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 [...]
DO YOU LIVE AROUND PORTLAND, OR? AWCI is holding its first-ever SWAP MEET on Aug 7th, 9am-3pm. Bring your watches, clocks, tools, parts…anything related to timekeeping to BUY-SELL-TRADE. Call now to reserve your table for just $25! (Gen. Admission: $10 to non-sellers). 866-367-2924 or adunn@awci.com. HURRY! Hilton Hotel, Vancouver, WA, 301 w 6th St., Vancouver, [...]
Kello, a portable watch timing machine I built for Apple’s iOS, has been featured in an article in the July issue of International Watch Magazine. For those who may not have been able to get their hands on a physical copy of the magazine or who would like to know more than what was revealed in the article, the following excerpts are from a series of emails in which I answered questions posed by the article’s author, Sheldon Smith.
Jaeger-LeCoultre first debuted their AMVOX 2 chronograph in late 2005, in partnership with English car manufacturer Aston Martin. While most chronograph watches will use at least one or two pushers to the control the chronograph mechanism, the AMVOX 2′s innovative design uses an incognito, ‘vertical trigger’ system to engage and reset the chronograph functions of [...]
If you can’t hold out for George Daniels’ masterfully written book Watchmaking to hit North American shores on the June 21st release date that is currently advertised on Amazon, several copies of the 2011, 4th edition are available in the UK as of today, June 1st, through Jeff Formby’s Horological Book Store. This book is [...]
Most watch technicians who are familiar with the T Touch Expert, and its derivatives such as the Sea Touch and T Touch II, are aware of the diagnostic mode that can be used to calibrate and verify the timepieces’ multitude of functions. Some time ago, I discovered a similar mode by accident, for the E40 [...]
In our last post here on the blog, Roger Smith showed us how to make watch hands from raw steel. Keeping the hands of a watch well organized is also an important aspect of a watchmakers craft, particularly when it comes to more complicated watches like chronographs. Occasionally, I get watches in for service that [...]
English watchmaker, Roger W. Smith, has posted a series of videos detailing the process he uses to create the unique set of hands that have come to define his distinctive style of watchmaking. Being the only apprentice that renowned watchmaker, George Daniels, has ever taken under his wing, this short series of how-to videos is [...]
A short while back we shared a video tip here on the blog about how to remove the barrel arbor from a watch barrel quickly and easily. Removing the stem from a watch calibre that has just had its hands installed is another area I have seen some struggle with. One of the very first [...]
One of the things many watchmakers struggle with is customers who want modern accuracy (or even quartz accuracy) from vintage timepieces. It seems that over the years we have forgotten what was expected of wristwatches 50 years ago. I assure you that there were some very good watches made 50 years ago, and even much [...]
Watchmaking Books on Lulu