What do you make of this case? Bent horn? Options?

[Charette]

Hi all - I recently picked up the is Cyma that I am pretty excited about. It is down the line for cleaning up but I did not see originally that the top right horn is not symmetrical to the right. I guess it got bent at some point? 
It is not separating from the case or anything - it is almost like the bent is in the middle or end of the horn.

Do I have any (reasonably safe) options here?

Thanks!

Added a spring bar for a more clear look.

 

[KarlvonKoln]

Well, I can tell you this much: being that the case is most likely plated brass, it probably goes without saying that you wouldn't want to try bending it cold.  I think it should work to remove the works and the crystal - basically strip it down to just the case frame - and then use maybe a butane torch to heat it before bending.  Something tells me if you try to bend it cold, it will either crack or break off.

[Charette]

I am thinking I will try to anneal and bend, but that this will also wreck the plating (the heat).

Does anyone know anywhere that does gold plating in Canada? I have seen wristwatchrestoration replate a case but the cost of the equipment plus the solution is quite for bit, for something I hopefully don't need to do too often.

[Neverenoughwatches]

8 minutes ago, Charette said:

I am thinking I will try to anneal and bend, but that this will also wreck the plating (the heat).

Does anyone know anywhere that does gold plating in Canada? I have seen wristwatchrestoration replate a case but the cost of the equipment plus the solution is quite for bit, for something I hopefully don't need to do too often.

As Karl has said , dont risk bending it without heat. How about just heat from your oven, you can get about 250 c there ?. Not easy to know what to do here.  Plating not as an expensive set up as you might think. Nickel Plating very cheap to do, my set up cost less than 60 quid a lot of trial and error to get it right though. I would inspect all around the lug throughly with a scope. Any sign of damage caused by the existing bend then i would be tempted not to try any repair. Nice Cyma btw, i have a couple of Navystars in my collection.

[Charette]

13 hours ago, Neverenoughwatches said:

As Karl has said , dont risk bending it without heat. How about just heat from your oven, you can get about 250 c there ?. Not easy to know what to do here.  Plating not as an expensive set up as you might think. Nickel Plating very cheap to do, my set up cost less than 60 quid a lot of trial and error to get it right though. I would inspect all around the lug throughly with a scope. Any sign of damage caused by the existing bend then i would be tempted not to try any repair. Nice Cyma btw, i have a couple of Navystars in my collection.

I may be getting ahead of myself. The case is in pretty rough shape near the bottom lugs, not sure how it could have happened. I may have to spring for replateit to have a look at it. 

Can you summarize your plating setup? When I was looking into it it was the gold solution cost that surprised me. I guess it makes sense if there is gold in there. 
Thanks!

[Neverenoughwatches]

42 minutes ago, Charette said:

I may be getting ahead of myself. The case is in pretty rough shape near the bottom lugs, not sure how it could have happened. I may have to spring for replateit to have a look at it. 

Can you summarize your plating setup? When I was looking into it it was the gold solution cost that surprised me. I guess it makes sense if there is gold in there. 
Thanks!

Have a really good close inspection of that lug to see if there are any fracture lines around it against the case. If so i would be temped to leave as is as any straightening is going to stress that area more so. A full break is going to cost you the price of a jeweller to micro weld it, probably more than the watch is worth.I will post you some photos when i get home, i have the equipment but not got into the whole process of it as yet. Also a little diy gadget to make as well to help with accurate and even plating. I ruled out gold plating from the start too expensive and I have an idea that the chemicals are pretty toxic. I will be concentrating on just nickel plating

[Neverenoughwatches]

1 hour ago, Neverenoughwatches said:

. I guess it makes sense if there is gold in there. 

To do a good full plate you would need to strip the old plating off anyway, so the plating choice would be your world's oyster, so to speak. ( i am so full of shit sometimes ) But I'm sure you understand the point I'm making Charette, once the case is back to base metal and thoughly cleaned and prepped it doesnt matter what you use. I also fancy the idea of copper plating as its a lot easier to obtain the anodes locally. Home now so give me an hour or so to grab dinner and i will post up what i have so far, just the main power supply and solution ready to charge up with ions at the moment . But no anodes, tbh there is very little equipment that you actually need. The solution you can make up yourself. The only regular consumable you will need to aquire would be the transfer anode and the cleaner. Not sure how any of this helps with straightening the lug but its there if you want to read it. Dinnertime now catch you later

[Charette]

10 hours ago, Neverenoughwatches said:

To do a good full plate you would need to strip the old plating off anyway, so the plating choice would be your world's oyster, so to speak. ( i am so full of shit sometimes ) But I'm sure you understand the point I'm making Charette, once the case is back to base metal and thoughly cleaned and prepped it doesnt matter what you use. I also fancy the idea of copper plating as its a lot easier to obtain the anodes locally. Home now so give me an hour or so to grab dinner and i will post up what i have so far, just the main power supply and solution ready to charge up with ions at the moment . But no anodes, tbh there is very little equipment that you actually need. The solution you can make up yourself. The only regular consumable you will need to aquire would be the transfer anode and the cleaner. Not sure how any of this helps with straightening the lug but its there if you want to read it. Dinnertime now catch you later

I appreciate it!