Welcome to the 8th in a series on maintaining a watch collection. This post deals with the tasks of maintaining a watch, and eventually having it serviced or repaired. Although few of us can expect to become watchmakers or even tear apart a watch outside of a manufacturer's marketing event, all of us can take steps to prolong the beauty and functionality of our timepieces, or in the words of American statesman Benjamin Franklin:
It is far, far better to keep a bad thing from happening than it is to fix that bad thing once it has happened.
or more actually, Franklin said:
28.23 grams of prevention are better than 454 grams of a cure (which before metric conversion was) an ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure.
"In my real job" I have helped a number of automakers and aftermarket publishers create automotive service data, or what we used to call repair manuals. This data is used by professional technicians to do preventative maintenance, diagnostic troubleshooting, service or component repairs.
Similar information exists in the watch world and we might get to it later in this article. But for now, let's just think PREVENT PROBLEMS .
(Get your mind off my glass of Laphroaig, no drinks are allowed in the watch repair area)
Disclaimer
I am not a professional watch repairman. I am only a former apprentice. I don't do this for a living and I don't solicit work from or accept watches from Purists.
I only fix my own watches and those when my wife insists I must do a favor for her friends, or she won't let me buy any more Grand Seikos.
Please find a watchmaker in your own neighborhood who can help you keep your collection going.
Prevention
I think we should start with the things that are most obvious and irritating at the front counter in a watch repair shop.
-- Filthy bracelets (lotion, skin debris, dirt, grease)
-- Abused watches (dropped, struck, scratched, smashed, attempted break-in using pliers on case or hammer/punch)
-- Destroyed straps / missing spring bars
-- Water in watch from crown being open when submerged
-- Broken mainspring
-- Missing rider tabs, screws, crowns, etc.
-- Cracked crystal
Most of these issues can be avoided with a little care. In my experience, IF you have a collection of watches, at any price range, THEN you are more likely to be looking at, playing with, wiping clean and maintaining your watches. Bravo.
Here's what else you can do, starting with cleaning it.
Cleaning the outside of the watch
Watches are close to your hands, and so they collect dirt like your hands do. You wouldn't think of never washing your hands, cleaning your fingernails, etc. Would you?
Please do NOT clean your watch in the sink where you might drop or damage it!
Here's how I clean a watch and bracelet.
1. Start with a toothbrush, bar of soap and a large plastic bowl or measuring cup, and a towel.
2. Dampen the toothbrush and rub it once lightly across the soap.
3. Holding the movement in your hand over the bowl, scrub the bracelet gently, dipping the brush in water occasionally.
4. Keeping the case protected, turn the watch around and scrub the other sides of the bracelet (in, out, left, right) with the brush.
5. Clean the brush and use clean water to wash / rinse the bracelet again. You will see dirt in your cup or on the towel.
6. Clean the brush and dry it slightly on a towel.
7. Go up along the lugs and around the edges of the back and front of the watch, avoiding the crown.
8. Follow up with a cotton swap or toothpick if there is anything the toothbrush won't remove.
9. Use a clean dry lint-free cloth to dry the watch, and let it sit on the cloth for an hour or two to dry.
I would do this once a year or more depending on how much you wear your watch.
CASE STUDY ONE IN CLEANING
Here's what I found in my uncle's Elgin wristwatch bracelet - he's 75 and doesn't abuse the watch but still ... there was so much in my measuring cup that I poured it through a coffee filter to save the evidence!
This dirt came from the watch head itself, apart from the bracelet:
Eventually the watch, bracelet and all were clean as a whistle and ready for reassembly (we made him a new dial with his name on it - he's been wearing the watch since the 50's).
I don't recommend you remove a bracelet or open your watch up unless you have the proper tools and know you can get it back together. But regular cleaning is a good thing to do.
CASE STUDY TWO ROLEX BRACELETS
Removing the dirt can help reduce wear. Rolex is renowned for making tough watches but early models had feeble bracelets. We shouldn't abuse them in order to get our money's worth of use.
My Doctor's never-before-cleaned Rolex Jubilee bracelet (when cleaned up) exhibits "some stretch" as used Rolex For Sale ads might say.
If you take your watch to a reputable facility to be serviced, they will thank you for keeping skin, suntan lotion, spiders and other debris out of your watch bracelet!
More intensive cleaning can require an hour or more in the Ultrasonic cleaning machine.
Here's a friend's Grand Seiko that was running fine, but he brought it in for a battery and full spa treatment.
Here's how the case of the Grand Seiko looked
Before cleaning: typical debris around the joints of the case. Eventually this can rust and erode the case edges. Look at most any 60's GS case and you'll see it's damaged.
After cleaning:
PLASTIC CRYSTALS
In the past many watches had plastic crystals. It was relatively easy to damage one, but also easy to polish those scratches out. For this you should use special plastic polishing compound. You put a small amount on a very soft cloth, and sit watching tv and rubbing your thumb gently on the watch crystal. Afterwards you should clean the watch carefully and remove any powder you may have left on your watch.
Any watchmaker has to have lots of crystals in stock to prepare for us walking in whimpering. These are some of my crystals, and I don't have a large collection.
Various types, sizes, curves, materials and colors.
I don't replace many crystals, but they seem to come in waves, like watches needing batteries. Last week a pair of inexpensive canteen watches got new crystals:
And After:
If the crystal is damaged it's easy to remove and replace it with a new one, assuming it's not an odd size or shape. I took the following pictures about 5 years ago and I can't imagine what I was thinking by posing them on our brick patio. Perhaps it was a "DON'T DO THIS" series that I had in mind. So remember, DON'T DO THIS IN YOUR BACK YARD!
(Note, this watch was not damaged in the process of filming)
GLASS & SAPPHIRE CRYSTALS
Currently most watches have glass or sapphire crystals. Regular mineral glass scratches easily and is (in my experience) hard to repair but cheap to replace.
Crystal replacement is tricky and should be left to the watch repairman.
In addition to the glass itself you may need gaskets, retaining rings and a press.
Sure looks nice when it's replaced though.
As long as you don't break it putting the bezel back on!
Sapphire rarely scratches, but may occasionally shatter. If your crystal has a anti-reflective coating on the outside, you may damage it by rubbing or attempting to polish your sapphire crystal. Just wipe it gently with a damp cloth.
RECONDITIONING THE STRAP
You might be saying to yourself "Recondition my straps? What could go wrong with my strap?" Many things can go wrong with this critical component that ensures the safety and security of your beautiful watch.
Take a look here at some of the possibilities:
GRIME
BROKEN SPRING BARS
RUBBER DISINTEGRATING
RUBBER & LEATHER DISINTEGRATING
KEEPER FALLING OFF & GLUE COMING UNDONE
I loved this strap which was very comfortable, but its disintegration nearly cost me my special edition Stowa.
Don't lose your watch - check the strap when you put it on. And once in awhile, take a look at the straps on your wife's or kids' watches. I get more kid watches in for broken straps than anything except dead batteries. Of course, my wife is a PE teacher who tries her best to get them active in every which way (all bad for their watches and bad for my spare time).
BRACELETS CAN FAIL TOO
This crummy watch was so poorly made that I had to take the back off and file the case to get the bracelet back on! The things we do for love and maintenance of a watch collection.
I put in a battery while I was at it.
CHANGING A BATTERY
Let's postpone a discussion of this to part 9 of the series, ok?
Thanks for your patience and for reading along.
Cazalea
LINK TO POST 4
LINK TO POST 7
This message has been edited by cazalea on 2015-03-19 15:45:57 
