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Where to buy antique wristwatch stem detent/sleeves?

futurematic
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futurematic Member

futurematic

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I have a 1928 Hampden wristwatch I am repairing, and unfortunately the sleeve that keeps the stem in position is broken. For those unfamiliar with old watches, it doesn't have a one piece stem that goes into the movement. It is similar to a pocket watch in that it has a stem that stays in the case, and another "stem" in the movement which mesh together.

 

This is what it looks like, just for a wristwatch instead of a pocket watch:

image.thumb.png.526d6113f75225921079bab1fae1e86d.png

 

Anyway, I've searched high and low on materials sites and can't for the life of me find any of these springs/detent sleeves. Does anyone know a source for these?

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JohnR725 Distinguished Member

JohnR725

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you have a picture of a pocket watch doesn't look like a wristwatch and is that the exact sleeve that you need?

the interesting problem with pocket watches was that originally the companies made the movements somebody else made the cases. This meant the casing components were available from separate people.

then the other problem becomes even if you can find a book with reference material typically it's only covering Hamilton or Elgin sometimes Waltham. What you really need is a sleeve assortment which are very hard to find now. I see in your profile we do not get a location of what part of the planet you live on. For problems like this this is where it's nice to have a material house that you call up and talk to. If you look at a lot of the American material houses for instance they don't put everything online so basically you have to ask as it just never going to list something like this online.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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futurematic Member

futurematic

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2 hours ago, JohnR725 said:

you have a picture of a pocket watch doesn't look like a wristwatch and is that the exact sleeve that you need?

the interesting problem with pocket watches was that originally the companies made the movements somebody else made the cases. This meant the casing components were available from separate people.

then the other problem becomes even if you can find a book with reference material typically it's only covering Hamilton or Elgin sometimes Waltham. What you really need is a sleeve assortment which are very hard to find now. I see in your profile we do not get a location of what part of the planet you live on. For problems like this this is where it's nice to have a material house that you call up and talk to. If you look at a lot of the American material houses for instance they don't put everything online so basically you have to ask as it just never going to list something like this online.

Hey John, thanks for responding. I had posted around the picture that it looked like that, but wasn't it exactly. 🙂 I will check out material houses, but yeah nothing close to where I live.

 

2 hours ago, RichardHarris123 said:

Any of these suitable, more further down the page.  I searched pendent tubes.

Screenshot_20231020_174000_Chrome.jpg

 

Thanks man! That's amazing. I will check it out and see if they have anything suitable.

 

Best,

Josh

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RichardHarris123 Distinguished Member

RichardHarris123

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10 minutes ago, futurematic said:

Hey John, thanks for responding. I had posted around the picture that it looked like that, but wasn't it exactly. 🙂 I will check out material houses, but yeah nothing close to where I live.

 

 

Thanks man! That's amazing. I will check it out and see if they have anything suitable.

 

Best,

Josh

Where do you live, it will help in the future. 

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JohnR725 Distinguished Member

JohnR725

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1 hour ago, futurematic said:

material houses, but yeah nothing close to where I live.

one of the problems with US material houses are they like to hide. Maybe not deliberately but they're not necessarily on line there are material houses still in existence that are not visible. Seattle has two of them and they're not online. So it stands to reason that there are still material houses spread across the US and other parts of the world that may not actually be online

then if you look at some of the US material houses and read the fine print they will tell you that they don't have everything online that's where you have to inquire but material houses also do not like you to waste their time they need clearer pictures of exactly what they're looking for and ideally they be really happy for part numbers that you probably in this case don't have

been one of the reasons I asked about what the sleeve looks like is because a lot of times in wristwatches they don't look exactly like pocket watches and it would help to know that if we were looking for one somewhere. This is where having access to the sleeve assortment is nice but those are hard to find today. That's where you rely on a material house often times you'd send your watch case to them and they would find your sleeve although even then they don't have a magical supply either and when they run out well then you're really in trouble.

 

 

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