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Thread: Do you get satisfaction from personally doing work on a watch?

  1. #1

    Do you get satisfaction from personally doing work on a watch?

    Picked up this watch recently, the Casio i-Range IRW-M10T.







    The i-Range watches were produced for a short period in the mid 2000s and seemed to be an attempt by Casio to see if there was a market for a smaller more dressy watch than their usual offerings.

    They were never issued in the West and seem to be Japan only. I don’t think they took off as you see very few of then about and there is little information about them online.
    I like them though, they are small and very thin given that they pack a lot of technology in them being solar and atomic for starters. They are all metal watches with no resin anywhere

    Casio seemed to switch their efforts into the Oceanus line, for the all metal, more dressy type of watch. The Oceanus line are all much bigger than these i-Range models though as Casio followed the trend for larger watches.

    This IRW-M10T is a little bigger than the digital i-Range models at 40mm wide. However, this is to the end of the button guard and the watch wears smaller than this would suggest as it is only 38mm tall.
    The watch is slightly thinner than the digital models at a slim 8mm.

    I managed to source the watch pretty cheaply in Japan. The photo was not flattering, seemed to be very dull with scuffs and loads of minor scratches. I could see no deep scratches or dings though and this was encouraging. The advert said there were small marks on the crystal.

    I got the watch and in fact there were no scratches on the crystal, I knew this meant the crystal had to be sapphire as it stands slightly proud of the bezel and would have been fairly well scratched if it had been mineral given the wear on the watch. At this point I could not find any information about the crystal online as there is next to no information about it out there.

    After a good wash, and close examination there were some marks on the crystal but they were under the crystal. They were small bluish iridescent round spots and I suspected they were water marks left after condensation had formed moving from warm to cold in a humid atmosphere and that perhaps there was an AR coating on the inside of the watch. I was pretty sure they were water marks as there were what also appeared to be water marks on one of the SS batons and on the lower end of the minute hand (you can see this if you look at the sellers picture). I doubt there had ever been any physical leaking of water as there would have been signs on the dial etc

    The marks weren’t bad and only visible at certain angles but you know how it is, you can’t stop angling the watch to keep looking at them!

    I was reluctant to try and sort it because I know how tricky it is to get a crystal completely clean of all marks and smudges once you start messing with it. Also the watch is a pretty early solar atomic so you don’t know how easy the module will be to get out and back.

    However, I finally dismantled the watch and was cleaning the inside of the crystal when it partially popped from the case. Bugger! Obviously the reason the watch is only day to day WR is because there is no crystal gasket. The crystal is a push fit onto some sort of silicone sealant. The sealant had dried out in part and the crystal was therefore easily pushed out in those places.

    So the crystal had to be fully removed and all the old sealant removed from the crystal and case. I reapplied a clear sealant and pushed the crystal back into place and left to set. When done the cleaning recommenced, it was a faff because you think everything is fine but after you reassemble the watch you notice a little mark and have to repeat the process.I did it about three times before I got it as I wanted. Whilst in pieces I cleaned the hands and baton and this went without a hitch. Just had to set the hands for a good job. The module is a very tight fit in the case and took a bit of juggling every time to get it to seat properly.

    I spent a cathartic half an hour or so cleaning the case up and it is has come up rather well with a mix of polished and satin finishes. Still a few very fine lines which I might get rid of at some point when I feel the need for a relaxing half an hour or so.

































































































    I subsequently came across an old Amazon Japan advert for the watch and it confirmed the watch indeed does have an AR sapphire crystal.

    So the watch itself, as I said, is solar and atomic, with a battery mode, world time, alarm and hourly signal, it automatically adjust to the digital time but there is a manual hand set feature as well. It has a stopwatch and EL light for the LCD alone.

    Surprisingly, for a Casio, the lume is good and long lasting, still perfectly visible after 7 hours. You always have the EL though as well.

































    In time keeping you can have the full date, or digital time or day/date. You can have the day displayed in Japanese instead of English if you wish a rather quirky feature.



































    The watch is titanium with a solid link titanium bracelet. It is feather light at just 64g, it is so comfortable you have to look to check you are actually wearing it! I prefer lighter to heavier in watches, that is why I like titanium watches.


    I am quite pleased with the watch, it has provided a bit of satisfaction in getting quite a rare thing, then sorting issues out and markedly improving the appearance, it gives you a greater connection to the object as a possession. Having said that the watch is a very practical day to day wear, just don’t go swimming or diving in it. I have dunked it in a sinkfull of water and it is just fine. It has plenty of useful features daily wear.

    Here are my other i-Range watches.

















































































    The negative display one is all SS and weighs in at 98g, the positive display is SS with a titanium bracelet and is 72g. They measure 32mm by 41mm but wear bigger than the size suggests due to the wide bracelet. The flaw with them is that they have mineral crystals making them susceptible to scratches.

































    So does anyone else look at a watch they have put work into themselves with a little more regard?





    Mitch

  2. #2
    Master alfat33's Avatar
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    Very enjoyable post, thanks. I've tinkered with cleaning and polishing up cases and crystals, even one dial, and found it very satisfying, but I can see that I need to get a bit more serious.

  3. #3
    Master ordo's Avatar
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    I get A LOT of satisfaction from working on watches. In fact, that's how I started getting into watches, I guess, and why I still do it.

  4. #4
    I've only taken scratches out of bracelets and acrylic crystals along with changing batteries. It's satisfying doing it yourself rather than having to go to a jewellers.
    It's almost as satisfying as finding a spring bar which has shot somewhere across the room!


    Sent from my iPhone using TZ-UK mobile app

  5. #5
    Craftsman Scott's Avatar
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    I would love to have the time to take up a hobby like this. One day, when I'm grey(er) and old(er) perhaps.

  6. #6
    Grand Master
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    Quote Originally Posted by Scott View Post
    I would love to have the time to take up a hobby like this. One day, when I'm grey(er) and old(er) perhaps.
    That's exactly what I did! I took redundancy/early retirement aged 52. My initial thoughts were centred on becoming a trader/dealer and being able to do the work needed to add value to watches rather than pay someone else. I also had my own collection to maintain, the guy who I`d used for years was becoming unreliable and that frustrated me. The BHI Basic Mechanical Watch course is the one to go for, a 5 day residential course that's brilliant. Think of it as a holiday, consider the expense in that context, and it starts to make sense. They also do courses covering refinishing but I never bothered with those, in hindsight I wish I'd done them and I`m sure I would've learned faster.

    I still get satisfaction from watch work, particularly on the old stuff that needs full restoration. I get satisfaction from wearing a watch that I`ve assembled, it means so much more than simply buying an expensive watch and wearing it.

    Best advice I can give anyone is to get a few decent magnifiers and work in a well-lit area. Even changing straps is easier when you can see exactly what you're doing. As for flying springbars, it happens to the best of us occasionally; placing the watch in a plastic bag when taking the strap off can help. I use that technique with tiny springs in movements, it safeguards against losing them.

    Paul

  7. #7
    Quote Originally Posted by walkerwek1958 View Post
    placing the watch in a plastic bag when taking the strap off can help.
    Good tip, thanks.

  8. #8
    Quote Originally Posted by Lukeott View Post
    It's almost as satisfying as finding a spring bar which has shot somewhere across the room!

    ]
    That actually happened to me with this watch. I was not concentrating as I did the bracelet, thinking about all the other things I had to do, the spring bar shot nearly six feet away but luckily I had spotted its trajectory and found it immediately.




    Mitch

  9. #9
    I dropped a tiny collar from a bracelet on the table and it bounced off onto (deep) carpet
    Took me ages to find.
    Working on a towel prevents that.


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  10. #10
    Craftsman
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    Great tip - thanks for sharing. Things like this are part of what makes the forum such a great place!

    Quote Originally Posted by walkerwek1958 View Post
    That's exactly what I did! I took redundancy/early retirement aged 52. My initial thoughts were centred on becoming a trader/dealer and being able to do the work needed to add value to watches rather than pay someone else. I also had my own collection to maintain, the guy who I`d used for years was becoming unreliable and that frustrated me. The BHI Basic Mechanical Watch course is the one to go for, a 5 day residential course that's brilliant. Think of it as a holiday, consider the expense in that context, and it starts to make sense. They also do courses covering refinishing but I never bothered with those, in hindsight I wish I'd done them and I`m sure I would've learned faster.

    I still get satisfaction from watch work, particularly on the old stuff that needs full restoration. I get satisfaction from wearing a watch that I`ve assembled, it means so much more than simply buying an expensive watch and wearing it.

    Best advice I can give anyone is to get a few decent magnifiers and work in a well-lit area. Even changing straps is easier when you can see exactly what you're doing. As for flying springbars, it happens to the best of us occasionally; placing the watch in a plastic bag when taking the strap off can help. I use that technique with tiny springs in movements, it safeguards against losing them.

    Paul

  11. #11
    Master Alansmithee's Avatar
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    Although you say the Oceanus are all much bigger - side-on the first one looks the same as the S100 (which I own).

  12. #12
    Quote Originally Posted by Alansmithee View Post
    Although you say the Oceanus are all much bigger - side-on the first one looks the same as the S100 (which I own).
    That Oceanus is a fine elegant looking watch, it does draw some style cues from the i-Range but overall it is much different.

    It is larger all round though. It is 41.5mm by 45.7 and is a slim 10.5 thick. This against the i-Range's 40mm by 38 and a thin 8mm thick. So even though they are both all titanium the Oceanus weighs in at 90g against 64g for the i-Range.




    Mitch

  13. #13
    I've just felt the glow! I ordered some cheap tools on eBay and managed to regulate my watch and remove the movement, clean the face and glass, put it back in, put the stem back and close the case. Immensely satisfying. Obviously very simple stuff but my first go.

  14. #14
    Quote Originally Posted by Lukeott View Post
    I dropped a tiny collar from a bracelet on the table and it bounced off onto (deep) carpet
    Took me ages to find.
    Working on a towel prevents that.
    l]

    If that happens you can put a pair of tights over the end of a vacuum cleaner nozzle and hoover it up that way.



    Mitch

  15. #15
    Another good idea, although when I started reading it I wondered where it was going!
    I think I just used a torch and saw it glinting.


    Sent from my iPhone using TZ-UK mobile app

  16. #16
    Quote Originally Posted by alfat33 View Post
    Very enjoyable post, thanks. I've tinkered with cleaning and polishing up cases and crystals, even one dial, and found it very satisfying, but I can see that I need to get a bit more serious.

    Cheers!

    I agree it is very satisfying. Also, as well as those threads where people talk about stuff they have done with their watches, I like to read those threads when people take the time to do in depth reviews of watches that are not seen often on here.




    Mitch

  17. #17
    Grand Master
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mitch View Post
    If that happens you can put a pair of tights over the end of a vacuum cleaner nozzle and hoover it up that way.



    Mitch
    I do a similar thing if parts get lost on the floor (happens to the best of us occasionally). A hanky over the vacuum cleaner nozzle works fine. I ought to get a magnet too.

    My advice is to work on a tray if you don`t have a proper bench. Tweezers and a couple of magnifiers are essential when handling small parts.

    Paul

  18. #18
    Craftsman Scott's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by walkerwek1958 View Post
    That's exactly what I did! I took redundancy/early retirement aged 52. My initial thoughts were centred on becoming a trader/dealer and being able to do the work needed to add value to watches rather than pay someone else. I also had my own collection to maintain, the guy who I`d used for years was becoming unreliable and that frustrated me. The BHI Basic Mechanical Watch course is the one to go for, a 5 day residential course that's brilliant. Think of it as a holiday, consider the expense in that context, and it starts to make sense. They also do courses covering refinishing but I never bothered with those, in hindsight I wish I'd done them and I`m sure I would've learned faster.

    I still get satisfaction from watch work, particularly on the old stuff that needs full restoration. I get satisfaction from wearing a watch that I`ve assembled, it means so much more than simply buying an expensive watch and wearing it.

    Best advice I can give anyone is to get a few decent magnifiers and work in a well-lit area. Even changing straps is easier when you can see exactly what you're doing. As for flying springbars, it happens to the best of us occasionally; placing the watch in a plastic bag when taking the strap off can help. I use that technique with tiny springs in movements, it safeguards against losing them.

    Paul
    Oh that's nice. I've only recently started doing non-work related courses and you're right, they're as good as a holiday..

    "a change is as good as a rest"

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