A couple of days ago I posted about my first top to bottom watch rebuild. A few members contacted me about possibly taking a look at some of their watches, but I had to refuse because I am still new and am not confident enough yet to even begin to think about working on someone else's watch for payment. Well, one particular OSA'er (who will remain nameless) contacted me via PM and told me about an English military watch - GWS G10 Pro Diver - that had issues with the crown not screwing in. They had already sent it back to England for repair once, but it didn't seem to be much better after they got it back. They had offered to pay me for any services done to the watch, but also said that I could just keep it at no charge if it was beyond repair (either due to damage or due to my own ability). I felt like taking a look at the watch because the issue was either in the crown/stem or case, and not with the movement itself, and thought I'd have a good chance of fixing it for them. We agreed that I'd look at the watch, and if I was able to fix it, that they'd cover the cost of any parts.
Although this one wasn't nearly as extensive as my previous repair, it was totally different and I enjoyed the process thoroughly. I even remembered to take some photos for you all!
When I first saw the watch it looked like it had a non screw-in crown. What in fact what was going on is that the threaded part of the pendant tube was broken off inside the crown of the watch, and the sleeve of the tube was still inside the case. I managed to remove both broken pieces, press fit and staked a replacement pendant tube in place, then reassembled the watch. Amazingly I had the correct part available amongst a box of random parts I received a few months ago, so there will be no charge for the part used in the repair. While I had it apart I also took the liberty to remove all of the rubber gaskets in the watch to clean an re-lubricate with fresh silicon grease.
Here's a couple of photos I took showing the repair:
Main Parts Disassembled:
Crown/Stem & Replacement Pendant Tube (Size Comparison With A Fingernail & A 9mm Round):
Replacement Pendent Tube Press Fit & Staked In The Watch Case:
New Assembly In All Positions - Screwed In / Position 1 (Date Set) / Position 2 (Time Set):
Completed (I put a strap on it that I had laying around):
As luck would have it I had a new magnifying visor show up today from Amazon. Although it isn't as nice as the stereo microscope setup that I want to put together, it is about 1/50th the price!! It made taking apart, repairing and cleaning this watch much easier than the method I had used on the previous one.
The OSA'er just got the good news a few minutes ago via PM and will be picking up their watch this week.
Although this one wasn't nearly as extensive as my previous repair, it was totally different and I enjoyed the process thoroughly. I even remembered to take some photos for you all!
When I first saw the watch it looked like it had a non screw-in crown. What in fact what was going on is that the threaded part of the pendant tube was broken off inside the crown of the watch, and the sleeve of the tube was still inside the case. I managed to remove both broken pieces, press fit and staked a replacement pendant tube in place, then reassembled the watch. Amazingly I had the correct part available amongst a box of random parts I received a few months ago, so there will be no charge for the part used in the repair. While I had it apart I also took the liberty to remove all of the rubber gaskets in the watch to clean an re-lubricate with fresh silicon grease.
Here's a couple of photos I took showing the repair:
Main Parts Disassembled:
Crown/Stem & Replacement Pendant Tube (Size Comparison With A Fingernail & A 9mm Round):
Replacement Pendent Tube Press Fit & Staked In The Watch Case:
New Assembly In All Positions - Screwed In / Position 1 (Date Set) / Position 2 (Time Set):
Completed (I put a strap on it that I had laying around):
As luck would have it I had a new magnifying visor show up today from Amazon. Although it isn't as nice as the stereo microscope setup that I want to put together, it is about 1/50th the price!! It made taking apart, repairing and cleaning this watch much easier than the method I had used on the previous one.
The OSA'er just got the good news a few minutes ago via PM and will be picking up their watch this week.
