Does anyone know how to get the crown back on this watch so that it can change the time- and wind the movement please?

Is it something to do with simply screwing it on carefully and then never unscrewing it counter clockwise?

 

When this happens, I think your watchmaker is your friend.

 

I dont understand why you would be quite so dismissive of the technical expertise on this forum? Do you not respect the people here who seem to know what they are talking about?

Besides, I think that despite a few likes, you are wrong: The first time this happened, I did take it to my watchmaker. I wasn't watching closely enough but I thought that all he did was to screw/push it back again. That was why I asked if anyone with the necessary technical expertise would know what the trick is to attaching the crown on a top loader.

I asked here because I wondered if anyone with the necessary technical expertise knows: Did he execute some 'trick'? How does that stem attach to the crown? Are you suggesting that if a watchmaker doesn't explain all professional tricks to a customer in detail, he isn't somehow a "friend"? You must have a very patient watchmaker! Mine was very "old school". He never explained anything (or even said what he had done). i think he would be shocked to hear that there are watchmakers out there who will show and explain in hour-long detail on YouTube exactly how to, for example, make a balance staff!

Unless you know that there is no 'trick'. And all that can be done is to take the crystal off, extract the movement out through the front, dissemble the movement to get the stem out, TIGHTEN the stem on the crown (? and this was what i was asking), put movement back in, push the stem back in. When adequately tightened, it will stay attached?

Because if there is some trick, the first time I tried to change the time after getting back from my watchmaker, this happened.

 

Streuth!

 

My very thoughts expressed in words, C-B!

 

Are you saying the crown unscrewed or just became unattached when pulled out to set the time?

Front loaders have a two piece/split stem. It appears that the piece attached to your crown is quite corroded and is likely no longer able to attach securely to male stem on the movement.

 

Woah, that’s one lengthy interpretation of my comment and a lot of words spoken for me.

I am a believer that some work is best left to experts. Do you fix your own car and did you build your own house?

Just Google the answer you want!

 

I pulled it out and it simply came out all the way, but
Thanks for that exceptionally helpful response, which is what I thought and was hoping wasn't correct!

The repairman didn't look at the crown particularly carefully, he just seemed to push it in or turn it or something. It did strike me that there might be something actually wrong with the crown which I can't get in proper focus



But I can't see what holds the crown onto the stem

 

If there was a problem after it was fixed, the simplest solution seems to be to take it back to your watchmaker for him to correct.
It is very difficult to diagnose this sort of thing "over the phone" for a professional watchmaker, let alone (mostly) a bunch of hobbyists or collectors - however enthusiastic they may be.
That being said, if it keeps coming loose, my guess is a partial (could be either male or female end that is worn...) or whole new stem is probably needed. Either way, a trip to the watchmaker as Jonatan suggested is probably required.
Hope this helps

 

I own a square UG and this is exactly what happened to it, I can't recall the caliber now, will check on later, I found that this is a 2-part stem, one hold onto the movement and the other one screwed into the crown, these 2 parts have gotten loosen due to age (I think) and they could not hold onto each other to made it a strong stem. I think the only solution is to have a new stem.

 

Thank you for that Bimbim and XJ120: The two piece stem does seem to be, as you said, a friction-fit arrangement.

I never said this problem had ever been fixed. I said that my repairman had simply pushed or screwed it on somehow and had seemed to employ some 'trick' to get this top-loader crown back on again. But if some part of the stem is worn, friction-fit will only get you so far.

In any event, this seems to be the trick:

(I didnt need enthusiastic hobbyists earnestly telling me: "if it needs fixing, get it fixed" by people who seem to admit that obviously people do fix minor, easy things on their own cars and do minor things around the house. In the middle of a big city, when your bayonet-fitting light bulb needs changing and someone asks how it changes, your repairman is NOT your friend: He will gladly charge a $150 call out fee and 200% profit on the bulb cost to do a 15 second job!)

 

It is a split stem. What your watchmaker did, is insert stem, aligned it and pushed in (so that it clips onto male end). The springiness of the steel and the crown tube stops it coming off. However, what has happened in your case is that the split stem has corroded so it is no longer a good tight fit. The crown tube is also likely to have opened out. Even if you manage to put it back together, it is likely to happen again. The only permanent fix, it to replace crown tube and split stem. Not a big deal but it does require proper tools or you could end up with a complete pigs ear of a job and damage to the case

 

Thank you for the exact answer I was looking for. You are right, if he pushed and the stem came apart as soon as I pulled out the crown, something is clearly too worn for any 'trick' to work.

It may, of course, be a big deal if I cant get the part(s)

Oh, and on a top loader, this isn't a job I could even try myself

 

I don't really understand why this stem is designed this way...

 

You need to remove the crown/stem to de-case the movement.
There is usually a stem release on the backside of the movement.
With frontloaders this is inaccessible.
Removing half the stem and crown this way enables the movement to slide out the front.

 

Yes, I was kinda careful to show exactly what was going on in the original posting, - that something is going on with the stem and that I wasn't asking just a broken-stem-your-repairman-is-your-friend question. Then I underscored this with the clear statement that the posting relates to a top loader in case anyone couldn't follow what was going on because they didn't know what dissembling the watch through the crystal involves.

 

case closed...

 

You might all be right, but when I learned precisely how this crown pushes onto the stem, I tried it and it has been working fine ever since!