Category: News

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.

One of the brands we regularly see in our workshop is Tag Heuer. Tag Heuer in its current iteration was established in 1985, though the Heuer company has existed since 1860. Watches are produced both with quartz and automatic movements in a variety of different models including the Aquaracer, Kirium, F1, Link, 2000 Series and Carrera.

Tag Heuer Professional Watch

As experienced watchmakers we are able to repair almost any watch – both modern and vintage. As we hold a parts account with Tag Heuer we are able to obtain genuine Tag Heuer parts to repair many different faults with these watches.

One fault we see is problems with the crown. It may be that the crown no longer screws down, and so this compromises the water resistance. It may be that the client doesn’t realise the crown is not screwed down, and goes into water. This then leads to the movement being water damaged.

In the instance of water damage – we will most likely be ordering a complete replacement movement from Tag Heuer. This involves swapping out the entire movement in a like-for-like exchange. This may sound rather drastic, but in the case of severe water damage, it can be the only way to achieve a reliable repair and fully working timepiece.

To take care of problems with the crown and the part it screws into – the case tube – we are able to order these parts and fit them using the correct brand specific tooling. Using the correct tools is important to avoid damage to the case. Take our Tag Heuer case tube remover as an example – this tool is designed specifically for Tag Heuer watch cases. It screws down into the old case tube and allows us to extract it in a straightforward manner.

Tag Heuer Case-tube Removal Tool

With the correct tooling and our Tag Heuer parts account, we are able to obtain any case parts which may be required. Other repairs we see include bezel replacement (most often necessary on F1 models where the numbers can fade easily) and changing a complete set of seals to re-establish water resistance on models used in water such as the Aquaracer. We can also replace dials, hands, pushers and many other parts.

Suffice to say, if you have a Tag Heuer in need of repair – do get in touch! We offer a comprehensive range of watch repairs. We cater to clients all around the UK thanks to our fully insured freepost watch repairs service, as well as to walk in clients through our showrooms in Lewes and Uckfield, Sussex.  As a Feefo Platinum Trusted Service Award accredited business, you can be confident when dealing with us. We are also Business Partners of the British Horological Institute – the standard bearers for quality watchmaking in the UK.

Yours sincerely

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

Before the introduction of shock protection, one of the most common causes of a mechanical watch stopping was an impact or shock causing the balance to break. A watch balance generally has a large diameter and mass, but in order to keep friction to an absolute minimum it rotates on fine pivots. As such, were the watch to receive a knock, this combination of factors makes the balance prime for a broken pivot.

Shock protection was developed in the mid-1930s, but only started being widely used from the mid-1950s. Perhaps the most common and best known is the Incabloc system. This system is still used today and found in watches by many big names brands such as Omega. The Incabloc system is immediately recognisable, as it uses a lyre shaped spring which is clearly visible pressing down on the balance endstone.

Incabloc System

The Incabloc system is highly effective – it provides protection against shocks from all directions. It does this by allowing the chaton – in which the jewels sit (and the balance pivot rotates in the jewel hole) – to move, rather than the shock to be absorbed directly by the pivots.

Pivot jewel

Instead, a longitudinal shock’s force is taken by the balance staff shoulder, which is much stronger than the pivot, and the lyre shaped spring absorbs energy from the shock, as well as ensuring the chaton moves back into its correct position after the shock has happened. During a lateral shock the balance staff may touch the block, though this again is on a robust section of the staff. The chaton will have shifted to the side, but the sloped surfaces of the block and the retaining spring combined will ensure the chaton returns to its correct position. It really is an ingenious design – there’s a reason it’s been widely used for such a long time.

There are a huge variety of different shock protection systems, though they tend to operate based on a similar principle. Other major systems include Kif, Novodiac, Paraflex and Duofix. From a watchmaker’s perspective these vary in terms of the ease with which they can be oiled – some are straightforward, others can prove a little fiddly!

Note there are numerous other ways watches are given a form of extra shock protection, besides these shockproof balance settings. Take the Certina DS models for example. The entire movement is surrounded by an elastic shock absorber ring, designed to absorb kinetic energy caused by vibrations and shocks. When launching these models in the late 50s/early 60s, Certina use elaborate advertising to highlight the effectiveness of the protection – fixing watches to a 27kg weight and dropping them onto a concrete slab!

 

Do you have a mechanical watch in need of repair? Here at WE Clark Watch Repairs we are experts in the repair of all makes and models of watch – from vintage pocket watches through to modern big-name brands like Tag Heuer, Omega and Rolex. We offer a fully insured freepost watch repairs service to 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.

Please Contact Us for further information regarding any requirement you may have.

Yours sincerely

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

You may have seen the word “jewels” in relation to watches. Some watches say “17 jewel” on the dial, whereas other say “25 jewel”, but what does this really mean? Is a watch with more jewels better? In this blog post we’ll discuss what jewels actually are and how they’re used in a watch movement.

Generally speaking, in a watch movement keeping friction to a minimum is advantageous. The wheel train – a series of wheels through which the power from the mainspring is transferred – is moving, so over time the pivots of these wheels are likely to wear. To try and minimise this wear, jewels are used to act as the hole the pivots rotate in. Modern jewels are made from synthetic ruby and they are extremely hard wearing.

An automatic watch movement

If you think of a steel pivot rotating in a brass hole, the steel is harder than the brass and there will be significant friction, so it stands to reason that the brass will wear over time. This is problematic. A steel pivot rotating in a jewelled hole however, there is much less friction.

There are numerous different types of jewelled bearings – from cylindrical (a straight sided hole commonly found acting as the bearing for wheels in the train) and olive (a curved shape hole which provides lower friction but is less resistant to wear), through to the balance jewel and endstone (a two-piece arrangement of a convex jewel with a flat jewel acting as a cap, with oil retained in-between).

Watch Jewel, Bearing and Capstone

As you may have guessed by now, the quoted number of jewels quite literally refers to how many of these jewels are present in the movement. Just because a watch has a higher number of jewels does not necessarily mean it’s a better movement though. A mechanical watch will have less need for additional jewels than an automatic watch, as there are fewer moving parts. There was also a historic trend whereby watch manufacturers attempted to out-do each other by adding more and more jewels to their movements, purely as a sales technique. This relied on the ignorance of the consumer and their belief that “more must be better”. As a result, we ended up with jewels in all sorts of places where they have absolutely no purpose. The 100 jewel Orient Grand Prix is a good example of this – it has jewels fitted almost everywhere!

 

Do you have a mechanical watch in need of repair? Here at WE Clark Watch Repairs we are experts in the repair of all makes and models of watch – from vintage pocket watches through to modern big name brands like Tag Heuer, Omega and Rolex. We offer a fully insured freepost watch repairs service to 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.

 

Please Contact Us for further information regarding any requirement you may have.

Yours sincerely

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

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