Advice on cleaning up solder repair

Spruce

I had to scan your photos to spot the problem - it didn’t seem too obvious to me but I appreciate that these little blemishes can become a bugbear.

My Hamilton has a gouge in a similar place to the blemish on yours but I’ve learnt to live with it on mine.

Canuck

Could be it is a welding “berry”. The watch may have been owned by a welder, although there would often be more than one of these. If this is a steel case, and if the “berry” is steel, with skillful hands and the correct equipment, it cold very possibly be removed with hardly a trace. But filing it of would not give the best results. Maybe live with it?

Vitezi

For a 70 year old watch, yours looks great. I'd leave the blemish alone. Think of it as a gentle reminder that your watch has had a long life of usefulness to its previous owners, and that it now stands ready to serve you in yours.

Dan S

If that is actually solder that was used to fill a ding, then I don't know if there is really a great way to fix the problem. Even if you managed to refinish the surface so that the shape was restored, the color would not be the same. Personally, I would return the watch immediately and wait for a better one. If it was purchased on eBay, then it's an obvious return for "significantly not as described" reasons, so open a case ASAP. If the seller really thinks it's not an issue, then let him fix it.

__ryan__

This Tissot arrived a few days ago. Unfortunately, it came with a small bead of metal near the bottom-right lug, which I assume is a solder repair. Seller did not illustrate it in the photos and when asked about the case (before purchasing), he indicated it was "untouched". Anyway...

I was wondering what would be involved to clean-up the raised spot. File it down a bit and polish? The case has its share of scratches and dings, so it need not be a perfect job. I'd be willing to have a go at it myself if it's not too difficult. Or I could bring it to a goldsmith if it's a relatively straightforward job. The watch was inexpensive (~250 usd) so I'm not looking to put a lot of money into repair.

On the other hand, I could just leave it alone and enjoy the watch for what it is. Especially if messing with it will likely just make it worse. Apart from that defect, I really do like the watch.

D YOUNG

This looks like weld spatter. Inadvertent results of wearing a watch while welding.
Usually there will also be sign of this on the crystal also but it is hard to tell from these photos . ( Could be replaced crystal )
If the case is stainless steel you could just remove the blemish with light use of a fine file.

JwRosenthal

It runs perfectly, but I don’t see this ever being serviced again without a can opener,

JwRosenthal

I have a lovely little Wyler that at some point in its life got a crack in the case.

Someone in their wisdom welded the case with the back on 🤦

It runs perfectly, but I don’t see this ever being serviced again without a can opener,