TeeJay Posted October 31, 2007 Report Share Posted October 31, 2007 The 111h was returned to me today, having had the movement stripped and cleaned of glass dust. As I'm still waiting on the replacement caseback, I wasn't able to wear the watch. I wound it when I got home from town, (only needed about 8 turns)and left the watch to sit. After dinner, I noticed that the watch had stopped after about 5 hours, so I wound it again (about 5 turns) and this time, it stopped after about 20 mintues. It's pretty obvious that something's wrong with it, but when I go in tomorrow, I'll need to tell them what to tell the watchsmith to fix (if it's fixable) Any ideas? Other than stopping, the watch itself is keeping good time, and it is not completely unwinding, as it's only needed a few turns to get it going again. One other piece of abnormal behaviour, is that gently moving the crown to set the hands backwards, is no longer freezing/reversing the second sweep, so something's obviously not right there either. So.. What should I tell them? Is it likely to be something repairable, or is it something which would require a new movement? If it's something which requires a new movement, would it be as easy to get them to order a replacement watch? I know that at this cost, the watches are pretty disposeable, and, it's not like it has any sentimental value like some of my other watches, but, I paid for a service and cleaning, and expect the movement to function as it did prior to getting clogged, or at least be compensated for their damage to my property. What do folks think? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deltatahoe Posted October 31, 2007 Report Share Posted October 31, 2007 assuming i'm understanding your post correctly (namely that you paid for the watch to be serviced and it came back w/ no power reserve), i would first suggest that you find a new watchmaker. i'm guessing you didn't get a true servicing but rather some sort of quickie "swish & dip" (see a discussion/post from ziggy about these here), and your watchmaker (obviously) didn't test & regulate the movement after his so called servicing. if it were me, i'd demand my money back and set out to find a new watchmaker that will service your watch using the traditional method with a full breakdown... good luck getting this resolved deltatahoe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alt.watch.obsessive Posted October 31, 2007 Report Share Posted October 31, 2007 I'd give it a full wind before reaching any conclusions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eunomians Posted October 31, 2007 Report Share Posted October 31, 2007 Sounds like your watchmaker is a lazy bum. Just so that you know, when students in watchmaking school first learn how to clean/disassemble/reassemble watches, the first movement they learn with is the Unitas 649x series. Why? Because they are big and super super easy to repair! Never go back to that watchmaker. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishgodeep Posted November 1, 2007 Report Share Posted November 1, 2007 TJ- Given that it keeps accurate time when running it sounds to me like the dial has slipped or is not secured to the movement face correctly..... so maybe the small second hand is catching the dial when it moves and stops the movement......some of these 111-H dials can be quite thick. Does it start again after a gentle . sharp tap on the side or back ? Could well be a simple fix if so..... Suggest take it back ....get it fixed ....and never ever go to them again...:-) Ziggy always FGD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TeeJay Posted November 1, 2007 Author Report Share Posted November 1, 2007 assuming i'm understanding your post correctly (namely that you paid for the watch to be serviced and it came back w/ no power reserve), i would first suggest that you find a new watchmaker. i'm guessing you didn't get a true servicing but rather some sort of quickie "swish & dip" (see a discussion/post from ziggy about these here), and your watchmaker (obviously) didn't test & regulate the movement after his so called servicing. if it were me, i'd demand my money back and set out to find a new watchmaker that will service your watch using the traditional method with a full breakdown... good luck getting this resolved deltatahoe That would be correct. The movement had jammed when glass dust got blown into the movement from when the caseback shattered, and I was told the watch simply required a strip down, clean and reassembly as it shouldn't've involved mechanical damage/replacement parts. (I'll have a read of the thread in a moment, but thanks for the link ) I'd give it a full wind before reaching any conclusions. This is the thing, from not running, it would only turn a few times before reaching it's winding limit, so I took that to mean that it was fully wound. Since my post, it has actually been running consistently, so I'm going to wind it now (midnight my time) and see how long it runs for overnight before/if it stops. Sounds like your watchmaker is a lazy bum. Just so that you know, when students in watchmaking school first learn how to clean/disassemble/reassemble watches, the first movement they learn with is the Unitas 649x series. Why? Because they are big and super super easy to repair! Never go back to that watchmaker. I have to admit, I'm not particularly impressed with their skills (they scuffed up the bezel insert of my Planet Ocean when that was in for regulation and waterproofing), but, I figure I'll give them the chance to correct the problem either by fixing the problem, or replacing it entirely. Given the cost of the watch, it'll probably be as cheap for them to replace it. The only reason I'd use them again, is that they are a jewellers rather than a specialist watchsmith, and they send the watches out to a watchsmith who is nearing retirement, so chances are, they'll be using a new guy in the not too distant future, and, I have a few other jewellery projects in the pipeline with them, so I don't want to completely severe ties yet. Thanks for the heads up though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TeeJay Posted November 1, 2007 Author Report Share Posted November 1, 2007 TJ- Given that it keeps accurate time when running it sounds to me like the dial has slipped or is not secured to the movement face correctly..... so maybe the small second hand is catching the dial when it moves and stops the movement......some of these 111-H dials can be quite thick. Does it start again after a gentle . sharp tap on the side or back ? Could well be a simple fix if so..... Suggest take it back ....get it fixed ....and never ever go to them again...:-) Ziggy always FGD It doesn't appear to be a jamming problem, but thanks for the suggestion. Nothing gets it to start again, other than winding, but even then, it was only a few twists before it was fully wound. I think that's the thing that's confused me the most, in that the movement isn't fully unwinding itself, it's just 'stopping' for no reason... I'll see how it is tomorrow, and see how they handle it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TeeJay Posted November 1, 2007 Author Report Share Posted November 1, 2007 Okay, overnight review... I was woken up about 7:50, and the watch was still ticking merrily away, and at accurate time. I went back to sleep, wondering if it had needed a 'break in' period ( ) when I got up at 10, I found the watch had stopped at 8:05 So whatever was wrong with it last night is still wrong with it now, so back to the watchsmith's it'll have to go, and they can either repair or replace. Time will tell. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sweattdogg Posted November 1, 2007 Report Share Posted November 1, 2007 Sounds like there is some problem for sure. It should take 40 or so turns to fully wind. Rather then thinking the watch isn't winding down, maybe it just isn't winding up fully. Hopefully you will just need an adjustment, but I agree to find a new watch maker to work on your watches. If it still doesn't work, the new movements look great. I'd pick one of those up and have The Zigmeister or someone drop it in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TeeJay Posted November 2, 2007 Author Report Share Posted November 2, 2007 Sounds like there is some problem for sure. It should take 40 or so turns to fully wind. Rather then thinking the watch isn't winding down, maybe it just isn't winding up fully. Hopefully you will just need an adjustment, but I agree to find a new watch maker to work on your watches. If it still doesn't work, the new movements look great. I'd pick one of those up and have Ziggy or someone drop it in. That's an interesting perspective, thanks for the suggestion From a tactile point of view while winding, would there be a difference? The only thing that makes me think that it's a problem with it not winding down, is that when it stopped, it only needed an appropriate number of turns for the time it had been running prior to stopping (ie 1-2 turns after a few hours, 8-10 turns after 8 hours 10 minutes (overnight ) ) so it seemed that it was using an amount of the stored energy. Time will tell if they're capable of restoring the watch's original power reserve performance, but if they can't, I'll insist on them replacing the movement or whole watch as, yes, it was jammed before they had it, but, it was otherwise functioning, and I never had a problem with the watch's power reserve before they 'cleaned' it. Given the time and expense to replace the movement, it might be as easy (and cheap) for them to replace the entire watch, so that might be the easiest option for them. Time will tell Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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