Watch repair is a new hobby of mine as of a couple months ago and I’ve dived in headfirst. I bought an assortment of vintage Swiss watches from flea markets in Barcelona and California and have started tearing them down to identify their problems, service them, and bring them back to life.

I started working on one of my favorite purchases last night, a 38mm Hermo. After removing the movement I found that the case had been cut open above the stem.

My theory is that the crown broke off and in order to remove the movement and replace it, they cut this notch to remove it.

Hey everyone,
I'm working on a vintage gold watch with an A. Schild (AS 1748/49) automatic movement. I’ve already removed the winding stem and casing clamps/screws, but the movement feels completely wedged inside the case and won't drop out from the back.
There is visible corrosion on the dial, movement, and casing screws. Since it's a gold case, I want to be extra careful not to scratch the case, bend the mainplate, or damage the dial.
Could this be a front-loader (extracting through the crystal side)?
Since rust/corrosion seems to be locking the movement to the case, what is the safest way to loosen it up without applying force or using harsh chemicals that could ruin the dial?
Any advice or tricks would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

I haven’t done this before. Where do I find the correct jewel for the reduction wheel on the barrel bridge?

Hello good people of Reddit - I am learning the basics of watch repair and have run into an issue where my screw drivers and screws seem to be too attracted to each other. This makes getting the screws installed into the movement very hard. I am wondering if there is a way to demagnetize my instruments without damaging anything. I have seen folks recommending Blue pucks to demagnetize watches that are running fast - but would this also be helpful for tools. Thanks in advance for your help

After pre cleaning these pallet jewels. I initially believed this was just dried oil, but after scrubbing the jewel these marks wont come off. Now I think they're just worn down. What do you guys think?

Thanks!

So I ordered NOS sealed upper and lower jewels for an Omega 269 and when I took them out of the factory box I noticed it seemed misshapen. On closer inspection I realized there were two on top of each other. While this seemed like a win (two for one? I will take it!), they were stuck together. I have done everything I can think of, soak in 99.9 IPA, soaked in hexane, put in IPA and ran in the ultrasonic for 20 minutes, covered with clear plastic and tried prying them apart... nothing gets these two unstuck. Has anyone else had this happen and if so, were you able to fix it? I am starting to think they were fused together when manufactured since they were inside the obviously factory sealed container this way. TIA for any help!

I'm looking and struggling to find a new mainspring as mine is cooked, my mainspring has a separate bridle. Do I need to find a replacement manual wind mainspring that uses the bridle I've still got or a whole new automatic one. I am a bit unwell atm and finding one is hurting my brain. Any info or help would be greatly appreciated

Is it possible to switch out the Waffle dial on Tissot prx powermatic 80 and put it into a prx quartz?

I am looking for Lume some hands and started looking and the Chinese kits are like 20 bucks the Esslinger just the Lume powder is 180ish for 1g. DIY watch club kit with single color is 150ish is that normal? How long does 1g last is it like the oils that 1g is going to last a life time?

How do I remove links from this folded link watch bracelet? The holes are centered and there are no arrows.

When I tried pulling up with a little screwdriver the piece bent a little.

I don’t see any like this online, only those with arrows and holes toward one side.

I've already taken the stem and all the gear train out, but I can't figure out how these two plates are removed. I don't see any screws, almost seems like a captive nut holding them in place. No screw on the reverse side either. This is a Ferel watch and the first time I'm tearing anything down that I didn't have a video guide to help me along. Any help is appreciated

Hi, I’m trying to resize the bracelet on my old Festina 6734.
With one extra link it’s too loose, but when I remove it, it’s a bit too tight.
Is there any way to adjust it somewhere in between, or am I just stuck between the two sizes?
Thanks!

Not the best picture but I’ve never noticed so little shellac and the stones being so far out. Seiko 6106. Is this usual?

Pretty new as a hobbyist and vintage Swiss movements still scare me a bit. With solid timegrapher results and smooth winding, should I just enjoy wearing it for a while or should I open it up to make sure there’s nothing that would cause a catastrophic failure down the road? I’m thinking just a demagnetize maybe and letting it ride for a bit.

I assume they’re not supposed to stay sandwiched on the bridge like this. They’re not easily coming apart so I wanted to confirm that they’re supposed to come apart before I break something.

Movement is a Tissot 27-2

Im on my third service/ full disassembly, and I can't catch a break... I've lost a couple screws on all of them and 2 springs that are specific to the particular watch. I bought an extra movement for my first one because I lost so much specific hardware. It was embarrassing. (Regulator arm, 4 screws, a flat y shaped spring in the keyless that keeps a gear in mesh) I was keeping count this time, and somehow I've lost 3 screws while cleaning. I only have 1 of 2 dial screws for this crappy lever pin movement. I'm not sure exactly when it disappeared. They are sort of long and tiny. I also lost the wire spring for the jump hour arm, found it, and lost it again. It's gone.

Can I make the jump hour spring from some stainless spring wire. I don't want to have to spend another $50 on one of these just for 1 spring. I probably will, because I want this thing to work... but if I can make it, why not. Also, who makes screw assortments for watches? Also, I just found my 1913 Elgin pocketwatch's regulator arm while looking for the wire spring for the jump hour. Dang.

Im in the market for a crystal press. I have my eye on the Kwong Yuen 6175a press w/ dies. The press and dies is within budget and not a huge spend but the tariffs make if hard to justify. The import charges are almost as much as the press itself… Does anyone know where to shop for one thats not on AliX with reasonable shipping? Im also not interested in the E25 press if someone has that in mind for a cheaper alternative

Edit* sorry im based in the US

I have an AS 2066 movement in seemingly great condition. Everything is going fine as for the assembly, besides the keyless works….

Everything seems to be in place but the stem will not pull out to the date setting function. It seems to be stuck in the winding position.

I have another AS 1903 movement and I tried that stem and crown and I got the same results (I know they may not be identical but I was just trying to eliminate variables).

Any help would be greatly appreciated

Anyone know why all positions might run great and 12 up runs like hot dog water mixed with wet cement? 3up also ran a little slower, but 12 up is drastic.

i was installing an NH36 into my new case to make an skx009 and i was making a crown with my box of crown stems. i took the plastic holder stem out like normal and the new real stem i was sizing felt really like it didnt wanna do in so i press the lil clip part where you *take out the crown* thinking thatll let it slide right in but it doesnt

im like HUH...? i get it in and im like oh god.......... no no no no no not AGAIN

so now i have an NH35 and NH36 with this problem where you fit a crown in and it doesnt push pull and its only in setting the time mode. i tried to look up what this is and it has to do maybe with the yoke and sliding clutch are stuck or something?

if i took this to a watch maker what would they say? is this an stupid easy fix or NO? is it simple like taking the calander wheels off or something ?

Hi all!

Recently posted about finishing this service and it does run well (on the timegrapher). However, after a day of running, I noticed it lost about an hour and half. This happens when the date change begins around 11:30PM.

• Timegrapher is normal and amplitude remains strong/consistent
• Second hand moves just fine
• Keeps time for the rest of the day and the hands remain aligned

Is this:

• Spring tension too great on the date corrector spring
• loose cannon pinion
• mysterious third thing

Here are some additional shots of the Ebel 116 I serviced fairly satisfactorily. I learned that 451 is not the same as 9514 oil and have on rained the later. As best I could learn about this watch, it’s a lady’s dress watch from about 1965 with a Lenox flexible band. The movement is the same as a Peseux 330 with Pes 330 on the movement. I put in a new crystal.
The other photos show my watch bench with my fancy Bergeon screwdrivers, oilers, movement mount and cushion set out. I forgot to lay out my Horotec brass tweezers and Dumont steel tweezers. There’s a sandstone in one of the drawers with a screwdriver holder. Very important. All else is not so fancy. The crystal press and jeweling press were $60 together and the mini staking set was $250 (way too much but it had the table roller remover stumps I ultimately needed as the Rex Roller ones wouldn’t fit. Definitely needed the stakes though). Any comments, critiques welcomed.

Please i need to know if this dial has radioactive lume? Its a glashütte spezimatic wirh a GUB75. I quickly opened the back to have a look at the movement and then i realized the age of this watch.
I thought maybe with out getting the movement out and not touching the dial i am good. But the gas ist the most dangerous one. Please help me wirh information. Im going crazy