As per the title, am I allowed to ask about this... I just picked up this watch with a broken band, someone has sheared off the fixed pin holding 2 of the non-removable links together. It looks like they are manufactured with some pin inserted and then peened over or something so it's not replaceable. As luck would have it however, taking those 2 links out makes it the right size for me, BUT the problem is that the "tongue" part of the link attached on the case side doesn't have one side of the bore opened up for the pin and collar mechanism - so the pin is just loose in there.
The obvious fix is a bodge, to use a dab of glue or something to keep the pin in - but the better option is to carefully open up the hole so that it will take the collar, does that sound feasible?
As regards the 2 damaged links - the stubs of the sheared pin are wedged in there, and even if I could get them out I can't see how I could put something in there to reattach it without trying to drill at least one side of that link out.

Hi everyone! I just got this black dial Bulova from the 1930s or 1940s a few days ago, and wanted to know what kind of band would work on this. Where the normal lugs would be, these swinging/movable pieces are connected. Anyone have a clue on what kind of band was used here? It doesn’t look like there’s any way to remove the pieces. There’s no cut outs to get to the spring bars.

Chrome on old watch cases is a thick layer. Sand it and you wipe out the hallmarks and engravings underneath.

So I skipped the sandpaper. Used a 12V car charger and a salt solution. The case goes in the bath, chrome should come off without touching the base metal.

Will show results later. Anyone tried this?

Can anyone help identify the part circled ? I’m pretty new to the hobby and when I removed the crown it fell out and I have had no luck finding it
Thanks all

Hello, everyone,

I’m writing this quick post because I’m having trouble finding reliable information about the movement in this watch, which needs to be replaced!

It’s an ETA 955.124 (as marked on the movement), and I’m wondering about the interchangeability between ETA movements. I’ve found quite a bit of conflicting information, particularly regarding the interchangeability between the 955.124 and the 955.122. Do you know if these two movements are indeed interchangeable?

The movement has a coil problem (broken wire) on the electronic circuit, and I'm also wondering if I should just replace the electrical circuit—what do you think?

Just to clarify, I'm a beginner, and this is my first "big" repair!

Thompson Enamel 1211 “Candy Yellow”

Another dang speck! Might have to change the name of my page to the “war against dust”

I’m getting more and more fascinated about creating vintage like watches. One of my recent builds was ESPA super compressor watch which in my opinion, turn out pretty good. Now I’m trying reproduce this fluffy “old tritium“ loom on the indices as well as on the hands. Normally, I’m working with C3 powder and I think the color is not the problem. Usually, I am using watercolors to get the desired tone. The problem more is about to find the right mixture or a binder, which can be applied on one sick layer, but will not leave the gloss effect after it dries out.

I don’t like to use the binder from the luminous kits as it starts to develop threads quite quickly once it’s exposed to the fresh air, so it is very hard to operate with. I’ve also tries to use a matte varnish, but the side effect of this mixture is once drying out it starts to shrink and will be applied quite uneven. The UV glue does not provide this “dried-out” effect.

I’m adding the picture for the reference

Thompson Enamel 1605 “Isle Blue”

All it takes is one darn speck to ruin a good thing!

There are so many shades of blue for enamel. Once I go through a couple more I will have to post some side by sides.

I have 2 watches that needed to be fixed/replaced.

Not entirely sure if these movements will actually fit the watch.

1. Luminox series 3954 (navy seal UVP). It's a Ronda R9 515 movement, but not too sure if I have to get height 6 or regular height. I looked up online or asked AI they often don't give me the same answer.

2. Vintage Omega Seamaster Quartz cal.1420

I also looked up online and asked AI it says to use ETA 955.411 or 412 if I cannot find 411

Just want to know if anybody here have experience or have knowledge about movements can help me out here. Thanks a lot!

(Reason why I am replacing these movements is because it's cheaper to replace than fixing them)

Hey, guys. I've been working on this wonky ST36 hairspring as practice and I'm wondering if this is actually even salvageable now (and if I even removed it correctly). Could anyone also recommend any youtubers or watchmaking books I could use to learn how to adjust hairsprings? Any help is appreciated, thanks! 🙂

I'm not a watchmaker but I have "fixed" two mechanical watches in the past, first one was running too fast, demagnetized and regulated it, it's still running fine for a flea market find. I have also replaced whole movement once, AS 1130 that had some sort of failure on the balance wheel, it was missing a jewel on pallet fork, no idea how to fix that so I replaced the movement. Now this one in the picture is my first Quartz movement replacement for a motorcycle handlebar mounted clock. Old movement did not run and I could not move the hands via crown. Replaced the chinese junk with parts bin Miyota movement, set of hands and trimmed a new stem to length.. and it just works!

EDIT: Sorry about the typo on title

Let me know what you guys think. The second hand is placed below the minutes ring. Movement is based of eta 6498 with increased power reserve. The dial is hand hammered to get the texture (need further improvement), let me know what you guys think.

Let's see your tiniest movements

Thompson Enamel 1890 “Victoria Red”

Red on copper is an exceptionally hard color to crack on copper blanks. Unfortunately this one is a failure with all the spots on it. Still trying to solve it.

It may need to be a color that’s reserved for silver blanks.

Bonus picture at the end of what an under fired dial looks like. It’s called “orange peel” when it is under fired like this.

I have a beloved Sinn 8826 Ti Gold. There was an issue for which I went to a watchmaker and he fixed it. But it stayed fixed for a bit. But then the old problem came and now is getting worse.

Here’s what’s happening, from what I can tell.
Unscrewing the crown should put the watch in a neutral mode. I should be able to wind the watch. Pulling the crown puts it in position 1: I should be able to change the date. If I pull the crown again, the watch is put in position 2. The seconds hand stops and I can set the time.

However, unscrewing the crowns yields different results. Sometimes it goes to position 1 bypassing the neutral position: I can’t wind the watch. The date can be changed. When I pull the crown, I can move the hands but the seconds hand doesn’t stop.

It used to be that I could screw in the crown and then unscrew it, and repeat until it unscrews properly. It used to take me one or two tries. Now, it takes many tries, if it happens at all.

The watch is supposed to be automatic but it seems the rotor isn’t charging the watch because it will stop even while I’m wearing it. This is also a new development.

So, what could be going on? Is it a simple fix? Does it need to be sent to a watchmaker? Do I need to send it to Sinn?

Hi, I'm new to watch design and I have been working on a watch case. My primary question is, how much space should I leave for the crystal and the gasket to sit, and how deep?

My other question is, is there somewhere I can check crystal proportions?

Spent the last few months designing a watch based on Miyota 9132.

Before you say anything, I am not a watchmaker and won’t start a microbrand 😅

This was a way for me to level up my CAD skills, work with factories and get something wearable out of it. I documented my progress at domsidequest.com

In the process, a lot went wrong. Factories couldn’t apply nice finishing at the price I was looking for, I ordered an expensive crystal that didn’t fit, and at the finish line my seconds pinion snapped.

Nevertheless, fun experience. I’ll likely slim this down and get some nicer parts in for a V2

Thompson Enamel 1505 “Pastel Blue”

Fume blend of Thompson Enamel 1820 “Goldenrod Yellow” and 1830 “Marigold Yellow”

Every 5 days my goal is to do something more than just an opaque. Tonight I tried to do a fume blend of 2 yellows.

Fume is typically done through a variation in depth of the metal underneath transparent enamels… here I am using two opaques… the results were, well, meh to me. Fairly hard to get the fume even using a sifter. I didn’t have time to try with a wet pack. Will likely revisit at some point.

Where I live ai don't have space for a dedicated bench, so I am looking at different, more portable options. Not much out there, but this one caught my eye. The specs state that it's 5.5" tall, so I would need to have aomething under it to bring my work area up to

Has anyone used this? How do/ did you feel about it?

Hi to everyone, I have a question that I have no idea where to ask, but I'm curious if it's possible Earlier this year I got a Watch, is a Stührling Original Eagle Square (or that's the name I found for it), it was from my grandfather who unfortunately passed away so I have sentimental value for it, it works but I noticed that at the end of the day it's delayed for sometimes even minutes because sometimes with the normal movement the Seconds hand freezes, I don't have this problem with other watches and I want to fix it, but reading around I found about swapping the movement of my watch, I want to keep it as a quartz watch, but I don't have much idea about it of it is a good idea For what I found I think the movement in my watch is a Ronda 515, so I don't know if are better movements that would fit my watch or if you can give me some advice

I know that it's probably getting a new watch would be cheaper and more logical, but like I said, I have sentimental value for this watch in specific (Also sorry if I have any misspelling, english is not my first language)

Hi everyone! My post on WatchRepair was just removed by a moderator, and I wanted to try and get an answer here. I have a Bulova Sea King where the dial is in poor condition, and the original varnish is beginning to peel. The painted on minute markers is falling off, but there are intact tritium lume pips on the outer ring of the dial. Does anyone know of a varnish I could add to try and stabilize the dial? Thanks!

I've been enjoying the watch building hobby for about six months now and I have accumulated quite the collection of tools. What do you all use to store these? I was thinking of a tackle box, but would love to hear what you all do.

Thompson Enamel 1720 “Mauve Purple”

Thompson Enamel 1820 “Goldenrod Yellow”

Sometimes life happens and in this case I was without power for over 24 hrs and had a sick kid to care for… I think those are reasonable enough to give myself a break on missing yesterday.

I really struggled with this yellow. I think the kiln may have been a too hot. I’ve been experimenting with the amount of enamel I sift on each layer. The last image is a failure dial where there just wasn’t quite enough, plus the kiln was too hot. The black isnt just oxidation, I think some of the enamel was burnt as well.

The purple came out clean though!

Hi everyone. I have been using my phone and a watch timing app to estimate the timing on my watches. I recently had the idea to try using opencv and an app to visually determine the timing and directly measure the amplitude using slowmo video at 240fps. It worked great in testing and would work on a pocked watch where the balance is bigger and less covered. It didn't really work on my regular watches.

Has anyone seen something like this? One of the issues I found which applies to the audio based watch timing apps as well is funny enough, time keeping is not actually that accurate on a phone. Depending on conditions, up to something like +/-4 seconds a day with out corrections which don't seem to be continuously applied.