Watch Repairs and Restorations

It marks the passing of days, months, and years. It may be gifted in honor of a special life occasion or passed down from generation to generation. Whether worn on a wrist or worn inside a pocket, a watch is a delicate object requiring care and attention. To preserve your watch's beauty and functionality, you want to have it professionally serviced. Discover the process of professional watch repair for new and vintage watches.

What Parts Make Up a Watch? 

Image via Flickr by paparutzi

A watch is a mechanical device made up of several parts. The outside of the watch, the body, houses inner parts called the movement. Traditional wristwatches have several components:

• The winding stem and crown allow the wearer to wind and set time on the watch.
• Next to the crown, two large gears control the winding of a watch. The barrel, a hollow cylindrical component, contains a part called the mainspring. The mainspring is wrapped around a central axis that, when you turn the crown, puts tension on the mainspring, enabling you to wind the watch. Additionally, the balance spring returns the balance wheel (below) to the center of the watch each time a beat or tick occurs.
• The balance wheel is a weighted component inside a watch mechanism that swings back and forth like the pendulum on a grandfather clock. Each time the balance wheel swings back and forth, the wheel creates a beat or tick that moves the gears and advances the hands across the face of a watch.

Professional Repair for New Watches

Over time, watches can experience wear and tear. This wear and tear can affect how a watch operates and impacts its ability to maintain the correct time. When you need to have a new watch repaired, you'll want to consult a professional watch repair technician who can carefully disassemble and examine the condition of your watch. 

Depending on your watch's condition, a repair may consist of the following:

• Precisely aligning the hands of a watch
• Refinishing the watch dial
• Replacing a broken or missing winding stem and crown
• Replacing deteriorated gaskets to boost a watch's resistance to water damage
• Resizing a watch band
• Replacing the quartz movement
• Replacing the mineral or sapphire crystal glass covering the watch face

Following repairs, a technician will thoroughly clean all external parts of the watch, including the watch band and the case. Professional watch repair specialists use a specialized cleaning solution to remove corrosion, debris, and dust from the internal components of a watch. Under the care of a professional watch specialist, a malfunctioning watch can be repaired.

Professional Repair for Vintage Watches

If you have a vintage watch that isn't working correctly, your watch may need a complete professional restoration. Whether you're dealing with scratches on the case, damage to the dial or hands of the watch, or deterioration of the watch band, a professional watch repair specialist can examine your watch and determine the best approach for your vintage timepiece. 

Dirt, moisture, and dryness are among some of the primary enemies of vintage watches. The more use a watch receives, the more servicing it will need to keep it in proper working condition. Many watch restoration specialists recommend servicing a watch you use regularly every two to three years. For a watch that's used infrequently, you could service your timepiece every five years.

Vintage watch servicing typically includes the following:

• A watch repair service specialist will completely dissemble your watch and clean it thoroughly using an ultrasonic cleaning method. 
• Once your watch has been cleaned, a technician will carefully inspect, adjust, and lubricate each part before reassembling the watch. Some vintage watch repair specialists may apply several different types of lubricants specifically formulated for horological use. 
• After the movement of a watch has been reassembled, the watch case or covering will be thoroughly cleaned and polished. 
• In the final stage of reassembly, the dial and hands are reattached and the watch is recased. Some watch repair professionals will time the watch using an electronic watch timing machine to ensure that the watch accurately keeps time. 

Professional dial refinishing is a specialized service for vintage watches that addresses faded, stained, or worn dials. A professional dial refinisher will attempt to match the details of a dial as closely as possible using a chart or library of dials as a guide. Minor variations in font size, dial signature, color, and other details can exist following a dial refinishing job. 

How to Find a Watch Repair and Restoration Professional

Whether you want to repair a vintage Zodiac Sea Wolf with a baby-blue Bakelite bezel or a cherished Forrester Chronograph, you want to entrust your beloved timepiece to the care of a watch restoration professional. 

For a vintage watch, you'll likely be looking at a full-service repair. When done correctly, a full-service repair can keep a watch running for many years. However, due to the amount of labor and time involved, expect to spend between $250 and $600 for a full-service watch repair. Newer watches or those that have had recent service may not need extensive work performed.

Take time to visit watch repair professionals at their businesses and speak with the owners and the service personnel. Learn about their processes and get answers to the following questions:

• What will the watch look like disassembled when a full-service repair is performed?
• Is the workspace in which the repair will be performed a clean, dust-free environment?
• Will the watch be tested for pressure, water resistance, and timing during full-service work?
• Does the shop charge for an estimate to examine your watch? Opening a watch requires precision and care, which is why reputable watch repair specialists will assess a fee for this service.

Whatever you do, don't rush the process. Finding the right watch repair specialist can take time.

Contact Martin Busch Jewelers to learn more about watch repair and restoration and experience the beauty behind its custom jewelry work. With more than 60 years of experience, Martin Busch Jewelers demonstrates that the possibilities of custom designs are endless. "If you can dream it, we can make it!"