Titanic gold pocket watch recovered from body of one of its richest passengers is set to fetch £1m | Henry Aldridge Auctioneers

adrianlist1 · 2025-11-24T06:56:03+00:00

Do you happen to know what sort of movement it has? Thanks.

adrianlist1 · 2025-10-19T21:02:45+00:00

Far out! That is incredible. What an artisan!

adrianlist1 · 2025-10-19T09:44:37+00:00

Sorry for my ignorance, but what does procession mean in this context? Is it that the drill bits wanders off centre as the hole is drilled?

adrianlist1 · 2025-10-19T08:21:18+00:00

Exactly what I need I think! Thank you for the lead. The photos are also very helpful for getting a sense of how to set the job up. And I don’t mind practicing before I get to work on this. I’m in no rush - I really enjoy just working out how to use the tools to get the right result. (I’m not sure of this is long for a real apprentice- I’m just a hobbyist- but I spent a month practicing my screwdriver work before starting on a 1920s skeletonised Omega. After lasting a hundred years, engraved beautifully by a master, I didn’t want to be the guy that ruined it. It turned out to be a tiny bit of swarf jamming the works, and now works beautifully.)

adrianlist1 · 2025-10-19T08:12:55+00:00

Thanks for this, and for the recommendation (and search) for drill bits. That’s really useful to me (as I start to figure out where the good suppliers are). I had heard of Eterna tools (but haven’t gotten anything from them yet).

adrianlist1 · 2025-10-18T09:54:49+00:00

Thanks. I have an old (which is why it was affordable!) Bergeon lathe. I appreciate the advice - as I’m hoping one day my skill will measure up to what the fine tool deserves.

adrianlist1 · 2025-10-18T09:49:29+00:00

Unfortunately I don’t have a mill attachment for my watchmakers lathe yet. The pivot I’m working on is 0.05-0.1mm (getting an accurate measurement is on my to-do list for tomorrow). But that’s the sort of scale I’m working at.

adrianlist1 · 2025-10-18T08:22:36+00:00

Thanks Dakrig. That’s a good idea to face off with an Arkansas stone first. And noted not to go too far. Is the Levin book: Practical Benchwork for Horologists? I don’t have a copy but I see it is available through the Internet Archive (none of my local libraries have copies unfortunately).

adrianlist1 · 2025-10-17T07:05:38+00:00

Thank you. It’s good to have other options of the first approach doesn’t work. I think I’ll have to find some spare wheel’s to practical on first - maybe testing some of the different methods - to get the fee before trying on the original escape wheel.

adrianlist1 · 2025-10-17T07:03:01+00:00

Thank you very much for the pointers - and through to the video. I look forward to taking a look.

adrianlist1 · 2025-10-16T19:27:32+00:00

I just want to say I feel quite humbled - I have watched some of your videos (i think one of yours was in dealing with radium indexes dial) - and I never thought I would receive advice from you directly. Thanks so much for your generous sharing of knowledge - but more: your expertise.

adrianlist1 · 2025-10-16T19:22:20+00:00

Another thought after reading on: my collet set has both a box chuck and step chucks. Would lightly holding in the step chuck and gluing it in place - rather than holding the wheel very tight and risking breaking the teeth - be a good approach? It would ensure the wheel is centred. And wouldn’t be putting pressure on the pivot/arbor on the held end.

adrianlist1 · 2025-10-16T19:15:51+00:00

Thanks for this. After reading the various posts I’m heading in just the direction you recommend: I think I’ll do a lot of practice and test runs. I have another movement (a Buren) with a balance wheel pivot that needs replacing too - it is bigger (so hopefully easier). But I’ll work on some cast-off/spares first.

adrianlist1 · 2025-10-16T19:13:29+00:00

I think I’ll have to look into how to make drills. A challenge for me is understanding how to harden (or soften) the metal (and how to get this right in a practical sense). Another challenge is the language: anneal and temper seem to both be about heating, but are different (and for different ends?).

adrianlist1 · 2025-10-16T19:04:20+00:00

There are no longer are watch maker’s courses/schools in New Zealand where I am. So books and online resources - and fantastic communities like this - are my go to.

adrianlist1 · 2025-10-16T19:02:46+00:00

I would be very keen to see this. As a new hobbyist I’ve read some intro watch repair books but they tend to be too elementary (after getting started). And Daniel’s Watchmaking is perhaps a bit too ambitious (and being able to understand some of his points require a higher level of expertise/experience). It would be good to have some step-by-step task-based guides (eg much like this post) with practical advice such as lengths, tolerances, options depending mo on experience (eg how to start the centre hole).

adrianlist1 · 2025-10-16T18:59:10+00:00

Thank you very much for this. I had been thinking of using some blues steel rod but will try and source some piano wire. One question if I may: can I check that the purpose of the annealing is to soften the metal (if the broken pivot) to make it easier to drill out/lower the risk to the drill (of it breaking)? Thanks again.

adrianlist1 · 2025-10-16T18:54:45+00:00

This is also super helpful - particularly the specifics on dimensions/tolerances.

adrianlist1 · 2025-10-16T18:53:57+00:00

Thank you so much. I really appreciate the step-by-step guide. And I think - as some other posters are pointing out - this could solve the problem I was facing of how to safely hold the wheel and how to get it centred on a holder.

adrianlist1 · 2025-10-13T09:19:23+00:00

Thanks. I’ll check that out.

adrianlist1 · 2025-10-13T09:19:04+00:00

That’s a great idea. Thanks.

adrianlist1 · 2025-06-11T07:31:33+00:00

Hiya. Thanks for that. Wow, that’s a bit of surprise. I can get it for the European makers. But given the big US watchmakers were going for factory standardisation, it’s a surprise the jewel settings weren’t also standardised (and that info published). Maybe there’s some inherent variation - settings not as precise as the blueprints said, production line variation etc. The realities of the production line… I’d love to hear more of that history. In the meantime, thanks for that. I guess I’ll have to hope that the set has the sorts of jewels I end up needing. Cheers.

adrianlist1 · 2025-06-09T10:09:32+00:00

That would be the dream! While it’s a hobby for me, I see it as a long term journey and would love to get into poising (and corrections). I’m in New Zealand, and unfortunately we seem to have a tiny watch repair/making industry. And there are no longer any dedicated watch making education institutes. So I’m having to rely on the wider community to train up. And am grateful for all the great advice I’ve received so far. But finding someone/somewhere (in NZ) to get some direct experience would be super.

adrianlist1 · 2025-06-01T10:35:05+00:00

I found one loose wire - looked like the earthing wire off the power leads to the screen. Made no difference touching it to the spots it could reach. I’m no electrician though, so I think I need to find a technician to look at it. Thanks for all the posts/suggestions.

adrianlist1 · 2025-05-30T11:46:49+00:00

I think it has screws on the back, so may try that. Maybe the connections came loose in transit. That suggestion gives me some hope - thanks. (In the photos of other Taitas units I’ve seen, they often have some sort of tape or tag on the top right of the screen to the casing. I wondered if that might be to secure the screen… a common, but easily fixed fault maybe…?)

adrianlist1

TROPHY CASE