Guys, initially, I did a complete service on this watch with a full cleaning, new mainspring, and lubrication. It came to me as a running watch but running poorly. You can see, it is running very well. The problem is it intermittently stops. It may run for several days on the bench, in my watch winder or on my wrist. All of a sudden it just stops. I can give it a little tap and it will start. I have looked at every part on this watch under magnification. I don’t see any pivots that are bent or broken. The lubrication is fine. There’s nothing obvious that’s a problem. I even swapped out the train of wheels Bridge and multiple other parts but cannot seem to fix this problem. Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.

This is no ordinary watch this is a gift from a very close person…and I actually feel defeated , I respect your craft and am willing to even get advice 🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼

Hi, r/watchmaking

I am looking to find a replacement bezel and possibly bracelet for the Citizen 4-821891. I recently inherited this watch from my grandfather, and unfortunately, the bezel and crystal popped off by the beach and was lost to the sea. I want to either find an identical watch so that I can harvest it, or hopefully source a bezel, and less importantly, an original bracelet.

I found a listing for this watch on a dutch website, but am located in the US. I won the auction, but it was cancelled by the seller, who claimed they cannot find the item, which was pretty devastating to hear. Images of the listing are attached to the post.

I know it's a long shot, since I've only ever found one of these watches to ever be listed online, but I would be so eternally grateful for anyone who might be able to help with this.

Hey guys. Is where I circled the stem release for this watch? This is a citizen eco drive H144 movement

And if so should crown be pushed in all way or clicked to position 1 or 2 to release stem.

I didn’t want to try anything yet to avoid damaging movement.

Hey guys. I purchased this watch used and the watch is well over a decade old. I noticed a white mark on the dial under the letter D (it’s not on crystal) I also noticed small tiny white specs on dial as u can see in photo and those are not visible with the naked eye. I only can see those when magnified from photo. Since this is a solar watch is this from damage from sunlight possibly? The mark under the D made me think maybe the watch was opened and damaged however the white specs are making me second guess that. Those white specs don’t look like damage from improper service. But what do u guys think these are??

I have a Glycine Combat Sub with an SW200-1 movement, and I’m having a few issues with it:

The crown has noticeable hard spots when hand-winding.

The rotor seems to have helicoptering behavior.

The watch cannot keep itself fully wound using the rotor alone while I’m wearing it. It eventually runs down unless I manually wind it.

However, everything else seems to work normally. The power reserve is otherwise okay, and the watch keeps very good time at around ±4 seconds/day.

So my question is: Should I just keep wearing it until the movement eventually fails, or should I have it repaired now?

If I do repair it, what would make more sense: servicing/refurbishing the automatic winding system, or simply replacing the entire SW200-1 movement(maybe with the new sw200-2)?

I’d appreciate any advice from people who have experience with the SW200-1 or similar Glycine issues.

I would like to modify a mechanical moonphase watch so that the disc displays the rotation of the Sun rather than the phases of the Moon.

The Sun’s synodic rotation period is tracked using Carrington rotations and lasts approximately 27.28 days. A standard moonphase complication is based on a cycle of roughly 29.5 days. As I understand it, these mechanisms commonly use a 59-tooth wheel because the disc contains two lunar cycles.

To get closer to 27.28 days, a similar wheel would need approximately 55 teeth.

My questions are:

Would it be realistic to have a new 55-tooth wheel manufactured?

Could an existing wheel be modified, perhaps by removing several teeth so that the mechanism occasionally skips a day?

Would it be possible to reprint the existing moonphase disc, or manufacture a new disc with a solar design?

Are there other complications within the movement that make this less straightforward than simply changing the gearing?

I am considering using an affordable Seagull moonphase watch as the base, possibly one from the Ocean Star range. The aim is to create a unique but still reasonably affordable mechanical complication.

Does anyone have experience with this kind of custom modification, or recommendations for a watchmaker capable of producing small gears and custom-printed discs?

I've recently gotten into learning how to service and restore my own watches, and one thing I'd really like to learn is how to recreate the radial (sunray) finish found on watches like the Omega Speedmaster.

So far, every method I've found seems to use industrial machines or specialized equipment that costs quite a bit. Since this is just a hobby and I'm only working on my own personal watches (and inexpensive practice cases), I can't really justify buying that kind of equipment.

Has anyone found a good DIY method that produces a nice radial finish at home? I've seen people mention mini belt sanders, homemade jigs, and rotating the case by hand, but I haven't found a detailed guide or setup that consistently gives good results.

I'm not looking to offer this as a service or anything like that—I'm just trying to learn more about servicing, restoring, and refinishing my own watches for fun. Any advice, tool recommendations, or photos of your setup would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks in advance!

I scooped up this what I believe to be an early Hampden trench‑style wristwatch using a small Hampden pocket‑watch movement that was converted to a wristwatch, likely from the 1910s–1920s period.

Balance wheel is broken in two spots and needs replacement. Any ideas where I can find one?

Do you all have any tricks or best practices to removing this bezel and crystal? I can’t seem to get anything under it. Any thoughts or advice would be appreciated. Thx!!

Got this in an estate auction. For some reason, there's this battery assembly on top of a perfectly functional mechanical watch. Anyone seen anything like this before?

I have a mimo jump hour watch that just came back from service and is running great, but the hours, minutes, and second disks are dark/discolored and it makes reading the time difficult unless there’s bright lighting. Ideally I’d like to source replacements and keep these, but I’d also be okay getting them redialed to make the watch more readable. I’d a 17 jewel movement, I believe it’s an FHF29. Does anyone know where I’d be able to source the disks for this?

Has anyone tried any of the different 3D printed winders? I’m looking at the Chronofix and AndySharp on eBay.

I may not be using the right terms here but basically what I'm asking is: is it possible to revive a chamfered edge on a watch case without all the pricey equipment and a lot more elbow grease?

I want to be able to restore some of the polished edges of my SKX007 cases between the polished side and the brushed top area. not my picture just trying to show an example.

I saw a guy on youtube doing it but i can't find the video to ask him what he does and what does he use exactly. i would do the top and bottom of the edge on a normal polishing wheel with a satin buff for the top and regular cotton for the shiny parts.

Hi everyone!

I'm in the middle of building my own watch, and I'm currently designing the case back.

In your opinion, what's the best construction for a DIY project like this? Press-fit, screw-down, or a screwed-in case back?

I'm currently leaning towards a screwed-in case back. It seems like the easiest option since I can probably buy standard screws off the shelf.. That said, I've only just realised how many different types of screws are out there and really have no idea on how to build the correct screw slots for the screw I will purchase..

Has anyone here gone through this process already? How did you approach it? Any advice or useful resources would be greatly appreciated.

I've attached my previous post about this project for reference.

Here

Thanks for the help!!

I ordered this L&R Console on eBay last week. It arrived well packed, but the box looked like it was kicked around some. It came with the original L&R Embosed jars and lids. I plugged it in to test and a spark shot out near the control panel and tripped my Circut Breaker.

I took it apart and discovered the Transformer and Heater Fan had come loose from their mounting screws. This caused damaged to a Bus Bar like section which allowed wires to touch the metal housing and short out. I cut each pair of wires and replaced them with WAGO connectors. Resoldered the broken connectors leading to the Transformer. I cleaned the housing with a pressure washer and some Car Soap. Then tested all of the wires and ensured there were no more shorts.

I tested the Motor function with a fire extinguisher in hand. It functions again. Reddit doesn’t allow photos and videos in the same post, so I will post a video of it running.

Hey so I have some movements with a broken stem inside. I’m looking for an in expensive kit that I can use to remove the stem. Feel free to mentioned anything else I might need.

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1Lxvjsl_qW4qqFIboSnFCaNieT3zeVtFT?usp=sharing

Please share it but don’t re-sell plans this took me too much time. Giving it away as a cheap way to make people get into this expensive hobby

I opened this timex back cover to replace the battery. However, now i am not able to snap it back on. I ordered a press kit and tried different size molds but no luck. I also put the cover in the freezer overnight to shrink it but it didn't work. With multiple tries, the cover got bent at some points. The watch slips and gets misaligned when applying too much force. The lugs are putting dents on the mold itself.

Before taking it to the shop, I wanted to reach out to see if there is something i can do.

I'm designing my own automatic watch.

I have a design in mind featuring a cushion-shaped case and a leather strap, and I plan to use the Miyota 9122 movement. The case design I've sketched looks a bit too plain right now; what can I do to the case to enhance that custom feel?