New hobbyist checking in

[Overbanked]

Hello everyone, and greetings from Canada!

When I was 13, I received my first family heirloom: a beautiful 17 jewel Tavannes pocket watch that belonged to my great-grandfather. I'd never held a mechanical watch before then, and was astonished when I gave it a wind and it began to run. My aunt asked if she could take a look, and promptly dropped it on the tile floor. It sat in a drawer for the next two decades until about a year ago when it occurred to me that I could learn to fix it. Since then, I've been freefalling down the horological rabbit hole with the goal of eventually fixing that watch. I took some of Mark's excellent courses along the way which is what led to me this forum.

I've been reading old posts for a few months and learning a lot, but now think I may be ready to pester you all with questions -- and perhaps even provide an occasional answer  

[RichardHarris123]

Hello and welcome from Leeds, England.  

Is one of your questions about the seconds hand?  Hehe. 

[Overbanked]

16 minutes ago, RichardHarris123 said:

Is one of your questions about the seconds hand?  Hehe. 

TBD. I'm hoping I can just pop it back on. The cracked balance jewel, on the other hand...

[Nucejoe]

Welcome aboard.

 

Edited January 13 by Nucejoe

[Knebo]

Welcome @Overbanked! 

My journey started similar

Beautiful pocket watch that is. Love the font of the hours. Very cool. 

[watchweasol]

Hi. Welcome to the forum,    A labour of love  good luck.

[nevenbekriev]

11 hours ago, Overbanked said:

TBD. I'm hoping I can just pop it back on. The cracked balance jewel, on the other hand...

Hi there  and welcome,

Yes, the hand just needs resitting. What is the movement condition, only one cracked jewel? Balance pivots? Do You have photos?

[Overbanked]

On 1/14/2025 at 1:31 AM, nevenbekriev said:

Hi there  and welcome,

Yes, the hand just needs resitting. What is the movement condition, only one cracked jewel? Balance pivots? Do You have photos?

Hey Neven, I fully expected there to be a bent or broken balance staff pivot given the drop and lack of shock protection, but I removed the balance and pallet fork, took a look at the staff, and it actually seems to be in good shape. The upper cap jewel is cracked but that should be an easy fix with my jewel press. The movement is dirty but otherwise looks great. Interestingly, when I put the balance back in the movement started running! Maybe the main issue was that it was... overbanked? This was months ago and I haven't looked at it since. I'm tempted to work on it now, but I'll wait a bit longer until I'm confident I won't butcher it.

[nevenbekriev]

 This stones look to be not pressed, they are probably rubbed in. So jewel press is something useless here if this is as what I think. If You show picture of the plate with the broken jewel from the bottom, it will get clear.

[Overbanked]

I don't have tools for rub-in jewels (yet). I'll make a separate post on the forum if I run into problems once I finally attempt to fix it. Thanks for your insight!