Introduction online name (Tancho)

[Tancho]

I am a retired panel beater, who spent most of my life stripping down and repairing various things for friends and family.  Family name - Mr. Fixit !

I took up watch repairs a couple of years ago and thoroughly enjoyed it, usually buying old broken watches and stripping them down to gain some experience.

My brother in law recently asked me to have a look at his  Rolex Oysterdate 1959 model, as it was losing time when he wore it. I put it on my timegrapher and it was all over the place.

When I put the watch on its side, with the winder upwards it actually stopped working. I removed the balance wheel and had a look through my microscope at the jewel on the main plate, I discovered the balance wheel lower pivot had cut a grove to the left side of the jewel and had gone right through to the other side, I would think this took a good number of years to happen.

Any ideas if this is repairable or would I require a new main plate?

Kind regards Tancho.

[RichardHarris123]

It looks like it's missing the lower shock setting, have you got photos if the top of the balance? 

The chaton can't of just disappeared. 

[Nucejoe]

 The chaton is replaceable and this one MUST BE REPLACED with a new one, cuz the groove in which shock spring locks is ruined, therefor might lets capstone  sit unlevel in the setting thus pushes balance pivot to rub on Chaton's hole.

Check balance pivot under high magnification for wear,  where it rubbed on chaton hole, as well as the pivot's cone .

Good luck.

 

Edited September 9 by Nucejoe
Typo

[Tancho]

Hi,

Thank you for your replies,

The chaton, staff jewel, and shock spring were all in place, and don’t appear to be damaged.
The staff seems to have worn a grove to the side of the the chaton, I don’t know how it could have happened.

[RichardHarris123]

The chaton doesn't seem to be damaged but the staff has worn a hole in it?  I'm confused. 

[mbwatch]

3 minutes ago, RichardHarris123 said:

The chaton doesn't seem to be damaged but the staff has worn a hole in it?  I'm confused. 

I read this as: the chaton is fine, but a groove has been worn into the pivot hole beneath the chaton, in the metal part of the upper block

[Tancho]

The hole is in the main plate at the side of the chaton from top to bottom.

[AndyGSi]

So what do the pivots look like?

[Tancho]

The pivots look ok. The hole is in the main plate only it hasn’t reached the chaton it is just about to come through the main plate. I don’t know how this was possible you would think it would be easier for the shank to go through the hole and into the jewel. 

[Nucejoe]

On 9/9/2024 at 11:19 PM, Tancho said:

The staff seems to have worn a grove to the side of the the chaton, I don’t know how it could have happened.

Pivot should go through the jewels hole without rubbing on anything. In your watch pivot has rubbed on the side of the hole in chaton housing, which point to, 

1- Loose shock spring, which lets  balance jewel move about loosely inside the chaton housing.

2- Cap stone sitting unlevel which pushes the pivot to the side and rub on chaton housing  hole.

 Rubbing pivots eat amplitude ,  ruins itself & other stuff it rubs on, it must be replaced with a new one.

There might be cheap chatons of other calibs that  interchange.