Estate sale find, "runs & then stops" condition... Nice looking RR watch, but it's seen some wear & tear. Well worn case back, & a good little scuff on the lower right. Maybe not so little... Ouch. Running or not, watch movement are just beautiful. Looks complete, but balance wheel is wobbly, so broken balance staff. Sure enough. Happen to have a few 992B replacement staffs on hand, so off to work... But first, lets see if we can find the broken off end of the pivot down among the lower balance jewel assembly. No stray pivot to be found, but oh look... Smashed lower cap jewel. And... Smashed lower hole jewel. pocketwatchdatabase.com tells me that the lower balance hole jewel is p/n 624, & these do appear to be findable on eBay & elsewhere. But, the p/n 626 lower balance cap jewel remains elusive, sadly. Search continues for the lower cap jewel, or some donor movement. Until then this old guy goes to back into storage.
Finding loose jewels in assortments is a lot of the reason I stopped messing with the pocket watches. There does not really seem to be a lot of standardization. I have considered at times to figure out how using my image processing knowledge (like converting player piano rolls to MIDI) could be used to sort watch parts. A lot of the algorithms are the same. -j
The 992b is great watch. Best of luck with parts sourcing. Out of curiosity does this model have a friction staff? Also, the broken bits on the lower cap jewel in the photo - are they from the hole jewel?
Yes, friction fit staff. I assume for ease of service for the real deal RR watches that would often require timing / certification / service. Both the lower hole jewel & lower cap jewel are broken, & I expect the little shards in the photo are a mix of both.