A broken HMT Janata stem

[SamR]

Hi all, 

I'm new here – very new. And I come to you as a simple man with no watch repair skills – I just hope you can help. 

I bought an extremely cheap HMT Janata watch from an indian seller on eBay. I've done a lot of reading so I know it might be fake, and I know the face might be repainted.

But – the stem broke back in November. I took it to a local repair place and it took them roughly two months and five visits from me to tell me they have no idea what it is and the movement is 'something probably indian'.

It took me about ten mins to find the following info – so I thought I'd like to check them with the geniuses here.

IF (a big if) it's real, it looks like it's this movement: http://www.ranfft.de/cgi-bin/bidfun-db.cgi?10&ranfft&&2uswk&HMT_0231

Which is 'basically' this: http://www.ranfft.de/cgi-bin/bidfun-db.cgi?10&ranfft&&2uswk&Citizen_1802&

Which it seems would mean – I would need this replacement part? http://www.ebay.com/itm/Citizen-cal-1802-watch-movement-part-winding-stem-/361635637962

Like I said, I'm not really in a position to repair the watch myself but I'd be happy to buy the right part and hand it over to someone who could. 

What do you think? Is that the part I need? If not – what should I be looking for?

Any thoughts or advice would be much appreciated – I've got a lot of respect for this community. 

Cheers,

Sam

[rodabod]

I think your investigation work looks solid. Depending on where you are based, maybe look at the Cousins website to see if they are cheaper. Stem release appears to be by pushing that small button (gently!). 

 

[SamR]

Phew – that's good to hear. Hadn't heard of Cousins till now so thanks for the tip!

[szbalogh]

Welcome to the forum. I also have some HMTs, they were the first watches for practice  

It seems to me from the picture that the case tube is distorted which can couse winding problems, or braking the stem. One HMT of mine had the same problem. You should replace that as well, or at least remove it before inserting the new stem. 

I would buy an other one for parts. It is so cheap from India lol. 

[anilv]

Hi Rodabod,

It looks like the stem broke flush with the crown. If there is some threaded portion left you could use a 'stem extender', for mechanical watches these are usually a 0.9mm thread.

Your watchguy should be able to do this but a) he may not be into mechanical watches and just wants to sell you a new watch or b- there may not be enough space for a thread extender to work. The fact that he could ID the movement speaks volumes!

You would need a new crown of course and one with a shorter tube (where the stem would screw in) would give more room for the extender. The crown tube can be teased back into position by using pliers but put something solid inside to prevent it collapsing. A new crown and case tube would improve the water-resistance as the mangled crown tube will never be water-tight.

HMTs seem to be a bastard Citizen so the stem you found on ebay should fit but I've bought a lot of stuff off the bay that don't fit!.

Here's recommended action plan (assuming you have some thread left on the original stem.. post some pics of the movement here and we'll tell you if you have enough to work with).

1. Buy crown

2. Buy a 0.9 stem extender

3. Buy a caseback opener.

4. A crown tube is optional.

Where are you in the world? Someone should be close enough to give you some tips where you can source the items. Stem extenders are available online but usually in packs of 10.

Get the following tools ready

1. Fine file

2. Side cutters

When you've got the above lined up, come back here and someone will guide you.

Anil

 

 

[Watchtime]

Maybe the best is to buy a new HMT as they are offered cheap from Mumbay...7-10 dollar.

[SamR]

Thanks all – very helpful! I've ordered a new stem specifically – and if my local watch guy has trouble with that I'll just buy another hmt for the parts (very cheap as you all know). 

Thanks again!