Horological Meandering

I had just picked up a vintage Elgin PW yesterday after 2 and a half months. Anyway while I was at the jewelry store, one of the girls wound it up, With no problem. So I waited until 8:55pm eastern time 4/21/11 and when I was winding it up, I noticed 2 things.

1) The crown seemed stiff then before, I remember it not being so hard to pull out. In fact when I got it back from the 1st jewelery store I believe, the watchmaker did something to it??? I say that because it was like super glue

and

2) When I was winding it up, I automatically felt resistance after the first 5-10 winds??? Seems odd since most of these old PW's can be wound at least 30 times.

I feel like I've been scammed $ on something I waited so long to get back. I'm glad I paid less $ then I would of, but come on something ain't right.

Here's what was done. New mainspring, cleaning of movement, oiling and I believe adjusting.

So is this normal on older watches/pocket watches after servicing or did I get scammed?

Anyone???

kevincosta85,

The answer to your question is both Yes and No; it is "normal".

Yes, maybe the service changed the character of the winding feel.

No, because you are unhappy and woluld like to get a 2nd opinion, preferably an experienced person.

The problem is that unless your 2nd opinion person actually feels the winder, nobody can comment.

 

The best person to do this is the watchmaker who serviced the watch...time to go back tot he shop, unfortuntely.

 

Regards,

MTF

Well, I could but I really can't afford to keep dropping $ on something I got in a trade. I think the best thing I can do is wait and see f the movement, breaks in. Also I'll wait and see if the crown loosens up.

Hi Kevin,

Feels like superglue when you try to pull out the crown? Doesn't sound right. But I would assume there is a warranty period on the repairs - usually 12 months. Sounds to me like it should go back to the jewelers for them to comment. Annoying, but that's life with a mechanical watch.

Andrew

Hi

It may be that when he recased the watch it didn't get done exactly right - or any number of other things.
You need to take it back to him and ask him. There shouldn't be any cost to that.
When you say the girls wound it, do you mean a woman in the shop or a child of yours?
Sadly, most old watches and children should be kept at a safe distance from one another.

Cazalea

No kids, one of the workers wound it in front of me.

Here are some general thoughts about acquisition, care and use of vintage watches.    This may have not any relevance to your particular situation, but your use of the term "scamming" in the original post moved me to comment at some length.

I am an active vintage collector, and  I find that sometimes even with my experience I have to be careful not to expect too much of my vintage mechanical pieces.    (By vintage I mean anything from the prequartz era, say prior to 1980).    Some examples: 

• It is often not advisable to wear a non water resistance wrist watches in the rain or even when washing hands.   
• For watches with quick set or semi quick set date, frequently adjusting the date for a watch that is not a daily wearer can wear out mechanism or plastic disks.   
• Rotor automatics, even if well maintained, may lose power reserve with age.
• Some brands age better than others; or a cheap watch doesn't get any better just because it is old.

Some thoughts on service

• A newly acquired or discovered mechanical item that has likely not been consistently maintained will require an immediate  competent service, at a minimum an oiling and cleaning. 
• Even in major metropolitan areas, it not that easy to find trained watchmakers with the skills, patience, and interest to get these watches to optimal (considering base condition) state.   However, they can usually be cleaned, oiled and made to function.  Vintage collectors frequently send their more prized watches to specialists.
• Often the watches must be repaired with parts that are not  original replacement parts,  so they may not work quite as well as they did when they left the factory.
• Unless a widely distributed or common wrist or pocketwatch has sentimental value (it is your grandfather's, not a flea market find), the cost of repairing often will exceed the pleasure you gain from it.     Many experienced flea market or fleabay collectors have small workshops and experience tinkering with watches, so the fixing up is a part of the collecting experience.     As an alternative, they have an acquaintance with an older local watchmaker who enjoys the opportunity to do something besides change batteries and straps and gives them a low price for service.   The collectors also learn with experience when a watch's condition is "good enough" or when to let one go or call it a parts watch.
• Vintage collectors, for the most part, specialize after a while, so that when a long sought piece or a newly discovered variant is found the time and cost of repair is not a primary concern.

Ginger

No message body

As with anything "buyer beware".

Learning, researching and understanding about what you are buying and using watchmakers you trust is an important part of the overall process.

Regards,
Richard.