Category: Watchmaking (page 1 of 10)

DuBois 1875 with FEF 190 movement

Service: DuBois 1785 with FEF 190 Movement

March 26, 2018 / / 0 Comments

This time, a service of a lovely DuBois 1875 dress watch. The case is chrome-plated but still in good condition with a diameter of 33 mm without the crown.

Lovely two-tone dial with Roman numerals and the original hands with some patina.

According to Mikrolisk, DuBois 1785 was founded in 1952 in Le Locle, Switzerland.

The movement is the FEF 190 with Incabloc shock protection and 15 jewels.

The watch had a very low amplitude and it was possible to wind it forever, which points to issues with the mainspring.

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Melvin Hollenberg

Founder & editor of WahaWatches. I’ve been collecting watches for years. My favourite part is to pull them to bits.

https://wahawatches.com
Helvetia with Helvetia 830 movement

Service: Helvetia With an In-house 830 Movement

February 26, 2018 / / 0 Comments

This is a charming Helvetia watch, coming from the UK for a service.

It has an in-house movement as most of them do. In this case, it’s the Helvetia 830 with an unusual design.

The ratchet wheel, the crown wheel, and the click are “hidden” underneath an extra cover.  This movement also has an intermediate wheel between the 4th wheel and the sweep second pinion.

It’s always fascinating to see something that isn’t like most movements and it keeps it interesting.

The watch is from the mid 1950s.

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Melvin Hollenberg

Founder & editor of WahaWatches. I’ve been collecting watches for years. My favourite part is to pull them to bits.

https://wahawatches.com
Roamer with MST 414 movement

Service: Roamer With an MST 414 Movement

February 5, 2018 / / 4 Comments

I bought this Roamer on eBay to restore. I don’t do that as much as I used to but I still like to have a project watch to work on every now and then.

Like most Roamer watches, it has an in-house movement. This particular watch is powered by the MST 414 which has a micro regulator so it can be regulated very accurately.

The movement, the ‘R-logo’, and the fact that the case back has the Swiss cross and 4 patent numbers indicate that the watch is from 1966.

If you look closely, you’ll also see “Pm” just right of the number 6 on the chapter ring. That stands for Promethium, a lume that they used in the 1960s after they stopped using Radium and before they started using Tritium.

The winding of the crown was difficult and the crystal was damaged. The watch did run but it needed to be serviced and regulated.

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Melvin Hollenberg

Founder & editor of WahaWatches. I’ve been collecting watches for years. My favourite part is to pull them to bits.

https://wahawatches.com
How to remove broken screws with alum

How to Remove a Broken Screw With Alum

December 11, 2017 / / 0 Comments

Have you ever had a watch movement with a broken screw? Or an original signed crown (case parts are often harder to find than movement parts) with a piece of a broken winding stem inside?

Sure, you could use a drill to drill out the broken screw or use a screw extractor. However, not everybody has access to these tools. I don’t, for example, because I don’t often need them and they’re expensive.

But I have some good news. There’s a trick to remove a broken screw without using special tools.

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Melvin Hollenberg

Founder & editor of WahaWatches. I’ve been collecting watches for years. My favourite part is to pull them to bits.

https://wahawatches.com
How to fit an armored crystal

How to Fit a New Tension Ring Watch Crystal

November 20, 2017 / / 0 Comments

The biggest advantage of acrylic crystals is that you can easily polish away scratches to make the crystal look like new again.

But if the crystal is cracked or chipped, there’s no other solution than to fit a new crystal.

Tension ring crystals are very common, especially in vintage watches. They’re also called armored watch crystals.

With this guide, you’ll learn how to easily fit a tension ring watch crystal with a crystal press.

Click here to learn how to fit a regular acrylic crystal with a crystal lift.

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Melvin Hollenberg

Founder & editor of WahaWatches. I’ve been collecting watches for years. My favourite part is to pull them to bits.

https://wahawatches.com
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