Are you all watchsmiths ?

[Chaotik]

Hi everyone.

I was wondering if all of you had a lot of experience opening up and fixing watches.

I mean, I have read a lot of the tutorials and it doesn't look very difficult but at the same time, are those skills that you developped over the years or is it within reach of just any newbie to open a watch to see what movement is in it and perform a few little fixes ?

Thanks for your answers !

[assasi9]

take it from me, its not for any newbie!

[Guest carlsbadrolex]

YES, we are all qualified and certified watch makers.

Here is one of our esteemed finest and a tale of woe...

http://www.rwg.cc/members/index.php?showtopic=72219

PS: NightStroker is a friend, and this was not meant as a dig against him... Just a tale of woe for a new guy to read and learn from!

[fotoman]

only 46% of us are watchsmiths

the rest of us, just smiths

me, i'm john smith

[Ztech]

Opening up a watch and drooling over the movement is one thing, but meddling around inside of it is completely different. I'd suggest saving yourself from lots of heartache and just leave that stuff to the experts.

[rodwc]

Hi everyone.

I was wondering if all of you had a lot of experience opening up and fixing watches.

I mean, I have read a lot of the tutorials and it doesn't look very difficult but at the same time, are those skills that you developped over the years or is it within reach of just any newbie to open a watch to see what movement is in it and perform a few little fixes ?

Thanks for your answers !

Hi and welcome, I`m Allan Smith

In answer to your question, I would say that 95% of the members are fully experienced in OPENING up watches,

now FIXING them is another tale alltogether.

If you have a mechanical aptitude , then by all means find the how to and put it into practice.

I suggest pulling an old watch apart then re-assemble and make it run and keep time.

Be prepared for failure.

One BIG NO NO , don`t ever pull a piece down , totally f-ck it up , then send it to someone to be put right.

Take it slowly and enjoy.

A final word of warning , Don`t give up your day job just yet.

[teddy boy]

Hi everyone.

I was wondering if all of you had a lot of experience opening up and fixing watches.

I mean, I have read a lot of the tutorials and it doesn't look very difficult but at the same time, are those skills that you developped over the years or is it within reach of just any newbie to open a watch to see what movement is in it and perform a few little fixes ?

Thanks for your answers !

I only work on watches in my spare time when I'm not performing open heart surgery or cracking open someone's head as a neuro surgeon. As in the case of my watch expertise, my heart surgery and neurosurgery skills were aquired by visiting enthusiast forums and paying careful attention to the real experts who post there. It's just amazing what you can learn on this internet-web thing, I really believe it might catch on.

The truthful answer is that I just bought a new bracelet for my airking and my watch maker will have to put the gen clasp on the aftermarket bracelet.

[vric]

I start to learn and work in watches for fun using TZ. No, it's not as easy as the tutorial show it. There is a lot of small part in there and you really need to develop skills.

But I think the first thing is to forget the fear. Yes, you will break something. Yes, you will loose that damn small spring. If you aren't ready to break something, pass hours to fix it and pay for extra parts, then forget it.

I'm about at 97% of completing my first PAM which I assembled completely from scratch as a learning project (striped the movement, cleaned, serviced, assembling) and yesterday I broke the stem. The last thing I had to do before putting back the crown guard and enjoying my watch. This is sometime frustrating, but it's part of the game.

[vric]

oh and btw what's up with all the jackhead post lately? Can a newbie expect an useful reply to his question or all thread will end up in an ironical flame war ?!?

[rkdk]

oh and btw what's up with all the jackhead post lately? Can a newbie expect an useful reply to his question or all thread will end up in an ironical flame war ?!?

x2

i dont get it either. We were all once noobs, and those movements do look very complicated.

[fotoman]

me personally, i don't make mean comments, just funny ones - usually because of crazy topics. - This topic was well thought out - except for the fact that there are over 10k members registered on the site and the site has TONS of action - i doubt there are 10k watchmakers in the world - at least ones that are interested in fake watches - and know how to use the internet. - this is if you don't count the thousands of people making 5 cents a day in china putting together canal street rolexes

Also - a quick review of the outline of the forum would show that we have special sections for watchmaker guys and services - and reading any thread by The Zigmeister would show that most of us say how cool it is we have someone to explain this stuff to us.

in addition - dude has his question answered so - I felt free t make a funny

cmon don't you guys read those ridiculous thread titles and have a snappy answer.

[Chaotik]

I didn't realize it was a ridiculous thread or anything.

Nevertheless, thanks to those of you who answered.

I guess the next step is to become a paying member so I can read The Zigmeister's posts and perhaps get a little respect from some of the old timers around here.

[owdeguy]

If you want to play, please do one thing. Know when to say when to stop. I've seen so many watches that people have destroyed beyond repair its sad. If things take a turn for the worse, think about whether your next move will ruin it or maybe you should sell/send off/do something else with it.

[Ztech]

If you want to play, please do one thing. Know when to say when to stop. I've seen so many watches that people have destroyed beyond repair its sad. If things take a turn for the worse, think about whether your next move will ruin it or maybe you should sell/send off/do something else with it.

^^^ This is good advice. I can't tell you how many 6497's that I've thrown at the wall already.

[freddy333]

I was wondering if all of you had a lot of experience opening up and fixing watches.

I mean, I have read a lot of the tutorials and it doesn't look very difficult but at the same time, are those skills that you developped over the years or is it within reach of just any newbie to open a watch to see what movement is in it and perform a few little fixes ?

There are 2 things you need to be able to repair a mechanical watch -- the proper tools & the proper skills.

The tools can be purchased from ofrei.com or most watch supply houses. The skills require either some type of training (try timezone.com's Watch Class) followed by lots & lots of practice, or alot of trial-and-error experience followed by lots & lots of damaged movements & practice. Once you acquire the tools, the rest is just a matter of time & effort.

[fotoman]

I didn't realize it was a ridiculous thread or anything.

Nevertheless, thanks to those of you who answered.

I guess the next step is to become a paying member so I can read The Zigmeister's posts and perhaps get a little respect from some of the old timers around here.

if you read the first paragraph of my post it said "this thread topic was well thought out" - i went on to say, there are lots of rediculous thread topics that always cause a snappy answer to come to mind.

i actually didn't think my response was all that snappy - i thought it was kind of funny - maybe it was just me

You don't have to really earn anybody's respect if you don't like. Youl still get your questions answered, especially if they are well asked as this one was. - Of course, i forget that we made The Zigmeister's section VIP only - so, i guess that part wouldn't have been obvious to you. I've been doing this awhile and the whole, pay for additional content is new.

were a pretty friendly group - unless you come in and ask for The Best Place to buy a Sub - Or, frankly any brand for that matter these days

[Pugwash]

If you are not patient, don't waste money on even the most basic of tools. If you've ever used a butter knife to change a plug, don't open any watches you like. If you're learning, learn on your own watches, no matter how much people beg for you to have a go on theirs.

If you're patient and methodical, you'll still muck up a watch every now and then, until you're really good. Many of us are still at this stage, myself included.

[jkerouac]

I have tremendous confidence in my ability to ..... change a strap or resize a band.... at least until I realize that I'm in danger of stripping a screw.

As for taking a watch apart, I've only done that with watches that were essentially broken or worthless to begin with. I nver ahve been able to put one back together again.

For anything else, I don't have the training, tools, eyesight, steady hands, or patience to do the work that someone else can do relatively quickly and well for a relatively reasonable sum.

I have tremendous admiration for those on the board who have these skills, especially if they are essentially self taught. I salute you all.

[vric]

I buy movement to work on them.. Best practice and if you screwup, no watch was harmed in the process

There is some very cheap asian 6497 around. So is the Chinese copy of ETA 2836. They aren't great movement, but for few buck, you can develop your skill (I started with a real swiss 6497-1.. hopefully nothing bad happened to it and I disassembled it 2 times to finally redo it again with oiling )

Edited May 6, 2008 by vric

[Chaotik]

if you read the first paragraph of my post it said "this thread topic was well thought out" - i went on to say, there are lots of rediculous thread topics that always cause a snappy answer to come to mind.

i actually didn't think my response was all that snappy - i thought it was kind of funny - maybe it was just me

You don't have to really earn anybody's respect if you don't like. Youl still get your questions answered, especially if they are well asked as this one was. - Of course, i forget that we made The Zigmeister's section VIP only - so, i guess that part wouldn't have been obvious to you. I've been doing this awhile and the whole, pay for additional content is new.

were a pretty friendly group - unless you come in and ask for The Best Place to buy a Sub - Or, frankly any brand for that matter these days

water under the bridge.

Thanks guys

[surpur]

I used to learn and work on gen watches and I must say that working on reps is 2, 3, 4 + times more difficult because there just are so many different pieces on suposedly identical watches that just don't fit together. I find it more frustrating then rewarding and probably one of the most difficult things to do period.

I admire people like The Zigmeister that have a knack/ talent to deal with all these inumerable issues.