Bad Watchmaking by Others: Botched Repairs & Bodges

Posts

32

Likes

24

Manlodan

·Jul 13, 2026

More mundane but equally baffling are some of the trashed hairsprings I come across.. How do you even do this?! There are no tangles here, only bends. I try to imagine how someone might have managed this, and I really can’t.

I got it to a semi-workable state, but come on..

 

Posts

2,641

Likes

2,818

ErichKeane

·Jul 14, 2026

Not quite as cool as the rest of you, but I'll submit one. This is a Quartz ST Dupont tank watch that was sent my way. REALLY art-deco and kinda cool.

One of the hands fell off apparently during shipping, and the previous watchmaker spent a WHILE trying to pry the case back off. This is the best photo I could get of it, but said case knife did some serious damage, and he eventually gave up and called it 'unrepairable'.

HAD he spent some time on it (that is, actually taken the straps off!) he would have realized there were 4 screws in the side of the case holding it together. Only photo I have, but you can see two of them here 😀

I don't have any after photos (this is ALSO the one where that gasket you can see fell into a few pieces, from I shaped to L Shaped, as soon as I opened the case), but I DID use a gentle amount of hammering to get it looking... a little better? But the original guy's work will be with this one forever 😀

 

Posts

211

Likes

1,687

watchmann44232

·Jul 14, 2026

That is like some of the Waltham and Illinois pocket watches I've observed recently that people have been trying to pry open with the case knife before realising they have screw back/bezel. 'Some' meaning more than two 😅. Here in EUR side of the pond it appears hinges are what people are used to with pocket watches (just an observation on limited sample size).

 

Posts

30,206

Likes

77,994

Archer

·Jul 28, 2026

Omega 551 in a Constellation, last serviced in 2009. How do I know that? Well...

Because this idiotic watchmaker scratched it into the dial side of the movement. It's not the first watch from this watchmaker that I've had on my bench that he has intentionally damaged by adding a star and date scratched into the movement.

 

Posts

32

Likes

24

Manlodan

·Aug 1, 2026

Got this one today in a 1963 Seiko Cronos Special. It was running.. somehow. Amplitude is a little high (~325) after servicing so I’m guessing they put an extra stiff mainspring in to compensate for the inevitable amplitude problems this ‘fix’ caused, among other things.

 

Posts

211

Likes

1,687

watchmann44232

·Sep 18, 2026

This rare piercing limited edition<tm> Zenith cal 120-T dress watch appeared today in Finnish craigslist/willhaben equivalent (tori). Dial dots (or whatever those adhesive tapes are called) are so yesterday, so let's do this thing right!

 

Posts

2,641

Likes

2,818

ErichKeane

·Sep 18, 2026

I've seen that fix a couple of times now, I have no idea what makes someone try that. IMO, dial-dots are kind of a garbage repair anyway (you should be fixing dial feet, the repair kits with super glue are so cheap there's little reason not to), and this is a whole level beyond that crap!

 

Posts

1,036

Likes

6,039

Felix_La_PuBelle

·Sep 18, 2026·A lot of room for comedy in there, gang.

This thread is both fascinating, entertaining, and killing me with my OCD. I'm in need of a good [caring] watchmaker for some recently acquired vintage timepieces, and this thread ain't making me less paranoid about who I can trust with my watches.

The price I pay to enjoy this thread is calculated in therapy bills.

Have a good day, all.

 

Posts

362

Likes

346

Endshake

·Sep 20, 2026

oh look a new inovation. The screw down dial.

 

Posts

2,641

Likes

2,818

ErichKeane

·Sep 20, 2026

Here is an Omega that came my way from an acquaintance that wanted to 'getting running well', 18k case. Inside caseback has no markings other than a serial and some gold markings, so probably not a swiss made case. A bit odd of a Constellation case, and I mentioned that the dial seemed very much to be a redial.

Movement I expected was a bumper movement, but was shocked to find a 563! The timegrapher wasn't bad, but definitely showed it needed service, but after getting the clearly-aftermarket hands off, I found the dial screws were missing. The dial very clearly doesn't belong on this movement and is a 'snap on' style, but its too big for this movement, so they double-sided taped it down!

The dial ended up losing 2 markers while I was messing with it (as careful as I could be, but the work of just moving it around got some previously glued markers to fall off. This clearly happened a few times before to the previous watchmakers though, plenty of glue marks everywhere on this one.

A bit of an unfortunate mish-mash of stuff.

 

Posts

1,923

Likes

3,701

Ron_W

·Oct 4, 2026

Maybe a bit off topic but i am looking for a 321 mainplate and found this one. Rhodium colour is that for a service item ?
Main question is does it look useable ? or are the scratches/marks above the space for the crown wheels to bad ?
Same for the "crow bar" marks between 4 and 5 oclock.
And what are the two + symbols scratch in for, to reduce "play" as described here before ? Thanks all for your help.

 

Posts

15,967

Likes

47,977

Canuck

·Oct 4, 2026

No picture, but a sign of negligence by a “technician”. I got a call from a member of the repair fraternity. He had a Bulova pocket watch that neither guy in the shop could diagnose and cure. He told me the watch had been cleaned FOUR TIMES, but still was erratic and kept stopping. I picked it up, and the very second I popped the back off, I pretty well knew it was badly magnetized owing to the motion of the balance wheel! A quick trip through my demagnetizer and problem solved. Re-set to time, 48 hour test, problem solved, There is more to this craft than to be able to dismantle and assemble a watch! 50 % of the business is diagnosis!

 

Posts

30,206

Likes

77,994

Archer

·Oct 4, 2026

Ron_W

Maybe a bit off topic but i am looking for a 321 mainplate and found this one. Rhodium colour is that for a service item ?
Main question is does it look useable ? or are the scratches/marks above the space for the crown wheels to bad ?
Same for the "crow bar" marks between 4 and 5 oclock.
And what are the two + symbols scratch in for, to reduce "play" as described here before ? Thanks all for your help.

Can't say I recall ever seeing one that wasn't the typical copper coloured plating. You do realize that all the jewels have been removed, right? So at the very least you will either have to find the jewels, or transfer from another main plate that I'm guessing you might be replacing for some reason...

With how strange this is, I would be worried there's something else going on that is not easily identifiable...

 

Posts

1,923

Likes

3,701

Ron_W

·Oct 4, 2026

Archer

With how strange this is, I would be worried there's something else going on that is not easily identifiable...

me too 🙂 so thank you and happy to have checked here first.
The mainplate i am looking at to replace has way to much play on the stem and winding gears, and a complete donor movement is to expensive. So i am dropping this project.

 

Posts

18,776

Likes

39,021

JimInOz

·Oct 4, 2026·Melbourne Australia

I recently had a pocket watch the owner wanted restored. It was however, in an epic state of neglect/abuse/damage and beyond redemption.
In order to make it into a sentimental ornament, I decided to strip/clean and prevent any further rust etc.

In the process I found this, an early watchmaker's "hack" to adjust balance end shake.
Just take a small bit of folded watch paper and problem solved!
🙄