Guide: Repairing used watches

In general, it is said that wristwatches are the painful children of the watchmaker. Accordingly, the quality of watches suffers if the watchmakers are not concentrated. Used watches, however, can be repaired by anyone with fewer tips.

The workplace and the crown

If you don't want to spend a lot of money at the jeweller's, you can try to repair the watch yourself. Before you get to work, you should first clean up your workstation or sort and prepare the tools you will need later on. Tidying up not only makes the watchmaker's work easier, but also saves time. Regardless of whether it is a luxury watch or a branded watch, every used watch can show some damage. Care must be taken right from the disassembly stage, because discovering the true fault can save a great deal of time during the repair process. First of all, the crown should be inspected, and you immediately notice whether the size and distance from the case is correct. If the crown is worn out and no longer available, it must be replaced. Pulling out the crown to adjust the hands must be possible without much effort. If this is a bit too heavy, a slight weakening in the longitudinal direction of the spring, which blocks the angle lever in its respective position, is sufficient. If this spring does not exist in the caliber, the crown is fixed by the position of the parts in relation to each other. In order for the crown to function properly, the shape must be perfect and have sharp edges on the working parts.

The hands

After the crown has been checked, it is now moved to the inside of the movement. To do this, the hands must first be lifted off. The safest way to do this is with two small steel levers, which are pushed underneath the hour hand. Then raise both hands simultaneously. To avoid damaging the dial, a small celluloid plate should be placed under the hands. In order to process the small pointers, a pair of pliers is usually made from an old pair of pliers. With it, even small wristwatch hands can be held very securely for rubbing. Over time, the metal dial has often become very worn and needs to be cleaned. The easiest method is cleaning with cyanide, but you should not use too much, as the numbers may lose color. A harmless alternative is the "Cremor Tartari", which is available in the drugstore. This can be gently rubbed in with water and fingertip, optionally a small brush can be used for the relief leaves.