AS 175 balance cock / general question about AS balance cocks

[luiazazrambo]

 

Hello Happy Clock and Watchmakers,

This is probably my fourth question about the AS 175. I have a wrist watch belonging to my wife where I promised her to fix her watch. Now the balance has a broken rub in jewel I failed to replace so far. I thought I would replace the whole cock with the jewel but to my surprise the balance cocks were not identical even though I got 3 of them. I noticed that there is a number stamped into the main plate next to the balance cock, would it refer to the different type of cocks??

This is number 3:

This is number 2 (wife watch):

This is number 0 ( i got two zeros, but I have not compared them together yet, that is going to be interesting to see though)

Question: Would I need to get a balance cock from a donor movement which is marked with 2?

Thank you,

lui

[JohnR725]

one of the problems with watch repair is the failure to grasp that parts are not always interchangeable. Often times watches will be made over a number of years modifications and changes will be made.

Then there is a problem of vintage watches? For instance American pocket watches mass-produced we have a parts catalog to prove that the parts can all be changed replaced etc. but can they really? If you look at American pocket watch they serial number the watch and all of the plate components. that's because all the components like bridges are made for each watch which is why they all have serial numbers. Even the gears and miscellaneous parts may be hand fit. Their early videos of the watch factory's mass-producing watches but you'll notice it each of the station's they can still be hand adjusting to get the parts to fit

I would find it extremely unlikely that you to get another balance bridge to fit that watch without modification to something. This means you have to fix the bridge you have.

So perhaps a picture of what's wrong with the balance bridge jewel and we can give you ideas as to how to fix the problem.

[luiazazrambo]

Hi John,

Thank you for taking the time to reflect on my question, my adventure with the jewel is here:

Best regards,

lui