Category: Watch Case Studies

We are skilled in the repair and restoration of a whole range of different types of watch – both modern and vintage. One group of watches we regularly work on are military watches. Military watches are watches which, as the name suggests, have been issued to members of the armed forces at some point.

Probably the most famous sub-group of military watches is the “Dirty Dozen”. In the 1940s, the MOD needed watches produced to a certain specification for issue to the armed forces. Twelve manufacturers were eventually approved to produce these watches – hence the name, the Dirty Dozen. In alphabetical order, these makers were: Buren, Cyma, Eterna, Grana, Jaeger Le Coultre, Lemania, Longines, IWC, Omega, Record, Timor and Vertex. As you may note, all these makers are Swiss. Unfortunately British watchmaking had been in decline for some time, so lacked the required means of production to make such timepieces.

The military watch we’ve been working on here is later than the “Dirty Dozen”, though it’s still from the period before the MOD switched to issuing quartz watches (which was just after the Falklands War). Indeed this CWC W-10 was one of the last general purpose mechanical watches issued to the military in the UK.

On arrival with us it was running though not keeping time. Inspection of the movement revealed it had likely not been serviced for many years, so a full service and new mainspring was required.

The movement used in this watch is an ETA 2750 manual wind mechanical movement. This is a good, robust movement, with a hacking function to stop the second hand when the crown is pulled out into hand-setting position. During a full service the movement is completely stripped down, cleaned, reassembled, oiled, adjusted and tested.

Our client stressed the need to keep everything original, so the armoured plexi-glass dome was left “as is”, likewise with the one piece steel case. In many instances originality is of great importance and we are only too happy to oblige. We can also offer our advice on what is best for the specific watch in question if our client is unsure. Once the watch is fully cased up it’s ready to go on test before returning to our client.

Yours sincerely

David Clark PJDip PJGemDip CertGA
Managing Director

One of the most frequent jobs we tackle in our watch repair workshop involves replacing the watch crown and/or stem. The crown, also known as the winder, is used to both set the time, and to wind up a mechanical watch. If the watch crown is pulled out incorrectly, or caught in a certain way, it’s quite easy to break it off. Depending on how it’s broken, we may be able to recover the original crown, and simply replace the stem. If the watch crown itself is damaged, or the stem is broken absolutely flush with the crown, this may require the crown to be fully replaced.

Assessing a watch for repair

In this example we are replacing both the crown and stem on a Raymond Weil chronograph watch. You can see the watch stem has broken very close to the crown itself, so this will make removing the old stem extremely difficult. In some instances we can do this, but most often a new crown will be needed. If you look closely, you can see how water damage has affected the stem, causing it to rust. This has weakened the stem and over time has led to it being so weak it has broken.

We were able to source an original crown for this Raymond Weil watch model, as well as a replacement stem. To fit the new crown and stem we need to trim the stem to fit. For this we fit the stem to the watch movement and measuring off how much excess metal we need to remove. We use the old broken stem as a guide. The stem is removed from the watch movement, and held in a pin vice. It is trimmed and filed down, allowing the new crown to fit smoothly.

Replacing the watch crown

There’s a bit of an art to getting the stem to the exact size, and it really is a case of practice makes perfect. The crown should sit flush against the side of the watch case, without a gap. Care is needed, if the stem is cut short, the stem won’t reach far enough into the movement, causing the watch movement to be stuck in date-change, or hand-setting mode (or if it’s cut far too short, it won’t be held in place at all!).

When we are happy with the fitting, we again remove the crown and stem, then take the crown off. We put a tiny drop of threadlock glue on the end of the stem, before reattaching the new replacement crown. This allows us to be doubly sure the new crown will remain in place long into the future. Now we refit the crown and stem, and that’s this part of the job done!

Expert watch repair service

In addition to the steps outlined above, we often take care of additional jobs at the same time. For example cleaning the case and bracelet, replacing the glass or fitting a new battery. Our watchmaking workshop is well equipped to deal with a wide variety of repairs to almost all watches, both modern and vintage.

Do you have a watch in need of replacement parts or a new crown? Contact us to see how we can help. We offer a watch repairs service both locally via our shops in Lewes and Uckfield, as well as nationally via our fully insured secure postal repairs service. Our master watchmaker in an expert in the repair of watches and have the skills to take on a huge variety of repairs. We are business partners of the British Horological Institute, and hold a Platinum Trusted Service award from Feefo – testament to the consistent, excellent reviews we receive from our clients.

Yours sincerely

David Clark PJDip PJGemDip CertGA
Managing Director

We deal with a huge variety of watches in our workshop, ranging from modern Tag Heuer, Breitling and Omega through to vintage wrist and pocket watches. Vintage watches come in all shapes and sizes. They often need extra special care and attention, especially if the watch in question has not been regularly serviced over the years.

This watch is a vintage C5 Galaxy mechanical watch. It’s a watch which has obvious aviation inspiration – It’s named after the large military transport aeroplane and features a clear disc with the silhouette of the C5 Galaxy acting as the second hand.

On opening the watch we are able to inspect the movement. This watch uses mechanical movement branded from the Hafner Watch Co. It’s actually a Baumgartner calibre 866, which in its standard form is a workhorse pin pallet movement. This iteration is upgraded to having 17 jewels, so this is a positive – the jewels act to reduce friction and so reduce wear.

We can see quite a lot of dirt and debris throughout the movement, so a full service and a fresh mainspring is in order. The movement is completely disassembled and pre-cleaned, with each part carefully inspected for wear. The disassembled movement is then run through our specialist watch movement cleaning machine, while the case was cleaned in an ultrasonic cleaner.

After cleaning the movement is carefully reassembled and oiled. The dial and hands, plus the unusual second hand disc are then refitted, before the complete movement is fitted into the case.

No additional works were carried out to the case, dial and hands – these were all left in original condition for our client. Now before returning the watch we put it on test to confirm the timekeeping accuracy and make sure everything is just as it should be. Another job well done!

Do you have a watch in need of repair? No job is too big or too small – Get in contact with us to see how we can help. We are able to repair almost any watch and we offer a comprehensive watch repair service. We cater to clients all around the UK thanks to our fully insured freepost watch repairs service. You can also bring watches in to our showrooms based in Lewes and Uckfield, Sussex. As Business Partners of the British Horological Institute and a Feefo Platinum Trusted Service Award accredited business, you can be confident when dealing with us.

Yours sincerely

David Clark PJDip PJGemDip CertGA
Managing Director

We see many different types of watch come through our workshop. From quartz watches powered by batteries, through to automatic mechanical watches, we service and repair a huge range of timepieces, both modern and vintage. Recently, we’ve seen quite a few automatic watches, all of which share a fault – a heavily worn reversing wheel. In this blog post we’ll discuss the automatic winding mechanism found in many modern watches and why it experiences such wear.

The automatic winding mechanism deals with keeping the watch wound up as you move around. It consists of the rotor (or oscillating weight as it’s also known) and a series of different wheels, sitting between two bridges. As you move around, the rotor always wants to be towards the lowest point of the watch due to gravity. For example if you’re holding your automatic watch with the crown pointed in a downward direction, the rotor will be hanging down in the same way. The rotor is weighted on its outer section to encourage its motion.

As the rotor moves, a series of wheels transmit the force through to the rachet wheel, which thus winds the mainspring. The construction of the automatic system can vary from watch to watch, though the majority of modern Swiss watches use a similar design which features bi-directional winding – i.e. The rotor winds up the watch regardless of the direction it is turning. In order to allow for this bi-directional winding, a wheel called a reverser must be used.

We won’t go into the technicality of how a reverser works, though suffice to say they are a fantastically clever piece of engineering. As you can imagine, if a watch is worn on a regular basis, the automatic winding mechanism is moving all the time. It’s been said that a reverser changes direction of movement between 10⁶ and 10⁷ times every year. These are vital components to ensure your automatic watch continues to wind, so they need to remain in excellent condition.

As you can see from the images, these reversers are in quite the opposite – a terrible state. This is what can happen if a watch is not kept regularly serviced. The pivots have massively reduced in diameter, simply due to being thoroughly worn out. A reduction in diameter of only 10% equates to a strength reduction of approximately 1/3, so you can imagine how weak the pivots must be in these examples. The automatic winding mechanism was not functioning properly in these watches, and it’s clear to see one of the reasons why!

Like anything with moving parts, a mechanical watch needs periodic servicing in order to allow it to continue working properly for years to come. Even if you’ve had a watch for many years and it has never seen a watchmaker but it’s still ticking, this does not mean everything is fine and it does not require any attention. The longer these watches are left, the more likely it is we find additional worn parts. We advise our customers to have their watches serviced every 3-5 years, depending on the model. There are of course some exceptions, though this is a general rule.

When you have a quality timepiece from the likes of Rolex, Breitling, Omega or Tag Heuer, it makes sense to look after it. By ensuring your watch is kept regularly serviced it will continue to provide you with years and years of reliable service.

Do you have a watch in need of servicing? Contact us to see how we can help. We offer a repairs service both locally via our shops in Lewes and Uckfield, as well as nationally via our fully insured secure postal repairs service. We are experts in the repair of watches and have the skills to take on a huge variety of repairs. We are business partners of the British Horological Institute and we hold a Platinum Trusted Service award from Feefo – testament to the consistant, excellent reviews we receive from our clients.

Yours sincerely

David Clark PJDip PJGemDip CertGA
Managing Director

Further to our blog post a couple of weeks ago, here’s another example of a pocket watch which may perhaps on the face of it look to be beyond repair. We like to think differently though! With the correct skills and tooling, we can tackle these challenging jobs.

The repair and restoration of vintage timepieces is very specialist work. These watches may be collectors’ items or family heirlooms and they often have a broad range of faults, simply due to the age of the piece. It’s often difficult or impossible to source parts – this can further add to the challenge. Vintage watches need very specific care and attention, and preserving originality and history is at the forefront of our minds.

Our head watchmaker is very experienced in the repair and restoration of vintage watches. He has worked on pieces of real historical importance and is able to work on a huge range of pocket watches with a variety of different escapements – from verge to duplex, English lever and beyond! In addition to his experience, we have a good stock of parts from our many years of tackling such restorations. From new old stock hunter pocket watch glasses through to hand sets, there’s every chance we can find a suitable part from our stock of spares.

Indeed we needed to go through our spares to find a number of suitable parts for this pocket watch. As you can see from the before images, it was in poor condition. It arrived full of rust, missing both the hour and minute hand as well as both glasses.

The movement was thoroughly serviced restoring it to excellent working order. From our healthy stock of vintage pocket watch hands we were able to find a minute and hour hand appropriate from this timepiece. We also found a pair of suitable new old stock glasses from our stock. The profile and sizes of these glasses is unusual, so you need the correct type to fit. Fitting a modern watch glass is not an option!

The case was given a light polish to compliment the new glass, hands and the newly restored movement. As you can see, the difference between before and after is striking! Our client was absolutely delighted with the outcome and this pocket watch is ready for many more years of reliable service.

Yours sincerely

David Clark PJDip PJGemDip CertGA
Managing Director

We’ve had a number of Omega Seamaster watches in to the workshop recently. They come in all sorts of sizes and variations. This one is a bit special – it’s the America’s Cup version. This is a limited edition Seamaster and has limited edition engraving on the case, the America’s Cup branding on the dial, plus a white gold bezel. This watch is one we’re adding to our pre-owned watch collection, so it is available to purchase at the time of writing!

As with all of our pre-owned watches, we give them a thorough once over. So this watch received a full service plus a clean and polish of the case and bracelet.

This model is powered by the Omega 1120 automatic movement – a 23 jewel enhanced version of the excellent ETA 2892-A2 movement. During disassembly we noticed a relatively unusual part in need of replacement – The dial side jewel for the barrel arbor was broken. Perhaps the watch had received a shock at some point in its history, and the shock was enough to break the jewel.

To replace the jewel we first needed to remove the broken one. After the rest of the movement is disassembled, we use a specialist jewelling tool to press out the old jewel. As you can see in the images, it comes out in a number of pieces. We had a replacement jewel in stock, so it’s then a case of using the jewelling press to fit the new jewel. Care must be taken to ensure the jewel is pressed in to just the right position – avoiding both too much or too little end shake.

The movement parts are cleaned in a specialist watch movement cleaning machine before reassembly and re-oiling. The dial and hands can then be refitted.

Separately the case and bracelet are disassembled and given a clean and refinish. We always take each polishing/refinishing job on a case-by-case basis, taking care not to compromise the shape of the case by over-polishing. After the case and bracelet are thoroughly clean everything is refitted back together before the watch is checked for timekeeping and water resistance. The complete watch is then tested before it goes in the shop window.

We have a fantastic range of pre-owned watches – do get in touch if you’re on the lookout for something special. Omega, Rolex, Tag Heuer – we carry a range of top brands in our pre-owned collection.

Do you have an watch in need of repair? Get in contact with us to see how we can help. We are able to repair almost any Omega watch and we offer a comprehensive watch repair service. We cater to clients all around the UK thanks to our fully insured freepost watch repairs service. You can also bring watches in to our showrooms based in Lewes and Uckfield, Sussex. As Business Partners of the British Horological Institute and a Feefo Platinum Trusted Service Award accredited business, you can be confident when dealing with us.

Yours sincerely

David Clark PJDip PJGemDip CertGA
Managing Director

 

A recent restoration project for one of our clients involved fully servicing and repairing a vintage Omega Seamaster.

Omega as a brand have a huge, interesting history, perhaps beyond the scope of this blog post. Suffice to say they are one of the most prominent watch companies in the world, with numerous inventions, innovations and awards to their name. Their iconic Speedmaster was the first watch worn on the moon and amongst other popular models including the De Ville and Constellation, they make the very popular Seamaster.

The Omega Seamaster was introduced by Omega in 1948 and was stylistically at least somewhat based on designs made for the Royal Navy towards the end of the war. Originally one of the key features of the watch was a rubber o-ring gasket designed to provide water resistance – a feature which at the time was not as common as it is now.

In 1995 Omega partnered with the James Bond franchise. This further cemented the Seamaster as an iconic line of watches, with numerous “Bond” models produced which are still hugely desirable to this day.

The Omega Seamaster belonging to our client is a model dating from the early 60s. It has a stainless steel, three part case (i.e. a case back, middle and bezel) and a great ‘crosshair’ dial. The movement is an Omega 501 – a great quality, vintage automatic movement.

On arrival in the workshop this watch was barely ticking. Upon inspection there was a lot of dried up oil and debris in the movement, so a full service and a new mainspring was required. During a full service we completely disassemble the movement and run it through our specialist watch movement cleaning machine. We also run the case and bracelet through a separate ultrasonic cleaner. After cleaning, the movement is carefully reassembled and oiled, before being adjusted and tested. The entire watch is then tested on our rotating testing machine to confirm the automatic winding mechanism is operating correctly.

Do you have an Omega Seamaster in need of repair? From vintage to modern pieces, we are able to help. We remain open during lockdown and you can get your watch to us by using our fully insured, freepost postal repairs service. Contact us to find out more.

In our workshop we see some pieces where you wish the watch could speak and tell its story. Take this wonderful verge pocket watch for example. It dates from 1799 – which means George III was King when this watch was produced!

Left: Outer Pair Case & Timepiece Right: Timepiece Inside Pair Case

When we say “Verge” this refers to the type of escapement – the part of the watch which controls the rate at which the gear train advances or ticks. The quality and design of the escapement is thus very important to achieving accurate timekeeping. The Verge escapement was used from the late 13^th century to the mid 19^th century. As the first mechanical escapement, its development was extremely important in allowing the creation of mechanical clocks, and later, watches.

As you may expect from an early escapement design, the Verge does have a few “quirks” which generally prevent it from achieving good levels of timekeeping accuracy. The Verge is very sensitive to changes in drive force (i.e. when fully wound a spring will be pushing ‘harder’ than when it is almost unwound). This means each Verge watch needed to be fitted with a Fusee mechanism to equalise the force of the mainspring in order to achieve any level of accuracy.

Beautiful movement of the timepiece, fusee chain visible (right)

It is also a ‘recoil’ escapement. This means during the cycle of the escapement the crown wheel is pushed back momentarily, which then pushes back through the wheel train. This increases the amount of friction and wear seen throughout the movement.

Even with the above ‘quirks’, we’ve been able to achieve a good level of timekeeping accuracy for this watch. It arrived with us complete with a plastic bag of wheels and now it’s fully functional and keeping time to within 15 minutes a day. Quite remarkable for a 222 year old watch!

Very few watchmakers are able to work on these pieces. We have the knowledge and skills to be able to take on such repairs, alongside our work on more modern mechanical and quartz watches.

If you have a watch in need of repair, do not hesitate to contact us. We offer a fully insured, freepost, postal repairs service and take on repairs from customers based all around the UK.

Best wishes,

David Clark PJGemDip PJDip CertGA
Managing Director

We’re lucky to regularly see interesting antique pocket watches come in for restoration. One such example is this very fine 18ct Gold Full Hunter Triple Calendar Minute Repeater Chronograph.

The craftsmanship which went into producing pieces like this really is exceptional. The skills to restore such watches have slowly been lost over the years, though with the oversight of organisations like the British Horological Institute here in the UK (an organisation we are proud to support as official Business Partners), there are still watchmakers learning the skills necessary to work on a range of timepieces – both antique and modern.

We cover both bases in our workshops, as we can work on the vast majority of timepieces. From a modern ETA-movement powered Omega, to real specialist antique pieces like this.

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As mentioned above, this full hunter pocket watch is a minute repeater. This means the watch chimes – striking for first the hours, then quarters of an hour, and then the individual number of minutes. This function is activated via a slide on the side of the case. The hours, quarters and minutes have their own distinctive tone, so it is easy to hear the correct time. The addition of this function into a pocket watch truly is a marvel of micro-engineering. Fitting the striking works, gongs and so on into a pocket watch case (as opposed to a clock) took real ingenuity.

To add to matters, this minute repeater complication is alongside a triple date (displaying the day, date and month) and a chronograph. The sheer complexity and level of workmanship involved meant such pieces were considered status symbols at the time, and would go on to become family heirlooms – handed down across generations. It’s always a privilege to work on such historic, quality timepieces and to restore them back to excellent working order.

If you have an antique pocket watch in need of restoration, do get in contact with us. From glass replacement to complete servicing and restoration, we are able to help.

Best wishes

David Clark PJ Gem.Dip. PJ Dip Cert GA
Managing Director

It is often said that a man or woman is happiest when they do a job they truly love. Becoming a watchmaker isn’t a career move to be taken lightly. It really is a labour of love requiring many hours of serious study, bench work and hands on training.

Watchmaking and watch repair require a great deal of dedication and skill. Professional watchmakers will have gone through many years of training to develop the knowledge and skills required to build, maintain and repair the many different intricate workings and casings of watches from antique specimens to those of the modern day.

While there is no one formal route to become a watchmaker (there are a number of training courses from practical short courses for beginners to expert learning leading to qualifications), the credentials of a Master Watchmaker will be vast and backed up by many years’ experience in the trade.

Extraordinary expertise is required to become a Master Watchmaker. There are only a few who have reached this high level of expertise in the UK, including our very own Master Watchmaker working exclusively at W.E. Clark.

Repairing, restoring and servicing antique, vintage and modern watches and pocket watches requires an exceptional level of knowledge, patience and skill. A Master Watchmaker, such as ours, should be able to repair and restore almost any watch and source or make parts where they are no longer available. Master Watchmakers can usually bring any watch back to life, even where other less experienced watchmakers have failed.

Watches our Master Watchmaker has worked on include antique pocket watches, such as military watches, railroad watches, Benson, and Waltham, as well as any pocket watches with LeCoultre movements, fusee movements, or verge escapement movements. In addition, he has successfully restored and repaired a wide range of vintage watches, as well as carrying out servicing and repairs on thousands of modern timepieces from Omega, Rolex, Cartier, Breitling, Longines, IWC, Citizen, and Tag Heuer to Patek Philippe.

The skills required to become a Master in the craft of watchmaking and repair include an obvious passion for watches, a steady hand, keen eyesight and the resilience to sit at a work bench for long hours. It requires precision and patience. Micro-parts are so small, that even a miniscule fraction of misalignment could damage the intricate workings within a watch or cause it to lose time. Working with intricate mechanical parts also requires analytical thinking.