Hi all.
Some time ago I found this old Ulysse Nardin.
Unfortunately the balance is broken and sourcing a replacement has proven troublesome.
The movement is a cal FHF 1246 12''' and the balance should have a brequet overcoil.
I talked to the service department at ulysse nardin and they don't have it "in stock", will need the watch in for a full service where they will be able to manufacture a new balance. That will be a 6 month service and no idea how much the cost will be but quite possibly significant.
So if anybody here has any idea where and how to source a new balance I would love to hear from you.
Thanks

 

When you say the balance is broken, exactly what is broken? Do you have a picture? And a picture of the whole movement?

If it's just the staff, then it should be possible to replace that. Could be a Ronda 416 but it would need some investigation.I think the Bulova 9AT is an FHF 1246 but would need to check properly.

Cheers, Chris

 

Hi Chris,
I believe it's "just" the spring ...
I have a photo of the whole movement somewhere - will post shortly when it's found

 

A photo of the movement

 

Hard to see why you would need to replace the balance wheel and hairspring. Looks okay, but your picture is not a lot of help in knowing for sure. If it is a broken balance staff, that should mean it is do-able. I believe the Ronda number referenced is simply a generic identifier for any balance staff. But I have been wrong before.

 

Can't see detail of the hairspring, unfortunately but are you sure it's broken and not just deformed?

If it's deformed, then it may be possible to recover the shape. If it's broken right next to the stud, then it could be re-pinned to the stud as a few mm on the total length would not be an issue - there's a bit of work to do on the balance after that but not insurmountable and it can even be left at the shorter length without a balance adjustment but, the regulator won't be in the middle at a good rate.

If it's broken somewhere else:

Hairsprings are available for just about any watch but, they come as a "blank" (for want of a better word). They are just a coiled spring and are sold based on stiffness in a fairly complex way so, to get one you need to do a fair number of calculations to determine the spring to buy - they don't just tell you the thickness and height. After you get it, you need to form the inner coil and pin it to the collet, then form the outer coil (in your case a Breguet making life more difficult again by a factor of 10!) and pin that to the stud after getting the length right by checking how it vibrates. That's the very short and simplified version and might explain why they come in packs of 5 or 10... That will cost a lot and you will struggle to get someone to do it as it's not something that watchmakers do every day. I don't and don't know anyone that does.

Another option is a donor watch with a good balance and hairspring. I think the Bulova may have the same base calibre and it'll be cheaper to pick up a donor movement for a Bulova than a UN. Here is a 9AT taken from the link. It is a similar layout and I think all the wheels are in the same place but the bridges are clearly different. If all the wheels are the same, then it may very well be an FHF 1246 base calibre for both the UN and the Bulova. Worth checking that on a Bulova and UN forum before buying a donor.

Hope this helps (a little anyway!), Chris

 

Thank you.... I am unsure what "Ronda number referenced..." means though.

 

Thanks... Very interesting information. I will ask my watchmaker (where the watch is atm) for some more details as to the exact problem with the spring.

 

I may be misreading what you're saying here but, if your watchmaker is asking you to source parts or resolve his problems then, find another watchmaker.

Cheers, Chris

 

I just checked the archive on the My Bulova website and confirmed that @ChrisN is correct. The Bulova 9AT is an FHF1246.
Bulova used that movement between 1927 and 1931 in both 15j and 17j variants. It was used in the Bulova Lone Eagle model amongst others.

Here is a linkPurchases made through these links may earn this site a commission from the eBay Partner Network to an ebay auction for Ronda 416 balance staff NOS in the UK

 

I hear you Chris... He is quite capable though but is having difficulties sourcing a new balance and I just opted to see if I could help in any way. After all it's my watch

 

Thank you ... Will look into this