|
Welcome to the Restorations and Repair Page. I don't know how often I'll have time to add things here, but we'll see how it goes.
Right now I'm doing an interesting watch, a Squale 100 ATMOS Master Automatic from late 50's- early 60's. This is a full on Dive watch, and the brand supplied cases to many companies that wanted to make a Dive watch, but didn't have the case tech, not the least of which was Blancpain. That's why this looks a bit like a Fifty Fathoms, methinks..... Anyway, the watch is in really good condition, I am doing a full CTR on the movt and the case is getting new gaskets, crystal, and polish. To the left we see the layout of the case and furniture, with the two massive gaskets meant to withstand the 100 atmospheres of pressure. (1000 meters or 1469.59 PSI.) I'll get a few pics of the watch when completed, as usual I forgot to get a 'Before' pic..... Stay Tuned! UPDATE: See below for the finished watch! |
SQUALE 100 Atmos Master Automatic
Here is the original crystal, Right, next to the new one on the left.
|
The original crystal with stress fractures from many years of use. A locking ring secures the crystal against the large gasket beneath it before the bezel goes on.
|
This is the movt during full disassembly and cleaning. A new mainspring will ensure it runs strong for many more years.
|
|
Here she is in all her glory... Fully restored and running well. It's not a chronometer, but it's a kickass Dive Watch. Now you can see what I mean by the 'Fifty Fathoms' reference. I don't often use the term 'rare' but this one is rare. In the past year I have seen nothing online that is a match to this. Right now it is on a Shark mesh bracelet, but I'm looking for something else, not sure what..... From Wikipedia, a brief history of the company in the early days: Squale was founded by Charles von Büren in Neuchâtel, Switzerland, in 1946 as a manufacturer of watchcases and other components for other watch brands. Originally, the "Squale" mark appeared on watches as a symbol of the case's origins and pride in its quality.[1][2][3] In 1950, von Büren S.A./Montres began to produce their own range of professional diving watches under the Squale brand name. These watches were not marketed for jewelry shops but rather specialty dive stores.[4] During the 1960s and 1970s, Squale provided cases for Altanus Genève, Arlon, Potens Prima, Prima Flic, Jean Perret Geneva, Ocean Diver / Blandford, Deman Watch, Margi, Berio, Eagle Star Genève, La Spirotechnique, Wertex, Carlson Tavernier Geneva, and Sinn.[2][3]Cases designed for 500m water resistance with the crown located at the "4 o'clock" position were sold to Airin, Dodane, Blancpain, Tag Heuer, Doxa, Zeno, and Auricoste.[2][4] Squale also supplied the parachutists corps "Folgore Brigade" part of the Italian Airforces ("Aeronautica Militare Italiana") and the Italian Navy’s Diving Corps ("Marina Militare Italiana") with timepieces during this period. |
OMEGA 440 LADIES COCKTAIL WATCH
In the middle of doing a tiny ladies watch, the Omega 440 manual. This is the balance next to a dime
In the middle of doing a tiny ladies watch, the Omega 440 manual. This is the balance next to a dime
These tiny watches are back wound, that is, the winding/setting is done from the back of the case. This example is solid 18k gold, including the crown. They are fragile little things, and unfortunately their extra weight from the gold means that if you drop them, they will likely get destroyed. Below is the movement, next to a dime. This is NOT the smallest Omega movement.
Heat is bad for your watch
This is a Quartz watch that 'suddenly stopped working.' The issue was clear once I got a look under the dial. The watch had been left in the sun and as you can see, the date disc melted completely, as well as other components in the movement.
Fassbender IKEA bench
Here is another take on Dirk Fassbender's IKEA watchmaker's bench. I needed another workstation, and this one is not set up properly yet, so don't mind the mess. What I already miss is the pull out 'Oops' drawer/catcher in the centre. I'm going to see if I can come up with an IKEA solution for this. For you non-horologists, the 'Oops' drawer or pull out catches tiny parts that might roll off the work area or parts that go astray. In the old days, the apprentice would tie their apron in front of them, attaching it under the bench to catch any dropped parts. Of course, this happens RARELY......
You will find his original blog posting here:
http://www.dirkfassbender.de/ikea-watchmaker...html
Here is another take on Dirk Fassbender's IKEA watchmaker's bench. I needed another workstation, and this one is not set up properly yet, so don't mind the mess. What I already miss is the pull out 'Oops' drawer/catcher in the centre. I'm going to see if I can come up with an IKEA solution for this. For you non-horologists, the 'Oops' drawer or pull out catches tiny parts that might roll off the work area or parts that go astray. In the old days, the apprentice would tie their apron in front of them, attaching it under the bench to catch any dropped parts. Of course, this happens RARELY......
You will find his original blog posting here:
http://www.dirkfassbender.de/ikea-watchmaker...html
|
Here's a Cool vintage watch- A Poljot 3133 chronograph. This was a lot of fun to restore- The Russian modifications to the Valjoux 7734 are impressive. The frequency was increased from 18,000 a/h to 21,600 a/h, and jewel count was also increased from an anemic 17 to 25. It has its original bracelet and will most likely end up in the Showcase. The only thing that kind of sticks out for some reason is the bare metal on the main hands. There is no evidence that they were ever painted, but as they have luminous ends, I am thinking of painting them dark blue or something.
The date is caught in the act of changing from 29 to 30, in case you were wondering if it was some mysterious Russian numbering gizmo. Is it cool? DA! Это очень прочные часы! |
Apart from Shock, nothing destroys a watch more completely than water. Here's an Omega that has certainly seen some water. The stem is pointing right, and is completely solid with rust. As we will see, the sliding pinion and winding pinion are frozen to the stem and the assembly does not move.
Here we can see rust around the balance as well. Balance pivots are usually around .12 mm and it doesn't take much to break them, or as in this case, dissolve them. Additionally, there are screws rusted beyond recognition that require careful removal.
While the plates are Beryllium Bronze plated brass, there are a lot of steel parts in a watch, mainly the screws, wheel arbors and pinions, and setting works. All springs are also steel and are easily weakened by corrosion. I have seen some cases where the part dissolves completely and only an outline is left.
Here we can see the main plate and the stem at about 5:00. The stem, winding pinion and sliding pinion are rusted solid.
