This can't be right....arggg!

[RWG Technical]

As much as it pains me to Zig you are off on Rex. For those unable to aquire your tremendous talents Rex is a terrific professional watchmaker with respect to movements. He has repaired alot of movements for alot of RGers (and alot of RWGers as well) with nothing but praise for his work. Not comparing his talents to yours for sure but for any movement issue and simple mods Rex is brilliant and a true professional. I would love to see you two team up!!

I don't believe I am off at all, Rex is not a professional certified watchmaker, he has said so himself on RG.

I am not questioning his ability, or his being anything but professional, what I said is that I don't believe he's a professional watchmaker, which is what you have stated twice now. That term carries with it a lot of weight, it's not to be used without the person having formal training and being recognized by a watchmaker society. Member kbh confirmed that Rex isn't a certified watchmaker. That's all I wanted to know.

I am not bad mouthing him, my example can easily be found on RG, please read it for yourself like I did, it just struck me as odd that a watchmaker would diagnose that problem as being a mainspring issue.

Believe me I have been hunting for 4 years now to find a real watchmaker that I can use to help me with my problems, but my hunt will continue.

I call myself a "watchsmith" and have no training nor am I certified, there is a huge difference between the two. I try and make sure everyone is aware of my qualifications and skill level. Otherwise it's being misleading.

I would love to see many watchmakers here, but so far they are far and few...and I am not a RG person, don't want to step over there for many reasons , so I guess there won't be any teaming up anytime soon...

RG

[Anakin14]

Hey, if people are interested I'll document the surgery and post it. If a noob like me can do it then anyone can!

[FxrAndy]

Please do Anakin, There is so much to be learnt from each other here

[tick123]

please do anakin, it would make for a very informing post

please do anakin, it would make for a very informing post

[casanile]

Yes, please do it Anakin.

This must be very useful.

BTW several months ago, I saw a thread with pics showing how to remove a movement from case.

Does anyone remember where is that topic and who did it?

In my memory The Zigmeister did, but I can't find it.

[USMC8404]

Update: Andrew at Trusty offered to have the watch repaired if I send it airmail to him (China). How much will that cost? What do you think, am I better off shipping it back for repair or should I send the watch off to someone like The Zigmeister for service, enhancements, and some TLC?

If you send your watch back to China for repair be prepaired for a very long wait. I sent a watch back for a refund from Trusty Time and it took about three months to get my money back! Best to seek the assistance of a local watch maker.

[Shundi]

Hmm maybe I'll wait on Rex then...

[Anakin14]

Here's a preview.

This watch is a Raimundo Davolos Mean Streets Powersports that sold for over $1k (stupid price). I ended up getting it brand new for $50 when the manufacturer folded (a semi functional website still exists here click me ). The pictures below do not do the watch justice. It is really very attractive and weighs in at a heavy 5.8 ounces.

Anyway, after 3 years of keeping good time the watch died. I brought it to a jeweler to inquire about having the movement fixed and he told me it was cheap Chinese movement not worth fixing. So, for two years the watch sat in a draw.

Fast forward to a few weeks ago and I've been boning up on some watch repairing skills. I dug out my old RDMSP and decided to swap out the movement. Lo and behold Otto has the movement on his site for $35. I bought the movement and some inexpensive watch repairing tools (hand puller, hand installer, tiny screw drivers, loupe, etc) and gave it a go. After all, the movement was junk. What I really like about this watch is the case and the strap.

Let's see what I did, shall we?

Here's the movement removed from the watch. Very easy to remove.

The movement with the hands removed.

The dial removed from the old movement.

Here's my $35 Chinese movement.

The new movement, dial, and hands back in the case. This picture looks horrible. Please don't judge the watch by this photo. No matter what I did, the black face looks gray and the stainless steel looks yucky in this picture. The steel is actually a nearly mirrored finish. In fact, I later polished it with Brasso to a mirror finish. Plus the dial is black.

And here's the exhibition back. I swapped the plain rotor that came with the new movement with the snazzy Raimundo Davalos rotor from the original movement.

When I do this with my SMP I'll be sure to take more photos and have better step by step instructions.

[tick123]

anakin,

can you tell me where exactly you ordered these tools from (thin screwdrivers, hand removal tool, etc...) also, is there any guarantee that otto's movement will be of good quality and not full of dirt and crap like the "swiss" movements we get from the dealers? if ottos movements are good and keep good time right out of the box then well, I see a UPO heart transplant in the very near future

[tick123]

also, can anyone verify that this is a genuine eta?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...OX:NEWLIST#LIST

and if so, do you think itll have the same problems as our dealers etas?

[Anakin14]

The tools I got as a kit off of eBay. If I do this more I may end up getting some tools of higher quality. But they did the job.

As far as the movement is concerned, I trust Otto. The guy is a huge distributor of watch stuff. I doubt he sells junk. His prices seem right too. His ETA movements (2824-2) seem to cost what they should. Not so cheap that alarm bells go off.

The movement I bought is the first one down on this page (click)

I may swap the date wheel with the one on my current movement....we'll see.

[highoeyazmuhudee]

ajoesmith had a tutorial on movement swap. but the photo links are dead. however all the information is still there.

i think removing the hour hand is the hardest part of the swap. i got it done well on my first attempt, but still could of done better... so practise, then practise SOME MORE : ) good luck

[trex650]

You can find my history and what I do over at the other forum.

I work full time on watches and hate to call myself other than a future certified watchmaker. Unfortunately when you work on watches you get the term, Watchmaker, Watchsmith. I prefer to be called rexthewatchman. If you are working on watches and not training everyday then you are not practicing horology like we all have to do no matter what our certification or qualifications are if you set up every day on a bench and every night involved in books and theory.

If you see a post of mine and you do not agree on it that is fine, you can't diagnose things over the internet looking at text anyway. Everyone can put their two cents in and be wrong 90% of the time if they don’t have it in front of them.

A few months ago I was in the final 15 for a very special WOSTEP school and sadly was turned down due to age. Although, next summer I will be taking the AWCI CW21 exam without the formalities of a Swiss School or several thousand hours of classroom studies. Instead my studies in the next few months will be taking place at several areas around the US on symposiums and workshops and on my workbench with watches that are taken in over the counter or in the mail.

My studies over the past several years have been with a Master Watchmaker and an AWCI instructor that recently passed on. His light and courage and mentoring during his final years with me have made me who I am today and also where I will go in my tomorrow.

[highoeyazmuhudee]

I was thinking of doing WOSTEP but was wondering the requirements. im currently in my 20s

[highoeyazmuhudee]

also, can anyone verify that this is a genuine eta?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...OX:NEWLIST#LIST

and if so, do you think itll have the same problems as our dealers etas?

I bought one from that ebay seller. thread HERE:

http://www.rwg.cc/members/index.php?showtopic=84764&hl=

as for tools: ive bought off ebay with no problems but found a local shop where i buy from now 'cause i can pick and choose and see the quality up front. they sell pieces with prices similar to ebay, and the owner is great person and is always up for giving great deals.

[trex650]

If you can apply to a WOSTEP program and get to the final interview your life will be changed. If you get in then your life will certainly be changed.

FYI getting in and hanging is the tough part. You WILL have to bust your butt for 2 years straight.

I am envious of anyone that went through that program. Now keep in mind that I am one of the ones that tried it for FREE

If you can pull it off financially or for free, by all means do it. You have to have the passion or they won't take you past the written. You are of fine age to get accepted.