We see such a huge range of watches in our workshop – from vintage pieces, sometimes over 200 years old, through to modern wristwatches. In this instance we’re working on a more modern watch – a Tissot Couturier.
Tissot are one of the bigger names in watches. Established in Le Locle in 1853, Tissot famously released many innovative models over the years, including the first watches made out of plastic (the Idea 2001 in 1971), Granite (the RockWatch in 1985) and wood (the Wood watch in 1988).
This particular watch was not working when received. We diagnosed a broken mainspring and set about giving it a full service, clean and light refinish.
The watch is first completely disassembled. As the case was being refinished, this was also taken apart. The movement powering this watch is made by ETA – one of the big names in manufacturing watch movements (and also a subsidiary of Swatch Group, a group Tissot belongs to). It’s an ETA 2834-2. This calibre is 25 jewel automatic with a day-date complication.
During disassembly we check everything as we go to make sure it’s in good order. Jewels are cleaned manually using pegwood to ensure dried up oil and grease is removed. We rinse parts in horological essence which acts as an initial degreasing stage. It’s important to get a movement as clean as possible, so this initial pre-cleaning helps us to achieve that goal. Once the movement is fully disassembled it’s run through our watch movement cleaning machine before it’s ready for reassembly.
Reassembling the movement is done in a specific order. As the movement is being rebuilt, we need to use certain oils and greases to lubricate the mechanism. Each watchmaker has their own preferred lubricants, though there are some widely accepted as the industry standard. The manufacturer provides a data sheet for modern movements so we are able to lubricate the movement to their specification (with vintage watches this may not be the case, so best practices and experience are relied upon).
Once the movement is ready and has been reunited with its dial and hands, we turn our attention to the case parts. The case has a separate bezel and case back which are a high-polished finish, whereas the middle part of the case has a satin finish. These are given a light polish using various different wheels and polishing compounds. Likewise the deployment clasp is given a polish.
Once the case parts are done it’s time to rebuild the case and reassemble the complete watch ready for testing.
Do you have a Tissot watch in need of repair? Get in contact with us to see how we can help. We are able to repair almost any Tissot watch and we offer a comprehensive watch repair service. We cater to clients all around the UK thanks to our fully insured freepost watch repairs service. As Business Partners of the British Horological Institute and a Feefo Platinum Trusted Service Award
We are skilled in the repair and restoration of a whole range of different types of watch – both modern and vintage. One group of watches we regularly work on are military watches. These watches tend to have some age to them, but alongside this there’s often a fascinating story behind each and every one.
Arguably the most famous sub-group of military watches is the “Dirty Dozen”. In the 1940s, the MOD needed watches produced to a certain specification for issue to the armed forces. The given specification was demanding due to the conditions some of these timepieces would be used in. Watches needed to be durable, water resistant, accurate timekeepers and have luminous dials/hands. They also needed to display designated serial numbers and codes on the case back and feature a black dial with arabic numerals and a sub-dial for seconds.
Twelve manufacturers were eventually approved to produce these watches – hence the name, the Dirty Dozen. In alphabetical order, these makers were: Buren, Cyma, Eterna, Grana, Jaeger Le Coultre, Lemania, Longines, IWC, Omega, Record, Timor and Vertex. As you may note, all these makers are Swiss. Unfortunately British watchmaking had been in decline for some time, so lacked the required means of production to make such timepieces.
Omega Dirty Dozen Watch
We’ve been lucky to see a number of “Dirty Dozen” watches throughout the years, though some brands are rarer than others. Take the Grana for example – it’s estimated that only between 1000-1500 were produced – we’ve not had one of these arrive in the workshop quite yet!
Repairing and restoring watches like these is a real skill. Simply due to the age of the watches, there are often many more worn parts. On top of this parts can be scarce, so it may be necessary to make parts to replace anything which is worn. During the restoration of such pieces it is important to be sympathetic to the nature of the timepiece and to appreciate the history behind it. We help guide our clients on the best way to restore such pieces without losing the original character.
It should be said, the “Dirty Dozen” is only one group of Military Watches. We regularly repair many different types, including vintage pocket watches, the CWC G10 & W10, Luftwaffe pilot’s watches, WW1 Trench watches and even military timepieces produced by Rolex and Tudor.
Do you have a military watch in need of repair? If so, get in touch and see how we can help. We are watch repair specialists with a fully insured freepost watch repairs service. We offer repairs to clients all around the UK and we are experts in the repair of modern and vintage watches. As holders of a Feefo Platinum Trusted Service Award and business partners of the British Horological Institute you can be confident in the service we provide.
Yours sincerely,
David Clark PJDip PJGemDip CertGA
Managing Director
W.E. Clark & Son Ltd.
Continuing on from part one, in this blog post we’ll look at some more of the tools and equipment we use on a day-to-day basis.
Watchmaking tools and equipment come in all different shapes and sizes to suit the huge variety of jobs a watchmaker’s workshop will undertake. Two types of tool we use in almost every job are watchmaker’s screwdrivers and tweezers.
Good screwdrivers and tweezers are of paramount importance. When used with the correct technique and maintenance these are tools which will last for many years. There are a number of excellent brands producing quality products out there – Our preference is to use Bergeon screwdrivers and Dumont tweezers. The set of screwdrivers we use on a day-to-day basis consists of ten individual anti-magnetic screwdrivers on a rotating stand. The sizes range from 0.50mm up to 3mm – this size range accommodates almost any size watch screw. The blades are also anti-magnetic and dressed using a sharpening stone though they can also be replaced as necessary. Our go-to tweezers are Dumont anti-magnetic “number one” – This particular style has fine strong tips. Of course many different tweezers types and styles are needed for different purposes – from epoxy coated to brass to Delrin tipped.
Having excellent screwdrivers and tweezers is all well and good, but you need to get into the watch first! That’s where our range of case opening and closing tools comes in.
Some watches have case backs which snap or press on – these can be removed with specially shaped case back removers, or, our preference is for the traditional watchmaker’s case knife. This is rather like a pen knife with two blades – the shorter of which is used to open snap on case backs.
Other watches have screw-on case backs. The case back and case are threaded, so the back screws into the case. In order to remove these backs we have a number of specialist tools. The smallest option we have is a handheld remover called a Jaxa wrench. We also have a bench top tool where the watch is held securely upside down between two plastic dies – the case back is then unscrewed by twisting the correct opening die via a large wheel. This tool is great as we can fit various different dies specific to all the different watch brands. For example Rolex, Breitling and Omega all use completely different dies.
When it comes to refitting the case back, in the instance of screw on backs it’s essentially the opposite of removal. Some snap-on case backs may prove stubborn and not snap into place by finger strength alone, so having a good mechanical press is useful. Again, we have a selection of different types. Some of these serve a double function and are also used as a glass press (for fitting different styles of watch crystal glasses). It’s extremely important to make sure the correct size and shape of die is used – hence we have a wide selection. If you don’t use the correct size, you risk misshaping the case back or damaging the case or glass.
If you have a watch in need of repair – do get in contact with us. We are watch repair specialists with a fully insured freepost watch repairs service. We offer repairs to clients all around the UK and we are experts in the repair of modern and vintage watches. As holders of a Feefo Platinum Trusted Service Award and business partners of the British Horological Institute, you can be confident in the service we provide.
Yours sincerely,
David Clark PJDip PJGemDip CertGA
Managing Director
W.E. Clark & Son Ltd.
