Notes on watch care and restoration
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Servicing, repair and restoration of mechanical watches, explained by the Viattori atelier in Oakville, Ontario. How the atelier itself takes in a watch is set out under Watch Repair Across Canada.
Rust on a watch, and what can be done
Rust on the outside of a watch can often be cleaned off; rust inside means water got in and the watch should be seen promptly. What to do in each case.
Manual-wind and automatic watches compared
Both are mechanical and differ only in how the mainspring is wound: what that changes day to day, how to wind and set each, and the signs of a service due.
Demagnetizing a mechanical watch
A magnetized mechanical watch usually runs fast, and stays that way until it is demagnetized: how to tell, how it is done, and when a watchmaker should look.
What cold weather does to a watch
A sound watch comes through a Canadian winter well; what cold does to mechanical and quartz movements, and why mist under the crystal needs prompt attention.
Choosing between quartz and mechanical
How quartz and mechanical watches differ in accuracy, care and repair, and how to decide which suits the way you wear a watch.
Replacing a watch crown and stem
The crown is the visible end of a stem, a tube and their gaskets, and a proper replacement matches all of them before the watch is tested.
What decides the cost of a watch service
What sets the cost of a watch service, from the movement and its condition to parts and case work, and how to read an estimate before approving it.
When ultrasonic cleaning is safe for a watch
An ultrasonic bath cleans a watch’s metal parts well once the watch has been taken apart, and it is the wrong place for an assembled watch.
What can be done for a worn watch dial
Careful cleaning and conservation keep a dial’s original surface and printing, and a loose marker or a broken dial foot can be repaired with the dial kept.
When a watch needs an overhaul
Every five to seven years for a mechanical watch, sooner if the signs appear, and why the interval matters even when the watch keeps good time.
What to do about loose watch hands
A hand that has lost its grip can stop the watch or mark the dial: why it happens, what to do in the meantime and what the repair involves.
Checking a vintage watch before you buy
Which parts of a vintage watch to check before you pay, what box and papers can and cannot prove, and what an inspection by a watchmaker adds.
How far to restore a vintage watch
A sympathetic restoration makes an old watch reliable again and keeps as much of the original as it can.
Replacing or polishing a watch crystal
Scratched acrylic usually polishes clear, while chipped glass and scratched sapphire are replaced with a crystal matched in material, size and fit.
Why a mechanical watch runs fast
Magnetism is the most common reason a mechanical watch suddenly gains time; how to measure the gain, the other causes, and what each one needs.
When watch gaskets need replacing
Water resistance lasts only as long as a watch’s gaskets, and only a pressure test shows when they need renewing.