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Useful assortments for beginner watch repair

GaspardColigny

By GaspardColigny
in Watch Repairs Help & Advice

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GaspardColigny Member

GaspardColigny

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I am in the process of disassembling and reassembling a number of vintage watches and as expected some parts are either broken or missing.
I have sourced and ordered parts online and have come across assortments of watch parts. Some of these seem sensible to have on hand, as they're cheap and the parts are more generic. Others seem completely useless (I'm looking at you, assortment of random balance assemblies!) but that begs the question: why would Cousins carry these and who buys these?

Which assortments are sensible to buy as a beginner watch repairer (dealing with watches from the 30s to 60s mostly)

I can imagine being useful:

- dial washers
- spring bars of course
- movement case screws
- stems
 

Looking forward to your input!

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Tudor Distinguished Member

Tudor

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Dial washers, case screws and stems are generally quite unique to a particular movement.

Unless you work on the same (or, at least same family) movement all the time, these things are a case-by-case purchase.

I work on Eta 27xx and 28xx movements and they use different stems, but the case clamp screw size is the same. Clamps almost always have to be trimmed to fit the particular case.

I also work on Rolex movements, and the stems are unique to each family (15xx is different from 3xxx) but the casing screws are the same thread- but there are two "styles" one with a flat flange and one with a tapered flange. You drop the movement into the case, noting the cut outs for the screw flanges, and rotate them into proper position. Then the casing screws are backed out, to lock the movement into the case. I like to insert the stem, and observe it is well centered in the crown tube before I snug up the casing screws.

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Nucejoe Distinguished Member

Nucejoe

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If in good shape some used parts work just as good as new, I go for new parts if the watch is pricy high grade and the part is senative, for instance new escape wheel and pallets even if the old one might still work, but a dial washer hardly matters as long as the right size and got the bend. 

I suggest getting parts as you need them and suspect these assortments to be out of parts no longer in demand.

Regards 

joe

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jdm Distinguished Member

jdm

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On 9/29/2020 at 11:37 AM, GaspardColigny said:

- dial washers
- spring bars of course
- movement case screws
- stems

All these, and few more like gaskets, batteries, standards crystals, decorative stones, etc, are very good to have, especially if you take take watches for repair, as can happen when you give your nice business card to jewellers in your area. You will be spending initially, but then able to complete many jobs quickly. On the other side if you are an hobbyist and don't mind waiting for each order then you save buying parts individually, and won't have stuff taking space for no good reason.

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GaspardColigny Member

GaspardColigny

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7 hours ago, jdm said:

All these, and few more like gaskets, batteries, standards crystals, decorative stones, etc, are very good to have, especially if you take take watches for repair, as can happen when you give your nice business card to jewellers in your area. You will be spending initially, but then able to complete many jobs quickly. On the other side if you are an hobbyist and don't mind waiting for each order then you save buying parts individually, and won't have stuff taking space for no good reason.

I'm a hobbyist, but I don't mind spending a bit on materials. I'm trying to aim for a reasonable sweet spot; some cheap generic parts on hand, but sourcing the other components. I have a crystal assortment on the way as we speak, and a nice collection of vintage NOS crowns. 

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Tudor Distinguished Member

Tudor

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Well, crystals, crowns and gaskets are the parts you will need the most of.

Most retailers sell a gasket assortment, with the ability to replenish the ones you actually use. I think that's a good idea if you are servicing a wider range of watches.

Crowns gets tricks fast. For example: Omega screw-down crowns are quite specific with their tube and crown combinations. And their numbering system is cryptic, so you must have the case manuals to get the correct part numbers to order... The non-screw down crowns are a bit easier- just measure the tube, make sure the crown ID clears it, and pick the height and diameter that fits the watch style. But you will always need gaskets/o-rings for them and Molykote 111* to lubricate the gaskets.

*Not Molykote DX. 111 is pure silicone lube (quite thick) recommended by Parker for lubricating o-rings. I have one tube which is about 3.5 lifetimes supply...

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