tools, watchmakers screw drivers, tweezers and a eye glass. A little practice holding in the eye glass to start with. Pocket watch movements are like watch movements but bigger. Don't touch FUSEE movements, they are very different. Here is a PDF for you listing all the parts with names.  This is the type of movement to start with.

TZIllustratedGlossary.pdf

[VWatchie]

10 minutes ago, oldhippy said:

I always recommend you get an old pocket watch and practice taking it apart and putting it all back.

That's probably the most practical start and I would recommend a Unitas 6498 or 6497 pocket watch movement. There are inexpensive Chinese clones of this calibre and it's the calibre used by @Mark at watchrepairlessons.com, imo the most affordable and efficient way to get started with watch servicing and repair. You might find this thread "Chinese 6498 Clone or Nastrix?" useful.

[MarissaAnne]

@oldhippy Thank you soo much for the advice and words of encouragement. I have a little pocket watch I can start with. I guess my concern is desecrating these beautiful contraptions with my attempt to learn how they work, especially one that may be worth something. Now, I am not in this for the money but I would kick myself if I ruined something valuable. The picture and the PDF are great! Thanks for those! Here is the little one I wanted to start with, I think this one is inexpensive but it looks a little more complicated than the picture you shared. As for the tools, is there a beginner's kit or list of items you can point me to? 

@VWatchie I am not discouraged at all! I am looking forward to acquiring a new skill and I am up for the challenge. I will google the names of the watches I have to see if any of them are Russian movements. Should I start with one that works, then see if it still works when I get it back together? LOL

[Johnnie]

Hi Marissa and welcome to the asylumI am sure that you will fit in nicely!

[nickelsilver]

Hi Marissa, I would leave that Rockford for when you've gotten some skill on simpler Swiss watches (that one is American, and they have a few quirks that can be tricky or befuddling if you're just starting out). Definitely start with something that works, something large like the ETA/Unitas 6497 or 6498 is best; if you go smaller like some Russian movements try to avoid movements that are automatic or have date mechanisms. In the beginning you want to gain skill in manipulating the parts and getting them apart and back together.

[FLwatchguy73]

That Rockford really should be in a display back/ salesman's case. The movement is gorgeous. Sadly salesman cases are difficult to source and pricey.

[oldhippy]

I can't recommend a beginners tool kit. It is something I have never had so I don't want to recommend something that I have never had or used. Someone on here might be able help you with that. One thing I will say about tolls is get the best you can afford, with looking after they will last you a life time. I still have my Bergeon Screwdrivers and some Dumont tweezers and many different strengths of eye glasses. 

That is a very nice watch you have. Do you know the size of it and its age?

[margolisd]

Hi Marissa. Welcome. My advice is watch all of Mark's YouTube videos. I've learnt so much from them. If you look up watch repair channel on YouTube there are quite a few. And you can pay to do his online course as well. He goes through tools you need to get started in the online course. They are a really excellent starting point and I can't recommend them enough.

Then just go on eBay, buy some broken vintage watches and fix them up. It's really addictive and making something tick after decades of not working is the best feeling in the world.

I was also very inspired by the story of George Daniels and his apprentice, Roger Smith. He was one of the few people in the world that could single handedly make a watch from start to finish. Look him up.

Also, when I've spent two hours on the floor looking for a tiny part, spent my last money on a balance staff only to break it or spent a day fighting with a bent hairspring and wondering why I got into this... I watch this video. It's the coolest thing ever. I went to see this watch at an exhibition in London and I've been hooked ever since. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yIXPplShtg0

 

 

 

[MarissaAnne]

@nickelsilver  thanks! Great advice! 

@oldhippy this little Rockford was made in 1912 and is a size 16. In fact, this is the $600 repair i mentioned in my first post! He's awful cute, but he doesn't run and I've been dying to take him apart. I wont now that I've read the replies! I'm glad you like him

@margolisd so cool! thanks! 

 

Here are few others i have found that i just love. These are not working either, except the men's Hamilton, that one works great. 

 

[VWatchie]

On 4/14/2020 at 10:51 AM, MarissaAnne said:

Should I start with one that works, then see if it still works when I get it back together? LOL

Yes, and if you succeed (I'm sure you will) you'll feel like genius and you'll be smiling all day long! Seriously, that's a very good idea. Get an inexpensive watch which is working decently, take it apart and then put it together again. Then, take it apart again but this time clean it and lubricate as you go along putting it together. Lubricating takes a lot of practice to get it just right.

Also,  keep the screwdriver perfectly perpendicular to the screws when unscrewing and screwing and only apply a small amount of pressure to the screw. This way you avoid slipping with the screwdriver and damaging the movement. This advice is given far too seldom, but just came to think of it.

Edited April 15, 2020 by VWatchie

[Watchtime]

Welcome, a lot of knowledge on this forum to help you out.

[MarissaAnne]

  

8 minutes ago, VWatchie said:

This way you avoid slipping with the screwdriver and damaging the movement. 

Damage is inevitable at first. I have mittens for hands, the grace of a baby giraffe, and the light touch of an elephant. I am hoping that this new hobby will teach me patience and improve my hand dexterity (and keep me out of trouble!)

Screwdriver perpendicular, light pressure... got it! Thanks for that.

 I am going to move to a new thread, I need tool advice!  Thanks to everyone for the warm welcome! 

[Tmuir]

Save the ladies watches until you have had some practice asbeing so small they can be a real pain to work on.

As Oldhippy said a pocketwatch is a good place to start.

If you are in USA you can usually pick up Waltham or Elgin pocket watch movements without cases pretty cheap to learn on.

Just get the cheaper ones which will only be 7 jewels as they will be cheaper and won't be the end of the world if you break them, or if you want something newer just have a look for any swiss watch that does not have day or date mechanisms and is manual wind to keep it simple.

Get yourself reasonable quality screwdrivers not a $5 set as they will give you more trouble than its worth, but on the flip side you dont need to get a $200 set to star out. Also get yourself a $5 diamond honer and a screwdriver sharpening holder so you can touch up the screwdrivers as you use them.

A good newish book that has lots of good colour photos 'Maintaining and Repairing Mechanical Wataches A Practical Guide' by Mark W Wiles is also a good book to start out with, due to its great photos.

Good luck.

 

[oldhippy]

Rockford was made in 1912 and is a size 16.

It is a gentleman's Edwarden dress pocket watch. It would belong to someone who would be upper class and wealthy. 

[MarissaAnne]

 

11 hours ago, oldhippy said:

It would belong to someone who would be upper class and wealthy. 

@oldhippy Not anymore! LOL 

Oh how fancy!! You just gave it a personality! That bit of information makes it so much more special.  

 

[MarissaAnne]

12 hours ago, Tmuir said:

Get yourself reasonable quality screwdrivers not a $5 set as they will give you more trouble than its worth, but on the flip side you dont need to get a $200 set to star out. Also get yourself a $5 diamond honer and a screwdriver sharpening holder so you can touch up the screwdrivers as you use them.

Done! I also just bid on a couple pocket watches so I will let you all know what i end up with in a few days!!!!! 

[Tmuir]

Good luck, don't be too upset when you damage the first few watches you work on, we all did. That's why you start with cheap watches that have no sentimental value to yourself.