Going onto bigger things Clocks

Father Christmas came early today as some new tools arrived for the workshop.

These tools are for repairing mechanical clocks.

I have two mechanical clocks in the workshop waiting for repair.

Fossil Watch VD57 Hattori movement - Replacement of broken stem

 

Neighbours Fossil Watch arrived in workshop with a broken stem this week.

Markings on case-back are CH2600, 1341211. Movement is a Hattori version VD57 2, Sll O. Battery is SR920SW, Broken stem (Part No: 351 177).

Full photograph Album Click Here

Movement Hattori VD57

Broken Stem

Stripdown movement winding mechanism to remove the broken part of stem 

Broken part removed

New stem replacement and then reassemble the movement

Animation of deconstruction

Job Done: New stem and New battery fitted and watch works well. Video.

Master Watchmakers of the Isle of Man Information

 Master Watchmakers of the Isle of Man

Isle of Man Post Office takes great pleasure in issuing this landmark set of stamps showcasing three remarkable master watchmakers who are inextricably linked to the Isle of Man.

New Collection Issue Date: 11.08.20 

Dr Roger W Smith writes... 

There is no doubt that through history watch and clockmakers from the British Isles have contributed the vast majority of inventions which allow us to keep time. In fact, more than 75% of all Watchmaking, inventions which make today's wristwatches function in the most convenient and accurate way are British and it's notable that the Isle of Man has played an important role in that discovery. 

Watchmakers tend to fall into two categories: mechanical artists and innovators. The 'greats manage that rare combination of both; creating works of beauty and fine craftsmanship which also push the boundaries of timekeeping accuracy, functional performance, robustness and longevity forward. And some, like John Harwood (1893-1964) and Dr George Daniels (1926-2011). invent something which is utterly transformative.

For me, this level of invention is the holy grail for my journey as a watchmaker and it is the accomplishments of the likes of Harwood and Daniels which truly inspire my work. 

I was fortunate to work with Dr George Daniels at his Riversdale workshop (near Ramsey) and this gave me first-hand experience of his undoubted genius. 

Dr George Daniel’s CBE, DSc, FBHI, FSA, AHCI,

Dr George Daniel’s CBE, DSc, FBHI, FSA, AHCI,

the famous breakthrough came with his invention of the co-axial escapement. 

The escapement is the very heart of timekeeping and conventional designs, such as the 'Lever escapement”, had been refined over centuries. So, for George to invent a radical new escapement design as recently as 1974, which gave a fundamental improvement to timekeeping performance was simply staggering. 

Although George was most famous for this invention, his contribution to the resurgence of mechanical watchmaking cannot be understated. Embarking on his journey to hand-build a watch, he found that virtually all the 34 trades required to build a watch had vanished from Britain. So, George took on the unprecedented challenge of teaching himself every single one of them. In so doing, he devised what is now known as The Daniels Method and, with the publication of his seminal book, “Watchmaking” he showed us the way. 

Watchmakers have tended to follow that sadly typical British narrative of the lone inventor fighting the odds to create something new and ground-breaking, and often going unrewarded in their lifetime. George Daniels fought in isolation for years before Omega adopted his escapement in the mid-1990s, but received every possible accolade in later life - and deservedly so.

John Harwood

John Harwood

however, was another great inventor who devised an incredible breakthrough from the Isle of Man, but was never fully recognised for his work.  I doubt even many Manx people are aware of this exceptional watchmaker.

Like me, John Harwood was born in Bolton, but he settled on the Isle of Man after returning from the trenches of the First World War to work in a tiny Douglas workshop repairing wristwatches. It was here that he noticed the recurring problem was dust and moisture getting into watches via the exterior opening for the hand-winding mechanism. Harwood began to speculate whether it was possible for a watch to wind itself through the natural movement of being worn on a wrist.

After having made approximately 25,000 watches John Harwood sadly went out business in 1931 as a victim of the Great Depression. Rolex, having adopted the self-winding mechanism, survived and, although they recognised John Harwood's contribution in an advertisement in 1956, he virtually disappeared from the annals of watchmaking history.

It is therefore fitting that this fascinating stamp issue by the Isle of Man Post Office reminds us not just about John Harwood, but also the Isle of Man as a very special place in the pantheon of horological invention.

DR ROGER W SMITH OBE

DR ROGER W SMITH OBE

Roger Smith's horological career began, aged 16, at the Manchester School of Horology. He passed out top of his class and was awarded the British Horological Institute's, Bronze Medal. During the course, Dr George Daniels (1926-2011), was a visiting speaker and inspired Roger's ambition - to hand-make watches. 

After eventually working alongside Dr Daniels to create the Millennium Series of watches, Roger established his own studio in the Isle of Man in 2001. His first creation was the Series 1 watch followed, in 2006, by his seminal Series 2.

In 2012, the British Horological Institute recognised Roger with the rarely-awarded Barrett Silver Medal. During 2013, Roger was invited by the Prime Minister, David Cameron to become an Ambassador for the GREAT Britain campaign, representing the best of British innovation, technology and creativity. To celebrate these values, Roger created the now iconic 'Great Britain' watch.

In 2015, Roger Smith announced the first range of authentic British watches for decades. The range comprises reimagined Series 1 and 2, newly developed Series 3 and 4 watches and the Series 5 (Open Dial) watch. All feature Roger's latest evolution of his single-wheel co-axial escapement. 

In 2018, Roger was awarded the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for 'outstanding services to watchmaking and, in 2019, Birmingham City University awarded Roger an honorary doctorate in recognition of his advancements in horology.

In 2019, at the Designing Our Future'expo in New York City, Roger announced his collaboration with the Faculty of Science at Manchester Metropolitan University to develop the world's first mechanical watch using nano-materials. Named the 'GREAT Britain II, this watch represents the greatest single step forward for mechanical watch technology in the modern era. 

Master Watchmakers of The Isle of Man Stamps

 Master Watchmakers of The Isle of Man Stamps

While reading the latest Christopher Ward Loupe magazine I came across the article about the Watchmakers Isle of Man stamps being issued by the IOM post office, so had to send off for the set.

Cover of Loupe magazine

The six stamps along with a booklet which includes information on the watchmakers.

Master Watchmakers booklet

One stamp is of John Harwood (1893 - 1964) Who after returning from the trenches of the first world war worked in a Douglas workshop repairing watches. One day he observed children playing on a see-saw, this leads to him on 1st September 1924 the Swiss Confederation in Berne awarded him Patent No: 10 65 83 for his invention of the first self-winding wristwatch!

John Harwood stamp

Two stamps are of the well-known watchmaker Dr George Daniels, CBE, DSc, FBHI, FSA, AHCI, the inventor of the Co-Axial escapement, and his books are a must-read.

George Daniels, CBE, DSc, FBHI, FSA, AHCI stamp

George Daniels, CBE, DSc, FBHI, FSA, AHCI stamp

One stamp is of George Daniels and Roger Smith together

George Daniels and Roger Smith stamp

Two Stamps are of Dr Roger Smith OBE who worked with George Daniels and Roger created the iconic “Great Britain” watch.

Dr Roger Smith OBE stamp

Dr Roger Smith OBE stamp

So I think the stamps will look good up on my workshop wall.

Rolex (Fake) Submariner - New Pearl fitted to the Bezel.

Just a small job in the workshop as I fitted a replacement Bezel Pearl to a Rolex (Fake) Submariner.

Click here for full photo album

Tissot 2005 MotoGP official watch - New Stem and Crown

Tissot 2005 MotoGP official watch

I had a Tissot MoroGP watch in the workshop for a complete missing stem and crown.
While I had the watch I gave it a good clean, which it needed!

Click here for the full photo album of the repair

Vintage 1927 "Services watch co" ARMY `FOREIGN` Pocket watch brought back life

1927 "Services Warch Co" ARMY `FOREIGN` Pocketwatch
(movement made by Thiel Brothers Thuringia, Germany.
Services Army Pocket Watch – Pre War with a PIN LEVER movement.

Full photograph album  Click here

The Services Watch Co., Ltd was founded in Leicester by a Frank Liquorish sometime in 1926/27, it was dissolved on 26/11/2002 although I gather from Steve Burrage who used to work for the company that Services watches stopped being produced in the late 1970s. The company never actually made watches themselves instead they either had them made by other firms or bought parts in which were then assembled in the Services factory.

Pin-lever or pin-pallet escapement is an inexpensive, less accurate version of the lever escapement, used in mechanical alarm clocks, kitchen timers, mantel clocks and, until the 1970s, cheap watches now known as pin lever watches. It was patented by German watchmaker Georges Frederic Roskopf in 1867, suggested to Roskopf by Jules Grossmann.

An escapement is a mechanism in a mechanical timepiece that gives the balance wheel pushes to keep it moving back and forth and releases the timepiece's gears to advance a fixed amount with each swing of the wheel, thus moving the hands forward at a steady rate. The pin pallet escapement is similar to the lever escapement, which is used in quality watches, except that the horizontal jewel pallets on the lever are replaced with vertical metal pins, and the shape of the escape wheel teeth is modified.

The pin pallet escapement was widely used as it had many of the advantages of the lever escapement but was easier to manufacture. The pallets in a traditional lever escapement have two angled faces, the locking face and the impulse face, which engage the escape wheel teeth. They must be adjusted to precisely correct angles for the escapement to function. In the pin pallet escapement, these faces are designed into the shape of the escape wheel teeth instead, eliminating the need for costly adjustments. However, the metal pins used instead of pallets have much higher friction than jewelled pallets and combined with the looser manufacturing tolerances this made pin pallet timepieces less accurate. The metal pins also wear more quickly. Pin pallet timepieces are usually too cheap to justify repairing and are usually thrown away when they break down or wear out.

Once I had removed the dial and hands and the simple winding and setting mechanism, time to remove the movement from the case, which more difficult than expected. It took my large case back opener to turn the movement in the case until it popped out.

I put the movement aside and first set to refit the loose tube to the case.

Replaced the discoloured acrylic crystal with a new 44mm glass crystal. 

Now onto the Pin Lever movement, which is the first one I have seen and worked on, so took plenty of photographs before disassembling it!

First, it was noticing the Balance cock has the pivot to the pin lever as well as the balance pivot. This was not a Jewel but a screw with a steel cone for the "Jewel"!

So I remove the balance cock and then the pin lever.

Next, remove the full-bridge plate.

Next to disassemble the train wheels, due to the cannon pinion being fixed to the centre wheel pivot!

Due to this movement not being like other movements and does not turn on shaft.

So start with the escape wheel, third, second, etc.

Next to clean all the parts.

Reassembled the movement.

Movement ticking well

Time refit the cleaned dial and hands and complete the assemble.

Cleaned up the Albert chain which is hallmarked: Anchor (Birmingham) Lion (Sterling Silver) and B (1926). There is also a date stamped on the reverse of the shield 28-2-27 

Albert Chain with watch
Marking on-chain are Anchor ( Birmingham), Lion (Sterling Silver) and B (1926)
Sterling Silver mark on all rings in the chain.
Date marking on the Shield is 28-2-27.