Month: January 2022

Like anything with moving parts, a mechanical watch needs periodic servicing in order to allow it to continue working properly for years to come. Even if you’ve had a watch for many years which has never seen a watchmaker, but it’s still ticking, this does not mean everything is fine and it does not require any attention.

It’s important to note there’s a big difference between a watch which is working and a watch which is actually keeping time. If a watch has gone decades without seeing a watchmaker, yet it is still working, this more down to the fantastic design of the watch movement rather than a sign that your watch is in good condition. It’s worth remembering there are many other elements to a watch movement on top of those involved purely in timekeeping. The winding mechanism for example. If you have an automatic watch, this is an area we see showing wear on watches which have been well maintained, let alone on watches which have been somewhat neglected. 

 

Watches rely on good quality oils and greases to allow them to run efficiently. These lubricants decrease friction to keep the mechanism running optimally. Over the years, oils and greases start to degrade and dry up. Old oil and grease then begin to actually increase friction. This in turn leads to wear. If you have a particularly rare or old watch, this may cause issues as worn parts may not be freely available. This could lead to parts needing to be made, exponentially increasing the cost of the repair. Even if your watch is relatively modern, there will undoubtedly be a much higher repair bill if many components are worn and need replacing. 

We advise our customers to have their watches serviced every 3-5 years, depending on the model. There are of course some exceptions, though this is a general rule. We have encountered some surprise from clients at the need to maintain a watch regularly. The analogy I like to make is with servicing your car. Imagine your watch movement is like a tiny engine. If you wear it daily, it’s ticking away 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. It’s a truly remarkable thing. Imagine running your car non-stop for such a length of time! The need for maintenance seems a little less surprising thinking about it in such terms. 

When you have a top-quality timepiece from the likes of Rolex, Omega or Tag Heuer, it makes sense to look after it. By ensuring your watch is kept regularly serviced it will continue to provide you with years and years of reliable service and may then become an heirloom to pass on to the next generation.

Do you have a watch in need of servicing? Contact us to see how we can help. We offer a repairs service both locally via our shops in Lewes and Uckfield, as well as nationally via our fully insured secure postal repairs service. We are experts in the repair of watches and have the skills to take on a huge variety of repairs. We are business partners of the British Horological Institute and we hold a Platinum Trusted Service award from Feefo – testament to the consistent, excellent reviews we receive from our clients. 

Yours sincerely

David Clark DGA PJDip PJGemDip CertGA
Managing Director
W.E. Clark & Son Limited.

 

One of the most frequent jobs we tackle in the workshop involves replacing the watch glass. But did you know there are various different types, shapes and sizes of watch glass? In this blog post we’ll look at the most common types and examine their advantages.

Firstly, it may sound basic, but the glass we fit to a watch depends on what the watch was designed to take. For example, a watch designed for a modern mineral glass would not have an acrylic dome fitted as it likely just wouldn’t fit properly. We tend to fit the same type as has been removed, unless of course we note an incorrect type has been fitted previously.

We commonly fit replacement plexi-glass domes (or “UB” glasses as they’re also known). These are made of acrylic and were introduced in the 20th century. The standard type of plexi-glass fits into a groove around the edge of a watch bezel. The groove is slightly smaller in diameter than the glass and when fitted using a special tool, the tension holds it in place. The tool we use slightly distorts the glass allowing it to be fitted, before the tool is released and the glass is left held firmly in place. 

There is a variation on these plexi-glasses which we regularly see on watches which were, when they were made, designed to have a level of water resistancy. This variation adds a tension ring inside the watch glass. This ring effectively holds the glass tighter against the case and so decreases the chances of water getting between the glass and the case.

In modern watches we most commonly find mineral watch glasses. This is a type of glass which is somewhat toughened – especially compared to glasses found on early/pre-20th century watches – though it is not as tough as a sapphire crystal. Mineral glasses can come in a whole range of shapes, sizes and thicknesses. They can also be either flat or domed, just depending on the watch in question. A mineral glass is fitted either into a glass gasket or held in place by special UV glass adhesive. Fitting into a gasket involves using a press type tool, with which we carefully press down onto the glass until it’s fitted correctly.

The sapphire crystal is found on most modern mid to high end watches. These glasses are literally made of sapphire, though a man-made version. They are extremely strong and scratch resistant, with sapphire rating 9 on the Mohs scale of hardness. Perhaps unsurprisingly these glasses are significantly more expensive than their mineral crystal counterparts. Certain brands also coat their sapphire crystal glasses with anti-reflective coating – hence you may see a blue tinge if you hold, for example, a modern Breitling at an angle towards a light. Sapphire crystals are held in place usually with a glass gasket, though they may also be bonded in place using UV glass adhesive. 

Do you have a watch in need of a new glass? Contact us to see how we can help. We offer a repairs service both locally via our shops in Lewes and Uckfield, as well as nationally via our fully insured secure postal repairs service. We are experts in the repair of watches and have the skills to take on a huge variety of repairs. We are business partners of the British Horological Institute and we hold a Platinum Trusted Service award from Feefo – testament to the consistent, excellent reviews we receive from our clients. 

Yours sincerely

David Clark DGA PJDip PJGemDip CertGA
Managing Director
W.E. Clark & Son Limited.

 

An always popular model, the Omega Seamaster is a watch we see regularly in our workshop. This particular Omega Seamaster is a relatively recent model and it arrived from our client completely stopped. Inspection of the movement revealed dried up oils and greases, so it required a full service to restore it back to excellent working order. 

As you can see in one of the images (lower right), the state of the movement was rather poor. The area we’ve focused on is to do with the automatic winding of the watch. This is an area of the movement which receives heavy wear, so leaving it for years and years without a clean and service can cause many parts to be completely worn out.

The movement powering this watch is an Omega calibre 1120 – an automatic mechanical watch movement of excellent quality. This is a modified version of a movement produced by ETA – one of the top watch movement manufacturers. The modifications are designed to improve performance, with 23 jewels and a three arm Glucydur balance amongst the modifications made to the base movement.

During a service we completely disassemble and pre-clean the movement, with each part inspected. The disassembled movement is then run through our specialist watch movement cleaning machine, while the case and bracelet are cleaned in a separate ultrasonic cleaner. After cleaning the movement is carefully reassembled and oiled. The dial and hands are then refitted, before the complete movement is fitted into the case. 

Following reassembly, the watch is pressure tested to ensure it remains water resistant. The Omega Seamaster is rated to 300m water resistant – we are able to test to this depth using our Sigma watch pressure testing machine. All that’s left is to thoroughly test the watch before return to our client. 

Do you have an Omega watch in need of repair? Get in contact with us to see how we can help. We are able to repair almost any Omega 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. You can also bring watches in to our showrooms based in Lewes and Uckfield, Sussex. As Business Partners of the British Horological Institute and a Feefo Platinum Trusted Service Award accredited business, you can be confident when dealing with us. 

Yours sincerely

David Clark DGA PJDip PJGemDip CertGA
Managing Director
W.E. Clark & Son Limited.

 

The Omega Seamaster is a model which was first introduced in 1948. In 1995 Omega partnered with the James Bond franchise and demand for the Seamaster went stratospheric. The Seamaster was cemented as an iconic line of watches, with numerous “Bond” models produced which are still hugely desirable to this day.

The Omega Seamaster on the bench today is one such James Bond model, with a blue dial and bezel. In Bond history, this model was worn by Pierce Brosnan in Tomorrow Never Dies. It arrived from our client completely stopped, not working at all. Inspection of the movement revealed dried up oils and greases. Then on disassembly, on opening the barrel the mainspring – the source of power for the watch – was found to be broken.

The Bond Omega Seamaster

This watch is powered by an Omega automatic movement calibre 1120. This is a modified version of the ETA 2892-A2 movement produced by ETA – one of the top watch movement manufacturers. The modifications are designed to improve performance – with 23 jewels and a three arm Glucydur balance. Early versions of this James Bond model used the Omega calibre 1109 before the upgraded 1120 was rolled out.

During servicing the movement is completely disassembled and pre-cleaned, with each part inspected. The disassembled movement is then run through our specialist watch movement cleaning machine, while the case and bracelet are cleaned in an ultrasonic cleaner. After cleaning the movement is carefully reassembled and oiled. The dial and hands are then refitted, before the complete movement is fitted into the case. 

After the watch is reassembled it is pressure tested to ensure it remains water resistant. This model is rated to 300m and we can test to this depth with our Sigma watch pressure testing machine. It tests using air pressure, so it is connected to a compressor which in turn is fitted with a booster as it requires plenty of pressure to reach 100m+. 

Once the works are complete, we put all watches on test before return to our clients. 

Do you have an Omega Seamaster watch in need of repair? Get in contact with us to see how we can help. We are able to repair almost any Omega 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. You can also bring watches to our showrooms based in Lewes and Uckfield, Sussex. As Business Partners of the British Horological Institute and a Feefo Platinum Trusted Service Award accredited business, you can be confident when dealing with us. 

Yours sincerely

David Clark DGA PJDip PJGemDip CertGA
Managing Director
W.E. Clark & Son Limited.

 

We are skilled in the repair and restoration of a whole range of different types of watch – both modern and vintage. One area we specialise in is the restoration and repair of vintage pocket watches. They may be collectors’ items or family heirlooms – each watch will undoubtedly have a fascinating history and often significant age behind it. Given this, it’s unsurprising the repair and restoration of such pieces is so specialist. These timepieces need very specific care and attention, with the need to preserve the originality and history of real importance.

We recently completed a major repair and restoration to a client’s vintage Waltham hunter pocket watch. This watch arrived in a truly sorry condition. Faults included missing the glass and minute hand, a loose bezel, the gold plating was completely worn away and the watch had completely stopped working. As you can see from the images, the contrast between before and after is truly phenomenal.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The timepiece before the full restoration.

The movement was completely disassembled, thoroughly cleaned, adjusted, reassembled and oiled, restoring it to excellent working order. We carry a healthy stock of vintage pocket watch hands, so we were able to find a minute hand to match the blued steel hour hand. Likewise, we carry a stock of new old stock vintage pocket watch glasses. The profile and sizes of these glasses is unusual, so you need the correct type to fit. We were able to find a size match in our stock.

Perhaps the most notable visual change is the colour of the case. We were able to re-plate the case, to restore its original gold-plated finish. This change combined with everything listed above and a clean of the dial has produced a simply stunning end result. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The amazing final result after the full restoration.

Repairing and restoring pocket watches like these is a real skill. Simply due to the age of the watches there are often many more worn parts than with a modern timepiece. 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, we are always sympathetic to the nature of the timepiece and appreciate the history behind it. We help guide our clients on the best way to restore such pieces without losing the original character. 

We are sure you’ll agree, the results in this instance are remarkable. Our client was thrilled with the outcome and this pocket watch is ready for many more years of reliable service. 

Do you have a pocket watch in need of repair? If so, get in touch and see how we can help. We are one of few watchmakers in the UK with the specialist skills needed to restore these timepieces. We offer a fully insured freepost watch repairs service and we serve clients all around the UK 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 DGA PJDip PJGemDip CertGA
Managing Director
W.E. Clark & Son Limited.