I fixed my dad's watch!!!

For those of you reading the group, you'll know I have a love for the watch my dad gave me 25 years ago. I also RUINED that watch 24 years ago.....and have felt like poop ever since.

I bought a watch on ebay for it's movement, since it was an identical movement other than there were no jewels but one in it (mine has 17). I looked for a watchmaker that was willing (HA HA HA) to swap the balance wheel and hairspring assembly from the ebay movement to my old watch. No one was willing to touch my watch. Although it was Swiss, and genuinely so from the mid 70's.....no one could "find parts for it". DUH! I was willing to sacrifice the brand NOS movement for the balance wheel assy. Still, none of these snobs would do it. I paid $50 for the donor watch including shipping.

So, I downed a few adult beverages, and got the guts to try it myself. Mind you, I have never seen the inside of a watch, without f**king it up when I messed with it. The very reason this watch needed repair was because I'd messed with it.

Lo and behold, I fixed it myself. I changed the entire balance wheel and hairspring assembly without messing anything up!!!!! It actually was adjusted right on the money, too. It (the wheel assy) ran well in the donor watch, and ran just as well in my dad's!!!

I cannot believe how easy it was, but moreover, I was amazed that, for the first time in my life, I was able to crack a watch case open and SOLVE a problem, rather than CAUSE a problem!!!

A lot of blah about nothing, unless you find it interesting......here's a "wristie" (yes, a bad pic, but what the hey):

looks like a nice watch,what kind is it?maybe you got your second calling there Twall,watch repairman.I collect watches to some extant,I inhearted my dad's Accutron which is one of the world's first elec. wristwatch,but I perfer the old windups and automatics...russ

Twall, congrats on your handyman skills, I have taken my Blackberry apart a few times to replace certain parts but would never tackle something like your project.

Is that a standard wind up movement with digital display ?

Looks like it is built like a tank !
Outstanding - Glad you didn't mess it up this time
and can feel better about it ! :thumbsup:

twall said:

I cannot believe how easy it was, but moreover, I was amazed that, for the first time in my life, I was able to crack a watch case open and SOLVE a problem, rather than CAUSE a problem!!!

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Great job...
I think as we get older, everyone gets more cautiously deliberate in most things we do... Either that or we tend to get luckier... :smile:KennyV

Kenny, I also think as we get older we have more confidence in our abilities because we learned (hopefully) from our mistakes. I remember the first house I owned back in '74, I did not even want to replace a wall outlet. Skip ahead to 2005, I rewired an entire 2000 square foot two story barn and a new sub panel was added. If you had told me 30 years prior to that 2005 project I would have that abilty my response would have been "YOU ARE NUTS"! Sent from mobile.

173abn said:

looks like a nice watch,what kind is it?maybe you got your second calling there Twall,watch repairman.I collect watches to some extant,I inhearted my dad's Accutron which is one of the world's first elec. wristwatch,but I perfer the old windups and automatics...russ

Click to expand...

It's a very, VERY rare 1976(?) Andre Rivalle - E. Gluck's Swiss brand. E. Gluck's most famous brand is Armitron..:wink: My mom bought this for my dad father's day in either 1975 or 1976. My dad gave it to me in 1986.

BKBrown said:

Is that a standard wind up movement with digital display ?

Looks like it is built like a tank !
Outstanding - Glad you didn't mess it up this time
and can feel better about it ! :thumbsup:

Click to expand...

Yeah, it's a manual wind 17 jewel movement with a "jump hour". The hour starts to change at 5 minutes till, and snaps (or 'jumps') to the next hour at about two min. til. I have put two pics below that illustrate this 'jumping' motion: 2:56AM, and 2:58AM. [photos in separate post]

That case is solid steel! Not as heavy on the wrist as it looks, though. Yes, you certainly know it's there, but it isn't uncomfortable, or any heavier than many stainless automatics.

I have $65 in the restoration. $50 for the donor watch, $15 for the wristband. The wristband is almost IDENTICAL to the original - I still have a few links from it. Took awhile searching to find one with a straight end and large links!

Thanks, everyone, for sharing in my triumph. :thumbsup:

JDgreen said:

Twall, congrats on your handyman skills, I have taken my Blackberry apart a few times to replace certain parts but would never tackle something like your project.

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Being horribly nearsighted helped a lot in this project. I can see stuff with my naked eye that a lot of people can't see with a loupe (because I can hold it so close to get it in focus)!

Here's two pics of the hour "jumping". Also, a pic of my two-year old Stauer Dashtronic (21 jewel self-winding automatic), which is simmilar, but not a jumping motion. (I modded it by putting a Rolex-style band on it - had to do a lot of shaping to those curved filler panels to get them to work. Originally had a black leather strap):

That is quite an accomplishment and quite a bad-ass watch. Love that Stauer too. Vintage watches like that look super cool, they have soul, and they convey "character sans pretension" unlike a gold Rolex which says, "I sold a ripoff investment to your grandma and here's my commission."

You have to have a special gift to work on things that small, a gift I don't have, so I had a heck of a time working on my RC helicopter. Every repair was... 1. Mount goggle sized reading glasses. 2. Move small part into position while holding breath 3. Drop part on floor and hear it roll into HVAC floor register, and then eventually... 4. Sell RC helicopter at a huge loss and give up dream of shaming Alan Szabo with mad skilz. 5. Tell yourself you didn't fail because you gave up, it was because top RC heli pilots have Romanian circus performer DNA and Intel microchip technicians doing their repairs.

Nice job honoring your dad's good taste in bling.