Reply With Quotemaybe either an AS 278 or AS 437
Hi, this watch needs some work, it looks to me like the crown and ratchet wheels have corrosion and a couple of teeth missing. The watch is I believe a L. Tieche Gammeter*(who were later either bought out by or became Roamer, but I could be wrong on this). The watch runs but the hands will just stop at random times, could be after half an hour, could be after twelve hours, but until that point it keeps good time, and although the hands are stopped it keep ticking. A local repairer said it was too worn to fix, but I am dubious about this as it runs so well except for the aforementioned fault.
I'm basically asking a few questions in one:
What is the exact name of the movement?
Can these wheels be sourced?
Are they easy to replace if so?
And are there any specialists on here that can help ( for suitable remuneration of course).
Thanks very very much in advance.
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maybe either an AS 278 or AS 437
That was fast, thank you! I've just looked those up and they certainly look right. I'll get the watch back either in the morning or Monday and compare more closely. You've given me a lead I can follow now, that's great news.Originally Posted by pugster
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Can’t see any missing teeth on the crown wheel, not convinced there’s one missing on the ratchet wheel either, photo looks a bit blurred but I think I can see a tooth!
If the watch keeps running but the hands stop, that suggests that the cannon pinion is worn, usually they can be tightened and the problem is fixed.
I suspect the repairer who looked at it doesn’t want to get involved with it.
I'll confirm regarding the teeth when I get the watch back. Good shout regarding the cannon pinion, I've got good tools and a reasonable hand so can look up how to sort that out. Your suspicion of the repairer is exactly the same as mine, I think he just wants to clean, oil, and regulate and call himself a repair service. Thanks very much for your help.
On my original photo it looks like one ratchet tooth has its tip missing (or squared off) just before the 1 o'clock position (1 o'clock in the photo that is), and maybe two teeth with the same problem on the crown wheel at between 4 and 5 o'clock. Will update as soon as possible.
Unless you have experience and know what you’re doing, don’t attempt to fix a canon pinion! All too easy to get it wrong.
As for the repairer, I can understand why he doesn’t want the job. I work on old watches, I do watch work as a profitable hobby in retirement so I don’t use the profits to put bread on the table. Old watches, particularly very old ones, will invariably have problems and they can be v. tricky to fix, they can be riddled with faults. Contrast that with a fairly modern ETA movement in a decent quality watch that needs servicing, as a general rule these are easy jobs that can be turned round quickly whilst commanding a good price. I turn jobs down that I don’t fancy for different reasons, but it’s something repairers do and it isn’t always about skill levels or lack of, it’s simply about the type of work a guy is happy taking on.
Brendan Hoey us probably the best guy on here to sort this one out.
Yes thanks, I've been reading up on it and I think it's more than I want to tackle. I shall have a look at the watch Monday and maybe give him a shout. Is Brendan "the watch bloke"? Will update Monday. Thank you again.
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Dear Ruggertech,
I would love to help you repair this old cylinder escapement, but I am up to my ears with repairs right now. Especially coming up to Christmas. I'm surprised walkerwek doesn't want the experience.
I'm Webwatchmaker by the way, not either the watch guy or the watch bloke !
Good luck with getting it fixed.
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This is exactly the sort of job I don’t get involved with, I stick to stuff I know thesedays!
Hi Brendan, apologies for my confusion, I'm not sure yet who's who! I would be very happy for you or Walkerwek to take it on, there would be no rush at all, I certainly wouldn't be expecting it by Christmas anyway. I bought it cheap to play around with, but it was far nicer than I expected but more importantly my wife who has never worn a watch has totally fallen in love with it. It would be superb to get it running properly for her.
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Thats more than okay, thanks for letting me know and thanks for your advice and for pointing me towards Brendan.
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If you can wait a few weeks I will have a look at it for you with pleasure. Provided the balance swings freely cylinders are usually quite simple to repair. But sadly the tools for making cylinder balance staffs are now mostly in museums. (photo).
It is less known that up until the 1900s many Swiss manufacturers were still using cylinder movements in their watches.
Below is a photo of a Lecoultre cylinder from around 1899.
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Superb, thank you Brendan! Please PM me your address and I'll post it off to you to start when you are ready, no rush, and thanks again.
As I am not doing any more watch repairs until after Christmas, I thought I would end the year by fixing this sweet Swiss cylinder from the 1900s. The Swiss produced millions of these watches until they adopted American technology and learnt their mass production techniques. This allowed them to produce watches of much higher quality. They then flooded the world markets with cheaper lever watches and ultimately destroyed American competition. There is no doubt that the Swiss now produce the best mass produced watches in the world.
The cylinder escapement was invented by Thomas Tompion in 1695 and perfected by George Graham around 1725. It was used by many English makers who even made the cylinder out of ruby, plugging the ends with steel pivots, not an easy task, and the timekeeping was reasonable. It is a high friction escapement however and needs regular cleaning and oiling to keep it working well.
This little watch is a Swiss mass produced item and was probably made by ETA around 1905.
The movement is in remarkably good condition and only needed a clean and oil to get it running. I left the original mainspring as cylinder watches work much better with weak mainsprings, otherwise the friction between the escape wheel teeth and cylinder itself will stop it. I replaced the plastic glass with a period bevelled crystal, replaced the crown and winding stem, fitting a period pumpkin style crown. From experience, I did not remove the train wheel bridge but cleaned the wheels in situ in my ultrasonic watch cleaning machine. Often the train of wheels wear in some places and not others so it is wiser not to disturb the teeth and pinions and leave each tooth and pinion leaf meshing exactly as it was. The watch is now running remarkably well, gaining less than a minute a day. I hope the OP will be pleased with it.
I have a good collection of period glasses, crowns and stems. Far more than I will ever use. So it has been a real pleasure to put some life back into this much loved wristwatch:
The cylinder escapement:
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Thank you so much Brendan for all your work plus this interesting post. It is a delightfull little watch, my wife will be thrilled to get it back. Many many thanks!As I am not doing any more watch repairs until after Christmas, I thought I would end the year by fixing this sweet Swiss cylinder from the 1900s. The Swiss produced millions of these watches until they adopted American technology and learnt their mass production techniques. This allowed them to produce watches of much higher quality. They then flooded the world markets with cheaper lever watches and ultimately destroyed American competition. There is no doubt that the Swiss now produce the best mass produced watches in the world.
The cylinder escapement was invented by Thomas Tompion in 1695 and perfected by George Graham around 1725. It was used by many English makers who even made the cylinder out of ruby, plugging the ends with steel pivots, not an easy task, and the timekeeping was reasonable. It is a high friction escapement however and needs regular cleaning and oiling to keep it working well.
This little watch is a Swiss mass produced item and was probably made by ETA around 1905.
The movement is in remarkably good condition and only needed a clean and oil to get it running. I left the original mainspring as cylinder watches work much better with weak mainsprings, otherwise the friction between the escape wheel teeth and cylinder itself will stop it. I replaced the plastic glass with a period bevelled crystal, replaced the crown and winding stem, fitting a period pumpkin style crown. From experience, I did not remove the train wheel bridge but cleaned the wheels in situ in my ultrasonic watch cleaning machine. Often the train of wheels wear in some places and not others so it is wiser not to disturb the teeth and pinions and leave each tooth and pinion leaf meshing exactly as it was. The watch is now running remarkably well, gaining less than a minute a day. I hope the OP will be pleased with it.
I have a good collection of period glasses, crowns and stems. Far more than I will ever use. So it has been a real pleasure to put some life back into this much loved wristwatch:
The cylinder escapement:
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I'd just like to add that Brendan has undertaken this service and parts replacement for literally the price of a takeaway meal! It is obviously love of his craft and the joy of returning these old timepieces to life rather than a desire to make money that drives him. Quite remarkable and uplifting, thank you again.
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Brendan has returned my wife's watch. It's looking superb with it's new crystal and period crown, and ticking away perfectly. My wife is thrilled with it and I'm very very happy with the result. Thank you again Brendan.
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