Machining

Wristwatch Movement Ring

Wristwatch Movement Ring

I recently had an enquiry from a customer who was worried a watch they had bought was waterlogged and rusty inside - not an uncommon problem, unfortunately! Fortunately this was not the case, and the movement and dial were both in good condition - the problem instead was the movement ring was incorrect and too small to support the movement, and so the last ‘repairer’ (or watchbreaker) had glued the movement into the case and this was visible through the glass. Digging this out to release the movement was a laborious task and new movement ring would need to be made to hold everything in place correctly. As you’ll see this is not just a simple ring shape!

Pocket Watch Fusee Ratchet Wheel

Pocket Watch Fusee Ratchet Wheel

I recently was working on a late 1700s watch that was missing a ratchet wheel for the fusee and it’s retaining screw. There was also some damage to the locating pin and a lot of scratches on the surface the wheel would have sat on. The damage needed repairing and the wheel and screw replacing. You can see in the drawing below the wheel would be just 8.7mm in diameter - quite a challenge!