One aspect of the modern trend towards increasingly larger wristwatches is that the availability of spare parts has yet to catch up. Particularly for brands that do not have the capacity in place or simply choose not to furnish these parts. Recently, I had a client who needed a new 44mm crystal for his watch. [...]
February 3, 2012 – 10:41 pm
One of the stranger items on last year’s list of stocking stuffers for watchmakers was a mouldable, silicone rubber known as Sugru. I mentioned then that I’ve used it to improve the ergonomics of some the tools I use. One of those tools is a hand tool designed for installing and removing pushers in Tissot’s [...]
January 21, 2012 – 10:46 am
A short interview with the highly esteemed, master watchmaker, Philippe Dufour, debuted today on TheTImeTV, detailing some of the plans that lie ahead for an initiative he has been spearheading alongside Robert Greubel and Stephen Forsey of Greubel-Forsey. Their ambition with the project is simply this: to demonstrate and archive all of the necessary skills [...]
December 10, 2011 – 9:30 pm
One of the great things about being a watchmaker, is that so many of the tools we use everyday are small. Barring cleaning machines and water resistance testing equipment, most of the stuff we use to do our job everyday can fit in a stocking at Christmas time. For this year, I’ve compiled a list [...]
December 8, 2011 – 8:12 am
A new assembly video, of Blancpain’s calibre 1151, has recently been posted on Alliance Horlogère. Based on the Frederic Piguet 1150, it is a double barrel, automatic wristwatch calibre with a 100 hour power reserve. Frederic Piguet itself is now defunct, having been fully integrated by the Swatch Group into Blancpain’s production chain several years [...]
October 21, 2011 – 6:16 pm
Sadly, one of the greatest watchmakers of the 20th century, George Daniels, OBE, FBHI, FAWCI, has passed away today, at the age of 85. Born into a poor family in London just two years before the Great Depression, Daniels overcame great odds to become one of the most renowned and respected watchmakers of the past [...]
October 12, 2011 – 1:30 pm
Roger W. Smith, the sole apprentice of legendary watchmaker George Daniels, has brought to life yet another gem of experience from Daniels’ masterwork Watchmaking. You may recall the series of 10 short, tutorial videos from Smith that we featured previously here on Tick Talk, which detailed the careful work involved in finishing a set of [...]
September 18, 2011 – 8:31 pm
When it comes to servicing fine timepieces, there is nothing that delights a client more than receiving their freshly serviced timepiece back looking and operating as new as the day they bought it. One of the multitude of characteristics that make Rolexes so desirable is the attention to detail that the company invests in making [...]
August 29, 2011 – 7:45 pm
Some really neat projects are starting to pop up at Rolex backed watchmaking schools in the States, which include Lititz, OSU, and NSCC. One of the most notable I’ve seen recently is Oklahoma State University’s Calibre 23-11, which is a faculty designed ebauche (rough watch movement) that is finished and assembled by each of the [...]
If you ask ten different watch manufacturers about their recommended protocol for using epilame in the servicing of a watch, you are likely to get ten different answers; even among watch brands that operate under the same parent organization. Technical documentation from one company will recommend applying epilame to components X, Y, and Z, while [...]
Watchmaking Books on Lulu