Second Time Around Watch Restoration Thread
Discussion
Hi everyone,
I thought I'd finally introduce myself after spending quite a bit of time reading through the Watches section.
Over the past year I've become really interested in the mechanical side of watches and have been teaching myself how they work, from basic disassembly through to servicing and restoration. It's been a steep learning curve, but one I've genuinely enjoyed. Along the way I've completed some training, but most of what I've learned has come from spending countless hours at the bench, making mistakes and figuring out how to put things right.
My latest project was an old Oris that turned out to be far more challenging than I expected. What I thought would be a straightforward service quickly became a lesson in fault finding, sourcing parts and understanding how the movement was designed. There were definitely a few moments where I questioned whether I'd ever get it running again!
One of the things that's surprised me most is just how well engineered these older movements are. The more I work on them, the more respect I have for the people who designed and serviced them decades ago.
I'm still learning every day and have found the process incredibly rewarding, even when things don't go to plan.
I'd be interested to hear from others on here. Has anyone else taught themselves watchmaking or restoration? What was the first movement or watch you worked on? Are there any vintage calibres you'd recommend for someone looking to continue learning?
I'm looking forward to hearing about other people's projects and hopefully picking up a few tips along the way.
James
I thought I'd finally introduce myself after spending quite a bit of time reading through the Watches section.
Over the past year I've become really interested in the mechanical side of watches and have been teaching myself how they work, from basic disassembly through to servicing and restoration. It's been a steep learning curve, but one I've genuinely enjoyed. Along the way I've completed some training, but most of what I've learned has come from spending countless hours at the bench, making mistakes and figuring out how to put things right.
My latest project was an old Oris that turned out to be far more challenging than I expected. What I thought would be a straightforward service quickly became a lesson in fault finding, sourcing parts and understanding how the movement was designed. There were definitely a few moments where I questioned whether I'd ever get it running again!
One of the things that's surprised me most is just how well engineered these older movements are. The more I work on them, the more respect I have for the people who designed and serviced them decades ago.
I'm still learning every day and have found the process incredibly rewarding, even when things don't go to plan.
I'd be interested to hear from others on here. Has anyone else taught themselves watchmaking or restoration? What was the first movement or watch you worked on? Are there any vintage calibres you'd recommend for someone looking to continue learning?
I'm looking forward to hearing about other people's projects and hopefully picking up a few tips along the way.
James
SecondTimeAround said:
Hi everyone,
I thought I'd finally introduce myself after spending quite a bit of time reading through the Watches section.
Over the past year I've become really interested in the mechanical side of watches and have been teaching myself how they work, from basic disassembly through to servicing and restoration. It's been a steep learning curve, but one I've genuinely enjoyed. Along the way I've completed some training, but most of what I've learned has come from spending countless hours at the bench, making mistakes and figuring out how to put things right.
My latest project was an old Oris that turned out to be far more challenging than I expected. What I thought would be a straightforward service quickly became a lesson in fault finding, sourcing parts and understanding how the movement was designed. There were definitely a few moments where I questioned whether I'd ever get it running again!
One of the things that's surprised me most is just how well engineered these older movements are. The more I work on them, the more respect I have for the people who designed and serviced them decades ago.
I'm still learning every day and have found the process incredibly rewarding, even when things don't go to plan.
I'd be interested to hear from others on here. Has anyone else taught themselves watchmaking or restoration? What was the first movement or watch you worked on? Are there any vintage calibres you'd recommend for someone looking to continue learning?
I'm looking forward to hearing about other people's projects and hopefully picking up a few tips along the way.
James
Hi James great post . I thought I'd finally introduce myself after spending quite a bit of time reading through the Watches section.
Over the past year I've become really interested in the mechanical side of watches and have been teaching myself how they work, from basic disassembly through to servicing and restoration. It's been a steep learning curve, but one I've genuinely enjoyed. Along the way I've completed some training, but most of what I've learned has come from spending countless hours at the bench, making mistakes and figuring out how to put things right.
My latest project was an old Oris that turned out to be far more challenging than I expected. What I thought would be a straightforward service quickly became a lesson in fault finding, sourcing parts and understanding how the movement was designed. There were definitely a few moments where I questioned whether I'd ever get it running again!
One of the things that's surprised me most is just how well engineered these older movements are. The more I work on them, the more respect I have for the people who designed and serviced them decades ago.
I'm still learning every day and have found the process incredibly rewarding, even when things don't go to plan.
I'd be interested to hear from others on here. Has anyone else taught themselves watchmaking or restoration? What was the first movement or watch you worked on? Are there any vintage calibres you'd recommend for someone looking to continue learning?
I'm looking forward to hearing about other people's projects and hopefully picking up a few tips along the way.
James
I've been interested in knowing how watches are serviced and fixed but I don't have the technical ability or the know how to even attempt having a try .
I'd be very interested in seeing any previous work you've done, am I able to see this on social media or any other method?
Hey,
Thank you so much for your comment!
There is no challenge we will not take on so please get in touch!
We absolutely do, we are on all the usual socials and run a YT channel of the restorations SecondTimeAround.
[pic] https://ibb.co/7mSTSYQ [pic]
[pic] https://ibb.co/fd7pVBdP [pic]
[pic] https://ibb.co/wNzk8JBY [pic]
Thank you so much for your comment!
There is no challenge we will not take on so please get in touch!
We absolutely do, we are on all the usual socials and run a YT channel of the restorations SecondTimeAround.
[pic] https://ibb.co/7mSTSYQ [pic]
[pic] https://ibb.co/fd7pVBdP [pic]
[pic] https://ibb.co/wNzk8JBY [pic]
I've dabbled with watches over the years, but only for my own collection.
My first experience was when a friend of my father imported a job lot of cheap watches to resell about 55 years ago.
A fair number of them failed, and I was tasked with swapping parts to get some of them working.
That sparked my interest, and I dabbled with clocks, teaching myself from library books.
A voluntary redundancy package from my IT job aged 40 allowed me to buy some decent tools (HR lady's father was a watchmaker, so she pushed through the purchase as a retraining grant).
I started advertising for customers, and slowly built my small business, going almost full time aged 53 after another voluntary redundancy package.
I settled on clocks because I could make or adapt most of the parts myself. Worst case, there a few specialists who can make parts for me.
Finding parts for older watches can be tricky, which put me off.
In some parts of the country, there's nobody doing watch or clock repairs now. Plenty of work, no-one to do it.
I'm now running lengthy waiting lists for some types of clock, and desperately trying to find a gifted amateur/hobbyist to pass customers on to.
My first experience was when a friend of my father imported a job lot of cheap watches to resell about 55 years ago.
A fair number of them failed, and I was tasked with swapping parts to get some of them working.
That sparked my interest, and I dabbled with clocks, teaching myself from library books.
A voluntary redundancy package from my IT job aged 40 allowed me to buy some decent tools (HR lady's father was a watchmaker, so she pushed through the purchase as a retraining grant).
I started advertising for customers, and slowly built my small business, going almost full time aged 53 after another voluntary redundancy package.
I settled on clocks because I could make or adapt most of the parts myself. Worst case, there a few specialists who can make parts for me.
Finding parts for older watches can be tricky, which put me off.
In some parts of the country, there's nobody doing watch or clock repairs now. Plenty of work, no-one to do it.
I'm now running lengthy waiting lists for some types of clock, and desperately trying to find a gifted amateur/hobbyist to pass customers on to.
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