The "Doctor" is Always In!

Time for an Oil Change?

I receive phone calls and emails every week from customers that tell me their watch is not running well and they haven’t had it serviced in “many years”.  They are sometimes proud that they have worn their pride and joy for 20 plus years and never had it serviced.  I try and explain to them that although it is nice to hear that the watch is still running well, this.. Read More

Hamilton Model #23

I had the opportunity this month to work on one of these beautiful watches, so I thought that it would make a great blog post. This watch is a fantastic timepiece, well make and just a real beauty.  It is based on the Hamilton 992B movement with the chronograph function added.  Here is the progression of advances of the Hamilton 992B line of watches. Basic Hamilton 992B Hamilton 4992B Hamilton.. Read More

Shock Resistance in a Watch

Shock Resistance is a fairly recent term in the world of watches. As more and more people are leading active lifestyles, watch brands are going to great lengths to create timepieces that are resistant to damage when dropped or when subjected to stringent and constant motion The balance wheel is one of the most critical parts of a mechanical watch. The balance and hairspring  are the parts that regulate the watch.. Read More

The Life of a Left Handed Watchmaker

The world is set up for right handed people, that is just the way it is.  Unfortunately there are a lot of “lefties” out there that need to make their way in a right handed world.  My son Tom is one of those people.  He is a natural lefty and does everything with that hand.  That is a common trait in our family, my brother is left handed, Jan can.. Read More

What is a Mechanical Alarm Watch?

Wrist watches have many different types of complications: chronographs, GMTs, perpetual calendars , day and dates. One compilation that is not very common is an alarm in your watch. Alarms are common in digital quartz watches but somewhat rare on a mechanical watch. Alarm watches have been around since the early part of the 1900’s when Eterna first patented an alarm wristwatch in 1908. That patent was put into use.. Read More

What is your Favorite Character Watch?

Today’s millennials may gravitate towards  “smart” watches that can do everything but make a cup of coffee, but many collectors are still interested in the character watches that had their heyday in the 1950s. With faces that used Disney characters, baseball stars, and movie heroes, these watches were all the rage among us Baby Boomers. Today children may be more apt to wear a watch with Captain America on the front than one.. Read More

Luminous Watch Hands, How they Work and How to Repair Them

Luminous watch hands have been in use since around 1910.  Originally the hands were treated with radium which is a radioactive substance that was painted on the hands. This material would glow an entire night, making this a real advantage in early watches.  Unfortunately this material was highly radioactive and was a major health issue for the workers that applied the paint at various watch companies. For more info, read.. Read More

Citizen: the U.S. Tennis Open and Billie Jean King

Citizen Watch Company celebrates its 25th year as the Official Timekeeper of the US Open Tennis Championships. With courtside clocks and stadium scoreboards tracking time, Citizen plays an integral role at the US Open. Citizen is also the official sponsor of Arthur Ashe Kid’s Day on August 26, as well as the Exclusive Timekeeper and Official Sponsor of the US Open Series—including the BB&T Atlanta Open, the Bank of the.. Read More

Rolex verus Saltwater

As the summer is winding down and we just celebrated the Labor Day weekend. I thought I would like to give all of my customers one more reason NOT to wear their watch in the water.  I have had an  unusually high number of watches arrive at the shop this summer with water damage.  Most are simply rusted from fresh water, the worst that arrive have had an encounter with.. Read More

What is a Hacking Mechanism?

A watch that “hacks” or that has “hacking seconds” is one in which the seconds hand stops when the crown is pulled out. Hacking is achieved when pulling the crown out to the setting position causing a lever to come into contact with the balance wheel causing it to stop and to be held in position. Hacking allows the watch to be set to a reference signal, or synchronized with.. Read More