r/watchmaking

Thompson… mixture… “Counter Camo”

Maybe a cop out for Day 15, but I have had requests before to see the counter enamel as a dial.

Anytime there’s extra enamel that may have some contamination I put it into a counter enamel jar. Over time it takes on a color of its own.

Funny enough for this mixture, I don’t think there’s any green. Gotta love how color theory works! (Yellow and blue are definitely in there)

Hey everyone! Just received this guy in e it the mail. Couldn't be happier with this pickup. However, I need recommendations for a good watchmaker to service it. My go-to guy doesn't do Chronos.

Any good recommendations out there?

- I live in Central Florida, but don't mind mailing it off

- I like to stick around $600-800 for a solid service

installed a new escape wheel after finding out it had a worn pivot do everything else seems fine do you guys think this is a hairspring problem

Hi everyone! I just got this black dial Bulova from the 1930s or 1940s a few days ago, and wanted to know what kind of band would work on this. Where the normal lugs would be, these swinging/movable pieces are connected. Anyone have a clue on what kind of band was used here? It doesn’t look like there’s any way to remove the pieces. There’s no cut outs to get to the spring bars.

Can anyone help identify the part circled ? I’m pretty new to the hobby and when I removed the crown it fell out and I have had no luck finding it
Thanks all

Hello, everyone,

I’m writing this quick post because I’m having trouble finding reliable information about the movement in this watch, which needs to be replaced!

It’s an ETA 955.124 (as marked on the movement), and I’m wondering about the interchangeability between ETA movements. I’ve found quite a bit of conflicting information, particularly regarding the interchangeability between the 955.124 and the 955.122. Do you know if these two movements are indeed interchangeable?

The movement has a coil problem (broken wire) on the electronic circuit, and I'm also wondering if I should just replace the electrical circuit—what do you think?

Just to clarify, I'm a beginner, and this is my first "big" repair!

Chrome on old watch cases is a thick layer. Sand it and you wipe out the hallmarks and engravings underneath.

So I skipped the sandpaper. Used a 12V car charger and a salt solution. The case goes in the bath, chrome should come off without touching the base metal.

Will show results later. Anyone tried this?

Thompson Enamel 1211 “Candy Yellow”

Another dang speck! Might have to change the name of my page to the “war against dust”

I’m getting more and more fascinated about creating vintage like watches. One of my recent builds was ESPA super compressor watch which in my opinion, turn out pretty good. Now I’m trying reproduce this fluffy “old tritium“ loom on the indices as well as on the hands. Normally, I’m working with C3 powder and I think the color is not the problem. Usually, I am using watercolors to get the desired tone. The problem more is about to find the right mixture or a binder, which can be applied on one sick layer, but will not leave the gloss effect after it dries out.

I don’t like to use the binder from the luminous kits as it starts to develop threads quite quickly once it’s exposed to the fresh air, so it is very hard to operate with. I’ve also tries to use a matte varnish, but the side effect of this mixture is once drying out it starts to shrink and will be applied quite uneven. The UV glue does not provide this “dried-out” effect.

I’m adding the picture for the reference

Hey, guys. I've been working on this wonky ST36 hairspring as practice and I'm wondering if this is actually even salvageable now (and if I even removed it correctly). Could anyone also recommend any youtubers or watchmaking books I could use to learn how to adjust hairsprings? Any help is appreciated, thanks! 🙂

Thompson Enamel 1605 “Isle Blue”

All it takes is one darn speck to ruin a good thing!

There are so many shades of blue for enamel. Once I go through a couple more I will have to post some side by sides.

I have 2 watches that needed to be fixed/replaced.

Not entirely sure if these movements will actually fit the watch.

1. Luminox series 3954 (navy seal UVP). It's a Ronda R9 515 movement, but not too sure if I have to get height 6 or regular height. I looked up online or asked AI they often don't give me the same answer.

2. Vintage Omega Seamaster Quartz cal.1420

I also looked up online and asked AI it says to use ETA 955.411 or 412 if I cannot find 411

Just want to know if anybody here have experience or have knowledge about movements can help me out here. Thanks a lot!

(Reason why I am replacing these movements is because it's cheaper to replace than fixing them)

Let me know what you guys think. The second hand is placed below the minutes ring. Movement is based of eta 6498 with increased power reserve. The dial is hand hammered to get the texture (need further improvement), let me know what you guys think.

Let's see your tiniest movements

I'm not a watchmaker but I have "fixed" two mechanical watches in the past, first one was running too fast, demagnetized and regulated it, it's still running fine for a flea market find. I have also replaced whole movement once, AS 1130 that had some sort of failure on the balance wheel, it was missing a jewel on pallet fork, no idea how to fix that so I replaced the movement. Now this one in the picture is my first Quartz movement replacement for a motorcycle handlebar mounted clock. Old movement did not run and I could not move the hands via crown. Replaced the chinese junk with parts bin Miyota movement, set of hands and trimmed a new stem to length.. and it just works!

EDIT: Sorry about the typo on title

Thompson Enamel 1890 “Victoria Red”

Red on copper is an exceptionally hard color to crack on copper blanks. Unfortunately this one is a failure with all the spots on it. Still trying to solve it.

It may need to be a color that’s reserved for silver blanks.

Bonus picture at the end of what an under fired dial looks like. It’s called “orange peel” when it is under fired like this.

Spent the last few months designing a watch based on Miyota 9132.

Before you say anything, I am not a watchmaker and won’t start a microbrand 😅

This was a way for me to level up my CAD skills, work with factories and get something wearable out of it. I documented my progress at domsidequest.com

In the process, a lot went wrong. Factories couldn’t apply nice finishing at the price I was looking for, I ordered an expensive crystal that didn’t fit, and at the finish line my seconds pinion snapped.

Nevertheless, fun experience. I’ll likely slim this down and get some nicer parts in for a V2

Where I live ai don't have space for a dedicated bench, so I am looking at different, more portable options. Not much out there, but this one caught my eye. The specs state that it's 5.5" tall, so I would need to have aomething under it to bring my work area up to

Has anyone used this? How do/ did you feel about it?

Thompson Enamel 1505 “Pastel Blue”