Have you lost track of the days of the week lately? Maybe you forgot what month it is? It’s July, if you did forget. Over the next couple of weeks, we will be exploring different date movements in watches. Created in 1945, the Rolex Datejust was the first self-winding waterproof chronometer wristwatch to display the date in a window at 3 o’clock on the dial – hence its name. With.. Read More

There are watches for running, and there are watches for diving. There are watches to help you find your car at the grocery store and help lead you North … in case you’re still lost in that parking lot. Clearly watches have become more and more useful tools over the years, but did you know there are also watches made especially to use while surfing? Smart watches can not only.. Read More

If you’ve ever been out shopping for an antique or vintage item, you know searching for perfection likely isn’t going to happen. A vintage ’57 Chevy, even kept in the most pristine environments, is going to have a couple signs of wear and tear. It’s just the facts. And if an item 50 years or older doesn’t show any signs from aging, the door might be left open on if.. Read More

It might be the beginning of summer, but school is still in session with this week’s blog. The terminology behind watches is almost as complicated as the mechanics that drive them. The following terms serve as Watch Education 101 and features a list of many of the basic terms relating to the parts of a watch. This simple glossary will help cut the confusion, so consider this your reference point!.. Read More

A mechanical watch is powered by an internal spiral mainspring which turns the gears that move the hands. The spring loses energy as the watch runs, so in a manual watch movement the spring must be wound periodically by turning the crown, to provide energy to run the watch. A self-winding watch movement has a mechanism which winds the mainspring. The watch contains an oscillating weight (the rotor), which turns on a pivot… Read More

Replacing a missing roller jewel is one of the toughest jobs that I ever need to do. This is a very precise job – and close just doesn’t count here. It is either perfect or the watch won’t run properly. The part fit is critical and the roller jewel is very small and almost impossible to hold, so overall it’s not an easy task.  This is the part of the.. Read More

Many people believe that watch accuracy can be achieved by simply adjusting the regulator screw towards the + or – position. Regulating a watch is a lot more complex than this. Watches that are inaccurate are inaccurate for a reason. Generally, these watches require cleaning and conditioning (oiling and greasing of the winding mechanisms). Conditioning also means ensuring that all of the train wheels are free from obstruction, the hairspring.. Read More

In this post, I am going to go over the steps to replace a balance staff in a Hamilton 992b Pocket Watch. The balance staff is the center shaft on the balance wheel. It has top and bottom “pivots,” or very thin points that the balance wheel rides on and that receive support from the balance jewels.   The staff pivots can be broken from a drop or hard bump.. Read More

Over the last few years, I have done a number of blog posts about how I repair a watch movement — everything from how it is taken apart, to replacing a balance staff, pressure testing and more.  The one part of the repair process that I have not discussed is how a watch case is buffed and polished. My dad would always say that no matter how great your job is on.. Read More

If you’re anything like the majority of all Rolex owners, chances are you’ve given very little thought to the water resistance of your watch.  Whether or not you realize it, water resistance is a concern every Rolex owner should have, regardless of the model or how you use it. In this post, I will go over what it takes to pressure test a Rolex. After the overhaul is complete, comes.. Read More