Can You Wind an Automatic Watch from the Crown? Yes, you can wind an automatic watch from the crown. That will not hurt the movement. Actually with an older or worn watch, a few manual winds from the crown can be a big help. What Does Fully Automatic Mean? Fully automatic means that the watch can’t be wound from the crown. The only watch that comes to mind is a.. Read More

A chronograph is a specific type of watch that is used as a stopwatch combined with a display watch. A basic chronograph has an independent sweep second hand; it can be started, stopped, and returned to zero by successive pressure on the stem. Less simple chronographs use additional complications  and can have multiple independent hands to measure seconds, minutes, hours and even tenths of a second. In addition, many modern chronographs use moveable bezels as tachymeters for.. Read More

If you are a luxury watch enthusiast then you will no doubt be familiar with the term “Officially Certified Chronometer.” But what does it actually mean, who’s in charge of giving this certification?  What is a chronometer? A chronometer is a high-precision watch capable of displaying seconds and containing a movement that has been tested over several days, in different positions and at different temperatures by an official neutral body.. 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

You might be wondering about the title of this blog, what does a visit to the dentist have to do with getting your watch repaired?  Well, with this quick story, I will give you an idea of how similar they are to each other.   Now for some background info.  I have had a toothache off and on for the last year. Nothing major, just an occassional pain in my.. 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” very thin points that the balance wheel rides on and are supported by the balance jewels.  The staff pivots can be broken from a drop or hard bump and are the.. Read More

Few television shows have been as consistently praised for the quality and authenticity of its costumes, sets and props as AMC’s Mad Men. Now in its fifth season, the show continues to go to great efforts to source appropriate accessories to showcase a real version of New York in 1966. This obsession with historically accurate physical culture extends to the wrists of the characters. Today I would like to take.. Read More

Starting in 1915 with the building of a chronograph with a longer seconds hand built onto the center axle, Breitling has been a strong ally to the world of aeronautics.  This first new chronograph made it easier to track the movement of the seconds hand, making the chronograph much more useful for airplane pilots.  Later in 1936, Breitling introduced its first on-board chronograph model, effectively providing pilots a form of.. Read More

If you’re anything like the majority of all Rolex owners, chances are you’ve given little thought to the water resistance of your watch. Realize it or not, it’s 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, then comes the task of buffing.. Read More