Jump to content

Recommended Posts

Posted

Hello

I have a Jaeger LeCoultre from 73 where the mainspring is broken. My watchmaker measured it to: H 0,95 x 0,10 x ø 10,0 x L 360. However, i can't seem to find one close to those measurements anywhere. Can anyone help?

/Jacob

Posted

Your "watch-repairer" can't help you and lets his client to find out :huh: ??

You need to know what kind of tail end it has; automatic or none-automatic (NB, DB, DBH, T or TR)?

If you can't find the correct spring, you can use the reverse engineering estimate calculator in this website;

http://www.vintagewatchstraps.com/mainsprings.php#

then you go to CousinsUK and find the closest in thickness and length with the correct tail end and correct height.

https://www.cousinsuk.com/product/under-100mm-height

In your case, the height has to be 0.95mm (or slightly lower) otherwise you can't close the lid of the barrel. The length and thickness can vary a bit. Thinner is slightly weaker, thicker slightly stronger which could cause knocking or banking.

Perhaps it is also a good idea to introduce yourself first, so we get an idea who you are and what kind of watch skills you have .... ?

 

Posted
5 hours ago, Jtalleruphuus said:

Jaeger LeCoultre from 73

It would've been nice if the watchmaker had given you a model number? Then is this an automatic versus manual wind watch? The problem with finding specific parts is the part you're looking for may be the wrong part which is why you're not finding it. That's why it's better to start with the basics of the model number the watch we can look it up in our references and see if they all agree. Plus it's also helpful to measure the original spring to make sure that agrees with whatever you are finding in the specifications. Occasionally we get some strange watches were nothing agrees Which makes things much more interesting.

  • Thanks 1
Posted

Watchmakers normally don't measure the old spring, as it might be already wrong, but determine the movement calibre and look up the correct spring in tables. 

Frank

Posted
2 minutes ago, praezis said:

Watchmakers normally don't measure the old spring, as it might be already wrong, but determine the movement calibre and look up the correct spring in tables. 

I like the word normally? This is watch repair there is no normal.

So normal I assume means modern then you're right. In modern watch repair you can look up the part all the parts and 99% of time they will fit perfectly. Typically modern watchmakers are attempting to restore the watch to new condition with their new parts they don't worry about what's in their.

But what about watchmakers like me? I primarily specialize in antique watches some of those don't have markings there is no caliber number I can't look up the mainspring. Or American pocket watches for instance there tends to be variations. So it's very helpful to start with what is in the watch. It doesn't mean that that's right but it gives you starting point. So I measure every single spring I take out. I verify that whenever I took out agrees with whatever the books think is supposed to be in there and if they don't then I need to find out why.

 

Posted

Hi,

first, my post was no reply to yours, just a few seconds later.

Is this an antique watch? .. from 73 did not sound so. For comparing it is not wrong to have the sizes of the existing spring, but I would not use them for finding the new one. If calibre and references are not  available, I use to take the sizes from the barrel and apply general rules to find width, legth and thickness of the spring.

Frank



  • Recently Browsing

    • No registered users viewing this page.
  • Topics

  • Posts

    • Thanks for that Andy, Yes the new bracelet is worth more than the watch itself, Its one I have bought to service and clean-up and on-sell it as a project, look it may sell to someone who has a small wrist, I think I will buy an extender and may-be offer it up with a normal strap as well CJ
    • Not always that simple. Typically the only reason we would have any way of identifying a watch is if parts were available at any time and somebody had a parts reference book then they would help you to identify the watches that they have parts or. Unfortunately there are hundreds of thousands of watch movements with no identification and of course typically no parts the classic place were watches would be identified would be under the balance wheel and your pictures don't really show a good view of that. Occasionally I've seen watches marked under one of the plates. They felt very proud of their watch is a very prominent Swiss company and they ask he stamped the bottom of a plate so you have disassembled find it. Then there is the other system the keyless parts make up something called the fingerprint system but you still haven't given us enough information to make use of that. Here's an image showing what a fingerprint system looks like. The PDF is based on the physical book the physical book has sizes of watches these are smaller ladies watches and keyless parts which in the physical book are printed at the actual size of the watch parts. So to identify with the keyless we need in your case diameter measured on the dial side and a good picture of the keyless parts and then you have to hope that this was made within the right time span of the books that have this system on the other hand a lot of times on the dial side they will also put markings. So basically to identify a movement it has to come out of the case and has to be disassembled.
    • The strap is a 44Q6JB and hadn't realised how much they'd gone up in price. The used one I've got is very worn but may have other links floating around.
    • @Mercurial is this also a variation of the tool you posted? 
    • Thanks Andy, The bracelet is sized very small, around a 14cm wrist. Were would one try to source original links, I guess they wouldn't be cheap if found. The bracelet end links have 4406 B-E stamped on them, is this the Seiko Bracelet code ?? CJ  
×
×
  • Create New...