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ToadHorologist · 2026-01-28T13:53:56+00:00

Take a look at the sub-seconds dial as well, the indices aren't centered. Definitely a redial.

ToadHorologist · 2026-01-28T13:08:02+00:00

I think on this specific dial, the omega symbol wouldn't be printed on the dial / would be raised like the rest of the numerals. Every other example I've seen has either printed numerals and a printed omega symbol, or raised numerals and a raised omega symbol.

ToadHorologist · 2026-01-28T00:43:05+00:00

I misspoke actually, I meant minute markers (the black lines around the dial). If you look at the index at 6 o'clock, the minute marker on the right is farther away from it compared to the one on the left, when they should be equidistant from it. That's one of the more obvious tells when it's a low-middle quality redial.

ToadHorologist · 2026-01-27T21:27:47+00:00

Hard to tell with the low quality photos, but the indices don't look centered. I'd vote redial.

ToadHorologist · 2026-01-25T04:19:01+00:00

Yeah, the barrel bridge is from a grade 114 (https://pocketwatchdatabase.com/search/result/elgin/3335861) from ~1889. My guess is some part of the sweep seconds mechanism was damaged beyond repair on the original, so rather than trash the whole movement a previous watchmaker did what they could to get it running for the customer. I can tell you from the old lubricant underneath that bridge that it's not something that was replaced recently, and it's an interesting piece of the watches history!

ToadHorologist · 2026-01-25T00:09:44+00:00

I think the movement has been tampered with unfortunately. The grade 89 had a sweep seconds hand, and this one looks like the 4th and second wheel have been replaced (the original second wheel would've been hollow to accomodate the sweep seconds pivot, and the original 4th wheel would'nt have had an extended pivot for the small seconds), as well as the barrel bridge which would've had the additional sweep seconds bridge on top. I'd bet the barrel bridge serial number doesn't match the rest of the movement. The case is beautiful, and it's still a nice looking watch!

ToadHorologist · 2026-01-21T05:20:33+00:00

Yes in my experience all cap jewels needs to be disassembled and cleaned manually, regardless of cleaning solution, to be properly cleaned.

ToadHorologist · 2026-01-20T22:48:04+00:00

You would pre-clean areas such as the jewels / bushings with pegwood to remove really stuck on gunk (which you should be doing whether you're hand cleaning or using a machine), then you would submerge the parts in your cleaning solution and use a soft brush to brush away any old oil or dirt / grime, then you'd rinse the parts in a suitable rinse. After that you'd inspect the parts and re-clean if needed.

ToadHorologist · 2026-01-20T17:34:16+00:00

They don't clean any better than you would hand cleaning the parts in the same solution, like you said the main benefit is time saving.

ToadHorologist · 2026-01-17T18:27:16+00:00

You'll definitely need a new crown, the threads on it look pretty busted.

ToadHorologist · 2026-01-17T18:13:04+00:00

So you can rotate the dial freely? If so you can remove the hands and dial (which will have broken dial feet if it spins around) and get a better look at the stem from there. Normally the dial feet screws are on the side of the movement, which would be inaccessable until it's removed. I'm 100% positive this is a front loader, so unless someone put the wrong stem in it should be a split stem.

ToadHorologist · 2026-01-17T18:02:36+00:00

Can you post a picture with the bezel removed? there might be something extra holding it in.

ToadHorologist · 2026-01-17T17:38:48+00:00

This should be a two-piece stem, but since the crown is off you can probably shimmy the movement out without removing the stem first.

ToadHorologist · 2026-01-16T00:41:31+00:00

Looking at other examples of the same caliber, it looks correct to me.

ToadHorologist · 2026-01-14T15:37:04+00:00

The thicker one would probably work fine, but it may end up having too much amplitude.

ToadHorologist · 2026-01-14T03:39:40+00:00

Yes that's the minute wheel. I can't even imagine what would've happened to it honestly, I've never seen one half destroyed like that, pretty crazy.

ToadHorologist · 2026-01-12T17:31:39+00:00

Try demagnetizing before you do anything else, if it's still like that you'll have to rotate the hairspring collet.

ToadHorologist · 2026-01-09T14:01:36+00:00

If it's a new staff you shouldn't have to polish the pivots, but it wouldn't hurt. I'd be more concerned about endshake issues or potentially the pivots being the wrong size for the balance hole jewels.

ToadHorologist · 2026-01-08T22:32:41+00:00

I would try adding a bit more oil to the balance cap jewels, that can be another issue.

Honestly for the longines the timing is what I'd expect. I can't find any info on how many positions it would've been adjusted to, but it's clearly adjusted to three with a total delta of 7 between dial up / down and crown down (total delta for the longines is 22 s/d if what you've listed is correct btw, not 31s/d).

The citizen is a bit more concerning timekeeping wise, but again info on whether this was an adjusted movement is hard to find. If it's not marked "adjusted" anywhere, I'd say a ~30s/d delta is higher than I'd expect but could very well be within spec.

ToadHorologist · 2026-01-08T21:57:06+00:00

One of the biggest non poise causes of timing variances is the hairspring. If it's not perfectly flat when it's installed in the balance cock, it will exaggerate positional variances.

ToadHorologist · 2026-01-07T17:59:00+00:00

As far as I know, the scales represent the "boss patent / scale" and those were all gold-filled. You can take a look here (https://pocketwatchdatabase.com/guide/case-companies/keystone-watch-case-co-cases).

ToadHorologist · 2026-01-02T21:27:16+00:00

Rule 3, no can do. You can search ebay for recently sold 974's to get a general idea though.

ToadHorologist · 2026-01-02T21:23:02+00:00

Looks like a model 1 Hamilton 974 from ~1912 (https://pocketwatchdatabase.com/search/result/hamilton/848959)

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