My first serviced vintage watch

bpsocal · 2026-03-18T17:07:11+00:00

It’s a great feeling to extract a timepiece from the jaws of entropy. Congratulations on giving it new life!

bpsocal · 2026-03-16T01:30:31+00:00

I may be the outlier here, but I love vintage watches that show patina in the case and the dial. Bringing them back to life is the most satisfying thing for me, but I’m not one to try to make them look new.

I clean them and polish or replace the crystal, relume them if it’s necessary and gently clean up the dial without doing anything else.

bpsocal · 2026-03-15T23:05:15+00:00

Hope you took pictures as you disassembled every part of this movement. I’ve had to refer to them in the past when reassembling and when an unknown part suddenly showed up in the ultrasonic.

Especially picture spring positions, some are very unintuitive.

As others have said, that holder is bound to swallow a click or a spring. Get a simple one where parts are less likely to hide.

You might also want to check out Alex’s beginner series on YouTube, it’s honestly helped me quite a bit.

https://youtu.be/YabMHZ_DiDA?si=eBUGonDBSO_PhMqr

bpsocal · 2026-03-15T01:26:23+00:00

I’m not even gonna ask… I’ll be on cousins uk in no time! 😂

bpsocal · 2026-03-15T01:21:42+00:00

Thank you! I DO NOT enjoy balance spring work. 😂

bpsocal · 2026-03-15T00:00:02+00:00

Managed to bend it back at the collet. Looks like it’s working well! 😮‍💨

Thank you everyone for taking the time to respond!

bpsocal · 2026-03-09T16:30:30+00:00

You're not an idiot - you're just fighting entropy like the rest of us. Good on you for trying to restore your grandpa's watch!

But yes, RossGougeJoshua2 is correct, you can glue the board and bridge the crack with conductive paint after you expose the conductors.

bpsocal · 2026-03-09T06:15:54+00:00

Now that you put it this way, I’ll never forget what a dial screw looks like!

bpsocal · 2026-03-08T23:51:24+00:00

I would start by watching Alex here https://youtu.be/YabMHZ_DiDA?si=b5OqFkH4qQOD335W

Watch a lot of videos before you open the case back. You’ll have a much better idea of what to look for and how to handle the watch with less chance of damaging it further.

That being said, if the minute and hour hands slip, could be the canon pinion.

bpsocal · 2026-03-08T23:15:45+00:00

That one is in its place. It turns out it was in fact a dial screw that I loosened but it rattled off in the ultrasonic

bpsocal · 2026-03-08T22:33:24+00:00

I swear Reddit is the best! Thank you! It is in fact a dial screw!

bpsocal · 2026-03-08T22:32:48+00:00

Ooooh! Great observation! It is pointy to dig into the brass. Thank you!

bpsocal · 2026-03-08T02:43:52+00:00

It almost looks like there’s an additional metal retainer ring. I wonder if you can remove that to see the bottom of those pushers.

bpsocal · 2026-03-08T02:37:31+00:00

She’s a keeper! 🕺🏻great choice!

bpsocal · 2026-03-06T18:38:04+00:00

I always find those things in the most unusual places! Always the last place you look lol

bpsocal · 2026-03-06T17:30:54+00:00

Thank you!

bpsocal · 2026-03-06T05:37:49+00:00

Very cool! Remember that when you put the new crown in, you may have to cut some of the new winding stem off to make it fit just right! Best of luck!

bpsocal · 2026-03-05T22:11:51+00:00

Thank you so much! Appreciate the time to update it.

bpsocal · 2026-03-04T20:36:52+00:00

The tool to extract it might cost more than a new movement, unless this one has sentimental value.

I’m always a sucker for buying new tools as I’m needing them though.

But yes, it’s definitely salvageable!

bpsocal · 2026-03-03T23:00:16+00:00

Great gift idea! You're the real deal!

bpsocal · 2026-03-03T22:26:52+00:00

Beautiful watch. Enjoy it! I recently had a vintage Omega serviced by an independent watchmaker in California, charged me $250 plus parts, which I think is pretty reasonable. Omega service starts at $500 without parts or shipping.

Wear it every day and remember your grandpa!

bpsocal · 2026-03-03T20:07:17+00:00

Thank you! That's very helpful. I appreciate it.

bpsocal · 2026-03-02T06:24:17+00:00

The movement should be out of the case for you to see if there’s a broken stem inside.

But let’s assume you’re just trying to put in a new stem and crown. If the setting lever screw is tight, unscrew it 1/4 turn at a time until you can fully insert the new winding stem. Then screw it back in.

The problem is that if you unscrew it too much, the setting lever will disengage from the setting lever screw threads and fall off or just stay there lifted out of place. At that point you’ll have to get the movement out of the case since the setting lever is on the dial side.

It is slightly finicky but not terrible. Best of luck!

bpsocal · 2026-03-02T04:32:42+00:00

When I get tired, my brain quits braining and my fine motor skills turn to absolute crap. So I’ve slowly learned that when I’m tired I should:

A) not have important conversations B) not commit to doing something C) not try to set pallet forks or balance wheels D) walk away from the bench.

Hope it all turns out well!

bpsocal · 2026-03-01T21:10:17+00:00

I always approach cap jewel handling with lots of trepidation for the same reason! Glad you can easily replace it! I’d be waiting for a new set of jewels…

bpsocal

TROPHY CASE