February 4, 2008 – 7:56 pm
I don’t spend tons of time in watch forums like Timezone, but I have spent a fair amount of time over the past few years. One of the things people are always discussing is a “break-in period” for a mechanical watch. Here is my official opinion on the matter. I say opinion but it is [...]
February 3, 2008 – 8:17 pm
The University of Oklahoma has revamped it’s watchmaking program. It is unclear to me if they remain a WOSTEP partner school or not, it looks like they are focusing on AWCI-CW21 recognition instead. That would be a bold move, but I believe it would be a smart one. A press release on the school’s web [...]
February 3, 2008 – 3:24 pm
Since I speak spanish and recently stumbled upon some great blogs in spanish dedicated to watches I have decided to launch a spanish language version of this blog. You will find it at ElRelojMeHabla.wordpress.com I invite all you spanish speakers to visit me there. Debido a que hablo el español y a cabo de descubrir [...]
February 1, 2008 – 9:12 pm
I have seen this question on the internet countless times and I’ve heard it in person plenty of times. For example: I tell customers that their modern watch should be serviced about every 5 years. Does it need to be serviced that often? Yes! I’m not going to go on about the analogy with the [...]
January 31, 2008 – 8:49 pm
In the world of watch repair obtaining spare parts is extremely important & often problematic. The american watchmaking industry invented the production of interchangeable parts in the late 1800s but parts weren’t really interchangeable until the 1940s. By the end of WWII watches could easily be repaired by identifying faulty parts and ordering replacements. For [...]
January 30, 2008 – 8:52 pm
When I graduated from the Lititz Watch Technicum, I left with an LWT Diploma, a WOSTEP certificate, and the title of AWCI Certified Watchmaker for the 21st Century. So what do they mean? My WOSTEP Certificate means that I successfully completed 3000 hours of coursework approved by the Watchmakers of Switzerland Training and Education Program [...]
January 29, 2008 – 8:48 pm
I have three measuring tools I use on a regular basis. I use them for all kinds of things. I use them to measure parts dimensions to order replacement parts, I use them for measuring the width between lugs to fit new springbars. My favorite thing is to use them for making new parts, but [...]
January 28, 2008 – 8:36 pm
I love watchmaking! I very rarely have a day where I don’t enjoy what I do. Don’t get me wrong however, it’s not all fun. Today I write about one of the less appealing aspects of my career, in case you were thinking about becoming a watchmaker. Body Cheese is what we call it. I [...]
January 25, 2008 – 8:53 pm
I was reading in my January Horological Tiimes today about workshop organization and parts inventory management. I have seen some very cluttered watchmaker workshops. Often the watchmaker’s bench is completely covered with old parts and movements except for the 10 – 16 square inches directly in front of them where they work on their current [...]
January 23, 2008 – 7:36 pm
Isn’t she a beauty? I had the pleasure of working on this watch last week. It is a large (20 lignes +) pocket watch in a blackened steel case. The movement is swiss made in the studio of Pavel Bure (Paul Buhre) of Le Locle, Switzerland. The case ( and dial?) are made for the [...]
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