Watch tools

Archer

Cheaper is usually not better in my experience.

For screwdrivers VOH are the best in my view. Horia also make a good set at a more reasonable price.

For oilers, the Bergeon ergonomic oilers are excellent and I would never go back to any other.

Dumont make excellent tweezers, in particular the Dumostar range, but they seem to be more difficult to find these days. I use their #5 for balance spring work. Horia F type are good for hands, and for general assembly I use Bergeon bronze tweezers.

Horotec make decent tools, but some I’ve had a not as sturdy as I would like, but for a hobbyist they work okay. For example I have used their hand press, case/crystal press, and ended up replacing both with much better tools. I do use their case tube and pusher press, but it’s not as robust as I would prefer, as I ended up breaking one while trying to press out a case tube.

Again buying a good tool once will often save you money.

JimInOz

Bergeon are like the Rolex of tools, lots of advertising and influencers but the same quality as other Swiss stuff.
My screwdrivers are VOH and I haven't compared them to equivalent Bergeon's, but I'm more than satisfied with them.
My tweezers are mostly Dumont, no issues with them.
Pliers by AF, other tools by Horotec, can't say any of them have let me down.
Even some of the other Euro and Asian tools are of good enough quality for amateur watchmakers.

If you want to be scared by high prices, visit PP (no, not Patek, the other scary cost PP).

https://petitpierre.ch/en/watchmaking-tools/screwdriver/

noless

for oilers and driver blades i have found making them myself to be the best approach, that said making them yourself was also part of my schools assignments.

For tweezers I particularly like regine, something about the spring in them that i just like, I use their brass and nickel tweezers, for hairsprings I use dumont carbon steel but I also modified the tip quite extensively.

Archer

For oilers, the Bergeon ergonomic oilers are excellent and I would never go back to any other.

noless

for oilers and driver blades i have found making them myself to be the best approach, that said making them yourself was also part of my schools assignments.

For tweezers I particularly like regine, something about the spring in them that i just like, I use their brass and nickel tweezers, for hairsprings I use dumont carbon steel but I also modified the tip quite extensively.

V vbomega

Here are the 4 screwdrivers to show the differences between AF Switzerland (France) design, old stainless steel Horotec with ball bearings, new stainless steel special knurled Horotec with ball bearings and VOH - also stainless steel, ball bearings. AF Switzerland is size 1.40 with the grey plastic band at the top. Old Horotec is next to AF Switzerland, new Horotec is between the old Horotec and the VOH.

Even the least expensive AF Switzerland is fine for a hobbyist. To clarify - AF Switzerland used to resell them, not manufacture. The actual screwdrivers are made in France and are dirt cheap. I refer to them as "AF Switzerland" because they used to be sold as such many years ago. The head spins just fine on this one and is sitting on top of one ball bearing. The other screwdrivers have multiple ball bearings in a circle. The difference is not very perceptible. The weak point of the cheap AF Switzerland is the plastic collar that joins the screwdriver body with the head. I had one screwdriver where it cracked after about 10 years and disengaged the top from the body. At less than $4 per screwdriver (Cousins, "Swiss style"), this is not a big deal. The top is made of nickel-plated brass. The plating will start peeling off eventually after heavy use. Also, not a big deal at under $4. The grip is very good, just as good as any other expensive screwdriver. The blade is blued steel, very similar to VOH, but a bit thicker at the tip.

For my most frequently used sizes I upgraded the AF Switzerland screwdrivers to old Horotec back 10 years ago. They used to cost around $14 if I remember correctly. They are also quite similar to VOH in design.

VOH set is insanely expensive but the screwdrivers are superb and the rotating base is fantastic.

The new Horotec feel almost as exquisite as VOHs at roughly half the price - they cost about $18 per driver. They also have very impressive blades, stainless steel hardened 54 HRC. I like the top as it accommodates the finger resting on top very nicely.

Hope this helps.

C CK90s

Hi,
I went the aluminium horotec ones as I like the colour difference. Only problem is they don't slot in the case properly, I wish it was all foam inserts. I also recently got dumont tweezers, mainly dumoxal AA, #2, #3c, #4, #5 and brass AM & #7. Had to sharpen the tips on AA & 3c, is that unusual?