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Watch Stems Question


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I’m wondering about replacing watch stems. Which do you guys prefer for replacing yours? Do you search for direct replacements made for your exact movement? Does anyone use those “assorted” lots that many of the online parts suppliers has?

And speaking of those assorted lots, from what I’ve seen, they usually have about 5-6 different styles shown to come in the package. How often is one of those going to fit a random (inexpensive) vintage swiss movement? I know very little about the proper procedure for determining stem size requirements.

Regards.

Edited by Piff
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In my days I had hundreds of stems from various sources. If I did not have the correct cal I would order the stem, back then they came in threes. I also had blank stems that I used if I needed to make one if it had been discontinued. I expect these assortments will consist of stock that is going to be hardly used and you could end up wasting you money. You might consider buying the stem extenders they are extremely useful.

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Ah, I figured that it might be that way, so I found an exact spec stem in Israel. I'm guessing that it might be a while before it turns up, but it was less than half the cost of one I found here in America, so I thought I'd take a flyer and see how the experience went. It's for an independent watch that uses a Felsa movement. I hadn't heard of them before, but I'm still very new to this.

regards.

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