Help Required With Rolex Balance Jewels.

[Geo]

Here are a couple of photos of my latest restoration; it's a Rolex Oyster dating from 1945.  I sympathetically refinished the case, a very light polish leaving a few very minor blemishes that are historic to the watch.  
 

 

 

The crystal is original, it had some fairly bad scratches and I chose to sand it back and re-polish it.  I did this because I wanted to ensure that the profile wasn't compromised by possible differences in replacement crystals.

Dial and hands were given a light clean with Rodico as I like to retain the original patina.

The movement was completely stripped, soaked in lighter fuel then cleaned in an ultrasonic bath.  The watch was then re-assembled and lubricated.  

 

The one thing that I was unsure of was how to remove the balance jewels.  It is not an incabloc with the usual spring clips on the top.  If I am unsure I will leave well alone until I find the correct procedure.  The result is I have this lovely watch that will only run with a thin shim under the balance cock.  I am hoping that Mark or some other expert can advise me on how to remove the balance jewels as they require to be cleaned properly.  I suspect that they may press out away from the star shaped retaining ring.  You can see one of the offending jewels in the macro photo.

 

Even with this shimmed setup I have managed to regulate it to about 12 seconds a day, even though the Timergraph looks like it has been shot with a shotgun.  

I look forward to your comments.

 

[djmcd]

Geo, scotland here too...may i ask what ultrasonic bath model you use? I was asking for advice earlier about possible cleaning ideas...may i ask your procedure for cleaning using the lighter fuel. Thanks

[SeikoWatch]

Hi Geo.. I don't know to remove the balance jewel but 14 seconds a day is too much for a Rolex.. ;)

[Geo]

Geo, scotland here too...may i ask what ultrasonic bath model you use? I was asking for advice earlier about possible cleaning ideas...may i ask your procedure for cleaning using the lighter fuel. Thanks

I purchased one off Ebay with a capacity of 1.3Ltr. 

 

This link should take you to it :- 

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1-3L-Digital-Ultrasonic-Cleaner-Industrial-Heater-Basket-Timer-Ultra-Sonic-Bath-/310767166617?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item485b2aa499#ht_4660wt_1155

 

I also purchased a fine basket to go with it :-

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Fine-Mesh-container-basket-WATCH-PARTS-CLEANING-ULTRASONIC-repairs-clean-tool-/290651082971?pt=UK_Jewellery_Watches_WatchAccessories_SpareParts_SM&hash=item43ac2790db#ht_1188wt_1155

 

 

The first thing I do when I strip a watch is wash the parts in a container with lighter fuel.  This gets rid of most of the oily residue before using the ultrasonic bath.  If the movement is really gummed up, I will let the parts soak overnight. 

 

I use a small amount of water soluble “carburettor cleaner” dissolved at a ratio of about 1 part cleaner to10 parts water in the ultrasonic bath.  I heat this up to about 30C then clean the parts for 3mins.  The parts are then rinsed I fairly hot water and rinsed again in alcohol before being gently blow dried on a clean sheet of good quality kitchen towel. 

 

If I am having real difficulties cleaning the parts (dried oil in jewels) I will put the movement in a jar of lighter fuel and hold the jar in the ultrasonic cleaning solution for three minutes at a time until the jewels are clean. The ultrasonic vibrations penetrate the jar and agitate the lighter fuel.  DO NOT PUT LIGHTER FUEL DIRECTLY INTO THE ULTRASONIC CLEANER!!

 

This maybe conflicts with professional cleaning methods, but it works for me.