Month: September 2022

When we service a watch movement we use a range of different specialist oils and greases. Lubrication is needed on moving parts to reduce friction which may lead to them wearing out. The more extra functions (or complications) your watch has, the more points in the movement which will require some form of oil or grease. As each movement is different, the type and quantity of oil or grease can vary.

Some modern movements are very sensitive to a lack of lubrication. After a period of 4-5 years a watch will need to be serviced, whereby the movement is completely disassembled, cleaned, reassembled, oiled, adjusted and tested. Certain movements are more hardy and may continue working despite lubricants being past their best. Notable “bulletproof” movements include some vintage Omega calibres. It should be stressed it’s a risky game to play by running a watch beyond its recommended service interval, especially if it’s a vintage model. If parts wear out, they may be rare or need to be made. This would significantly increase the cost of the repair. We strongly advocate looking after your watch and sticking to regular service intervals!

Each watchmaker will have their own personal preferences in regards to the oils and greases they use. Influences can include the age of the watchmaker and where they trained. For modern calibres a watchmaker’s servicing technical sheet will provide details of the manufacturer approved lubricants to use. In the absence of a technical sheet, there are some broad guidelines for lubricant use.

For metal to metal we use grease. There are various different types on the market and the exact type we use depends on the situation. A basic “general purpose” grease is Moebius 8200. When servicing a 7750 chronograph, we use a grease called Molykote DX on the chronograph work.

For low speed high torque applications we use a thicker oil. Our preference here is Moebius HP-1300 – this is often specified on the technical documents of many modern watch calibres. The more “old school” watchmakers may use D5 for this application.

When oiling anything high speed low torque, we use a thinner oil. The industry standard here is Moebius 9010. Examples of where we use this oil include the pivots of the escape wheel and when oiling the end stones of the balance.

On top of these “basic” lubricants there are many others for very specific areas of the watch movement. Specialist lubricants include P125 – a braking grease used on the barrel walls of automatic watches. This lubricant is specified by many big manufacturers. Others include Moebius 941 and 9415 which are only used to oil the teeth of the escape wheel. V105 is used on reversing wheels, and V106 for rotor bearings, Then there’s epilame – a surface treatment used to prevent oils from spreading.

As you can tell, oils and the correct oiling of a watch really is a broad topic! Rest assured when your watch is in our care we adhere to the manufacturers technical documentation where appropriate and otherwise use industry standard best practices, as taught in leading horological institutions such as the British Horological Institute.

Yours sincerely

David Clark PJDip PJGemDip CertGA
Managing Director

Rolex are one of the top watch brands in the world. Rolex make high-quality, luxury timepieces, and if their watches are maintained they will continue to last for years and years. As a result, Rolex is a brand we see regularly in our workshop.

This particular Rolex is one of the Cellini range. These watches take their name from famed Italian goldsmith and sculptor, Benvenuto Cellini. The Cellini range are luxury dress watches and mark a bit of a departure from the rest of the Rolex range, which are more closely aligned with luxury tool watches.

On arrival in the workshop, this watch was not working. Inspection of the calibre 1602 mechanical movement immediately highlighted the main fault – one of the balance jewels was loose and the shock spring found open. This watch had clearly taken a huge shock – hard enough to go well above and beyond the limits of the shock resistance system. Our client confirmed it had indeed received a large shock.

To repair this watch it needed to have a full service and a new mainspring, as it hadn’t been looked at for some time. During the service, we completely disassemble the movement and run it through our specialist watch movement cleaning machine. After cleaning, the movement is carefully reassembled and oiled, before being adjusted and tested.

Part of the service involves checking the movement during the stage-by-stage disassembly/reassembly process. This is especially important knowing the movement being worked on has received a shock, as it is possible that jewels may have moved. This would alter the end shake of the wheels – in other words, it would affect the required clearance for the movement to work just as it should.

For the vast majority of watches we recommend servicing every 4-5 years. This is to ensure optimal performance of the movement (as the oils and greases needed to keep the movement running properly need to be kept fresh) and to allow the movement to be checked for signs of wear and tear.

After a full service and new mainspring, plus a clean and polish of the case, this beautiful Rolex Cellini is running very nicely again. It is ready for testing before return to our client.

Yours sincerely

David Clark PJDip PJGemDip CertGA
Managing Director

We often see Rolex watches in our workshop. Rolex make high-quality, luxury timepieces, and these watches are well worth maintaining. Here we have a Rolex Oyster Perpetual watch with a blue dial and stainless steel case and bracelet.

On arrival in the workshop, this watch was not working. Inspection of the calibre 2231 automatic movement showed lots of fine metal debris throughout the mechanism, and a very worn-out rotor axle. As the axle was worn out, the rotor was not rotating properly and it was wearing against other parts of the movement. This rubbing caused the debris, and the eventual build up of this combined with the failure of the axle caused the watch to stop.

To repair this watch it needed to have a full service, including a new mainspring and rotor axle. We also gave the case and bracelet a clean and brighten on the polishing machine.

A full service involves complete disassembly of the movement and running it through our specialist watch movement cleaning machine. After cleaning, the movement is carefully reassembled and oiled, before being adjusted and tested. The entire watch is then tested on our rotating testing machine to confirm the automatic winding mechanism is operating correctly.

As part of the servicing work, we replaced both the rotor axle and mainspring. To replace the rotor axle we use a specialist tool called a staking set, to remove the axle, before then securing the replacement in place with the correct punch for this Rolex calibre.

For the vast majority of watches, we recommend servicing every 4-5 years. This is to ensure optimal performance of the movement (as the oils and greases needed to keep the movement running properly need to be kept fresh)and to allow the movement to be checked for signs of wear and tear.

After a full service, new mainspring, rotor axle and a clean and polish of the case and bracelet, this beautiful Rolex is running very nicely again. It is ready for testing before return to our client.

Yours sincerely

David Clark PJDip PJGemDip CertGA
Managing Director