First Pics of the Inner Workings of My Dad’s Watch: Progress Update

[CBM1590]

Howdy all! My watchmaker sent me these pics of the inside of my old Seamaster bumper that is undergoing complete service and restoration of broken or worn parts. Serial number is 13196137 and the movement is 342. I’ll have to do some digging to find the date of manufacture.

There is a small piece of metal debris visible on the rotor in one of the pics. Further disassembly will reveal what may be broken, however, it did run and keep time for a couple of weeks. That disassembly will occur likely Saturday. What I’ve never told you is that the watch in the lockbox survived the house fire in that totally destroyed my 1889-built home. The watch certainly has a story to tell.

I’d be interested in hearing from you who have expertise regarding what you see (or don’t) in the mechanism. I’ll post the original outside pic for reference as well. Excited to get this restoration project started. Best to you all! CBM

 

[Dan S]

Looks like it might be a broken piece of a movement clamp? Serial is 1952-ish. Reference is 2576, Hugenin Freres case. Looks to be some rotor rub inside the case-back, which probably shows on the rotor as well in better lighting.

Edited: Oct 5, 2023

 

[CBM1590]

Dan S

Looks like it might be a broken piece of a movement clamp? Serial is 1952-ish. Reference is 2576, Hugenin Freres case. Looks to be some rotor rub inside the case-back, which probably shows on the rotor as well in better lighting.

Thanks, Dan. Broken clamp would be a likely explanation as the watch felt “loose” when I rotated it. The rest of your info provided gives me some much needed direction to go digging…it’s all foreign to me at this point. It won’t be for long. Thanks again!

 

[Dan S]

Looking more closely, I think I'm seeing signs of rubbing wear on the outer part of the rotor and the matching wear circles inside the case-back. However, it could be artifacts or reflections in the photos, so I don't want to jump to conclusions. This happens when the axle gets worn and the rotor wobbles. It's possible that the wear is old and the issue was corrected in a previous service. It's pretty common, and some watchmakers don't want to be bothered to repair it, but it really should be addressed in a proper service or the self-winding mechanism won't work efficiently and the wear will just get worse. Just ask him to check.

 

[CBM1590]

Closer inspection of the case back had faint writing. I assume from a service? Anybody make out what it is? Appears to possibly be a date of 12/68 perhaps? Ideas?

 

[dsio]

CBM1590

Closer inspection of the case back had faint writing. I assume from a service? Anybody make out what it is? Appears to possibly be a date of 12/68 perhaps? Ideas?

Watchmaker service markings, some etch, some use sharpie, some don’t do it at all

 

[Evitzee]

CBM1590

Closer inspection of the case back had faint writing. I assume from a service? Anybody make out what it is? Appears to possibly be a date of 12/68 perhaps? Ideas?

It's almost impossible to decipher these markings, they were a code often known only to the person scratching them into the case back. These days the acceptable method is a fine tip sharpie, scratch marking isn't acceptable.

 

[JimInOz]

My perspective of the scratchings.

Many years ago, a lot of pocket watches came with a paper disc under the back case cover, often branded with the maker or retailer details. This is where the watchmaker at the time could enter details of the service.
Over time, these discs were discontinued but watchmakers, by habit, continued to make their inscriptions by scribing their code into the caseback.

As noted in posts above, the scribing practice has generally been discontinued.

 

[alalalalongines]

Could the supposed rubbing of the rotor come from the broken case clamp, and not from a worn axle?

 

[JimInOz]

A alalalalongines

Could the supposed rubbing of the rotor come from the broken case clamp, and not from a worn axle?

 

[DON]

Might be a bit of a search for the clamp. Jules Borel lists the bent ones discontinued. 3 others listed. Assuming straight?

CLAMP, CASE 1.55X 2.08 BENT A/2333 Discontinued
CLAMP, CASE 1.5X2.65 1911/OME 344 16.10
CLAMP, CASE 1.5X3.55 BENT A/1276 Discontinued
CLAMP, CASE 1.5X3.65 1974A/OME 344 0.00
CLAMP, CASE 1.5X4.55 BENT A/2334 Discontinued
CLAMP, CASE 1.5X425 1911A/OME 344 22.60

 

[CBM1590]

DON

Might be a bit of a search for the clamp. Jules Borel lists the bent ones discontinued. 3 others listed. Assuming straight?

CLAMP, CASE 1.55X 2.08 BENT A/2333 Discontinued
CLAMP, CASE 1.5X2.65 1911/OME 344 16.10
CLAMP, CASE 1.5X3.55 BENT A/1276 Discontinued
CLAMP, CASE 1.5X3.65 1974A/OME 344 0.00
CLAMP, CASE 1.5X4.55 BENT A/2334 Discontinued
CLAMP, CASE 1.5X425 1911A/OME 344 22.60

Many Thanks, Don!

 

[CBM1590]

Update:
Watch has been disassembled and gone through. Needs some work as expected. The list of parts to be repaired/replaced, including some custom work include:
mainspring
oscillating weight bearing
stem
upper barrel arbor bushing (custom lathe work)
case clamp
Case tube
crown
acrylic crystal
back gasket
Going to take some time, effort and money to love this one back into shape. It’ll be worth it….

 

[DON]

CBM1590

Update:
Watch has been disassembled and gone through. Needs some work as expected. The list of parts to be repaired/replaced, including some custom work include:
mainspring
oscillating weight bearing
stem
upper barrel arbor bushing (custom lathe work)
case clamp
Case tube
crown
acrylic crystal
back gasket
Going to take some time, effort and money to love this one back into shape. It’ll be worth it….

What was the estimate?

 

[CBM1590]

More than I thought and less than I was willing to pay. The 2 hours estimated on the custom lathe work pushed higher. It will be low a 4 figure number.