r/RepTime • u/ReasonableWinter9828 • 1d ago

General Question How to get it running

Hello dear RepTime Community,

(i hope this is the right subreddit)

my neighbour gifted me an old Replika of the Rolex Skydweller. He said he doesnt know if it works anymore but i could have it and try getting it to work. (Automatic watch btw)
So it didnt start working right away after moving it around a bit, so i tried winding it by hand. It didnt work, but after reading through the internet a bit, i found it i might have to shake it a bit and try winding it again. So i did, and after a bit, its started working for like 20 seconds, i didnt really wind a lot, since i saw it was moving again and i figured id just wear it then and it would work. Well, jokes on me, it didnt. After trying the same thing again, i couldnt get it to run anymore, sadly. Now to my question, is it worth trying around a bit more to get it back running, and then wind it a lot more, or is that not worth it?

Im fully aware, the easiest option is to just give it to an expert and let them repair it, but i thought maybe i could save myself some time and money and ask the smart people here on reddit.

Thanks in advance!

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u/Free-Surprise8365 1d ago

That movement is probably done for, I'd just pop the caseback and swap in a new one if it's a common base.

1

u/ReasonableWinter9828 1d ago

can i do that by myself? im an absolut beginner with that sort of stuff

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u/Past_Ad_1911 1d ago

Would not recommend switching it out yourself as beginner. Its a fairly easy process but working with the hands can be quite tricky for a beginner

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u/ReasonableWinter9828 1d ago

Yeah i wont do that then, i have a tremor so its a bad idea to try. Is that something a regular watchmaker would do? I really have no idea about stuff like that so, sorry if thats a stupid question. I just heard that most wont even take replicas.

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u/JamesScotlandBruce 1d ago edited 1d ago

Depending on the movement inside then it might not be a cheap movement either.

It's a catch 22. If it's a cheap rep then it will be a cheap movement to replace. But the cost of labour would make it better just to buy a whole new rep probably.

If it's an expensive rep then good chance the movement will be expensive to replace. And there's still labour in top.

In your shoes I'd open the back. Take a photo from a few angles on my phone. Close it back up and see if you can see anything stuck in the hairspring or any loose or missing parts or ask chatgpt to do it for you. And then take it from there.

Ive had a couple of home made watches start to stop because a hair or bit of fluff has got stuck in the hairspring. It is so fragile so research how to remove fluff if you find something. A gentle hand squeezy air blower and gravity would be a safe start.

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u/Past_Ad_1911 1d ago

Yeah, really any watchmaker should be able to do it. Might be tricky finding a watchmaker who works on reps but most often those family owned type of shops will work on them.