Hamilton Wont Service Their Quartz

[Rwh56]

I bought a Hamilton watch on shopgoodwill.  They claimed they ran it on a turbo gear train testing device.  I put a new battery in and the second hand briefly fidgeted and that was it.   I sent it to the official Hamilton service center in Secaucus New Jersey and they wrote back that they don't service these quartz watches.   It uses a movement marked 980.153 which can be had for about $40.00.   Am I missing something here.  Couldn't somebody just swap out the movements and that would be the simplest and cheapest repair?    I am wondering if I could even do it.   Anybody recommend a reputable repair person in NYC or Jersey that could do the task.   Any advice is appreciated.

 

Rob

[noirrac1j]

1 hour ago, Rwh56 said:

I bought a Hamilton watch on shopgoodwill.  They claimed they ran it on a turbo gear train testing device.  I put a new battery in and the second hand briefly fidgeted and that was it.   I sent it to the official Hamilton service center in Secaucus New Jersey and they wrote back that they don't service these quartz watches.   It uses a movement marked 980.153 which can be had for about $40.00.   Am I missing something here.  Couldn't somebody just swap out the movements and that would be the simplest and cheapest repair?    I am wondering if I could even do it.   Anybody recommend a reputable repair person in NYC or Jersey that could do the task.   Any advice is appreciated.

 

Rob

A service can be done, but a new movement would probably be cheaper and you'd have a new movement. Its relatively straightforward to replace a movement, but if you've no experience or tools, then I would not suggest it. First thing you'll need to do is figure out the correct height of the movement by measuring from center wheel to baseplate. Do you have any experience disassembling a watch?

J

 

[Rwh56]

I have fooled around with a Timex, and I have cleaned a few between the lens camera shutters.  (And I once put a 1600 cc VW bus engine in a 1960 VW Beetle.)   So, I am not really experienced at all.  

Thank you for pointing out that there are different sizes of the same movement.  I guess I will need to buy a metric micrometer.  But then maybe I should give it to a watch repair shop.    

I was just a bit amazed that Hamilton wouldn't even bother replacing the movement.

Again, thanks.

[jdm]

1 hour ago, Rwh56 said:

Thank you for pointing out that there are different sizes of the same movement.  I guess I will need to buy a metric micrometer.  But then maybe I should give it to a watch repair shop.    

I was just a bit amazed that Hamilton wouldn't even bother replacing the movement.

No need for a micrometer, a vernier caliper will do. No surprise that Hamilton won't fix it, just like most other brands they are there to sell new watches, not mess with old ones. It could have been a bit different if it was a mechanical watch.

[clockboy]

Changing the movement is a relatively easy job to do. I think there are some vids on youtube showing how to remove the stem & movement etc.

[Johnnie]

I would change the movement, lots of advice from knowledgeable people on this forum, with care you can do it. 

[Rwh56]

Thank you all!

 

[Rwh56]

Following up on my movement replacement adventure:

I removed the movement, and my mitutoyo vernier caliper measures 3.6 mm.   Esslinger sells a 3.2, 3.4 and a 3.8.  Though ETA documents indicate they make a 3.3, 3.55 and a 3.8.   The case has a curved crystal, so getting something slightly bigger may not be a problem, but I cant begin to guess how much room I actually have under the crystal.  

On another topic, I managed to lose my extraordinarily small second hand.   One moment it was held by my tweezers and between the watch and the loose parts cup, it disappeared.   I am completely disgusted with myself.  Any chance I can find a replacement?  This work is on a such a small scale that I am not at all comfortable with.   But now that I have started, I would like to see it through.  Hard to take one step forward, and then two steps back losing the hand.

Again, thanks in advance for any advice.

 

[jdm]

59 minutes ago, Rwh56 said:

The case has a curved crystal, so getting something slightly bigger may not be a problem, but I cant begin to guess how much room I actually have under the crystal.
On another topic, I managed to lose my extraordinarily small second hand.   

The different heights for the hour wheels aren't much about room under the crystal, but dial thickness. In any case you can reuse the original one. A seconds hands is light and won't fly far, check your clothes carefully. 

[noirrac1j]

@Rwh56 Its ok to "feel disgusted" but know that losing/dropping parts happens --to me definitely. look for the little hand for no longer than 30 minutes or you'll go nuts. Take comfort in knowing the measurements of the hands:

Hand Sizes 120 hour / 70 minute / 20 second; which is to say 1.2mm hour, 0.70mm minute and 0.20mm second. That is a standard size so you should be able to replace it IF you don't find it, and probably a replacement movement will come with a seconds hand but it won't be the same shape or painted.

J

[Rwh56]

I guess I am bailing out on this repair.   After losing the second hand, I saw that I had also scuffed up the second hand part of the dial.  So, I looked at ebay to see if someone was selling one for cheap, and sure enough there was a working one that was going for the price of a new movement.   Since this started out as a gift, I have to say I will just gift the new one and be done with it.   I suppose I can screw around with the non-working one, maybe still get a new movement and have a his and hers matching watches.   Anyways, thanks for the advice from everyone.

 

[MrRoundel]

Like I found out recently, even if you try to do the right thing, and use a clear plastic bag over the hands before prying, you can still damage the dial with an improper technique or tool(s). Don't use the thinnest bag, and sharpest screwdrivers, to do it, if you can avoid it. Fortunately, the damage I did recently was very close to the center arbor. Nobody will see it without close inspection, but I'll know the scratches are there from my shoddy work. I decided that from now on I'll try the most protective, and probably hardest to fit under hands, method first, then work my way back through other less safe, but perhaps easier, ways.

The proper tools take a while to gather before you can really start to safely work on watches. Live and learn. But don't feel alone in the world. Good luck.

Edited March 17, 2018 by MrRoundel
spelling error.

[Rwh56]

I used some inexpensive watch hand levers from Esslinger.   They had pretty rough ends.   I sanded them smooth until they looked OK under my dissection microscope.  The ends were still blunt, and I wonder if I should have thinned them more because there is so little space under the second hand on this watch.  Then I used Saran Wrap to protect the surface.  Saran Wrap is pretty thin, and I figured that a thicker plastic sheet, like on the sandwich bags, would prevent the lever ends getting under the watch hand.   The visible scuffs are out by the dial markings, which shows that I scratched the surface before I even got close to the hand.   So, there was some clumsy technique that may be more of the issue.   This was all new and different for me.   I will probably be back asking advice on some other repairs.  There are plenty of cheap watches in the house I would like to get working.