A 106-year-old movement in a vintage case.
Watch history and tech info.
I have mixed feelings about marriage watches - it is OK if you have different feelings :). A marriage watch is a converted pocket watch to a wristwatch. This kind of watch has never come out of the company factory. The pocket watch movement was not designed to be worn on the wrist. It has neither shock protection nor moisture protection. Often a movement is only one genuine part. In my opinion, it is a risk (for the movement) to use it daily. But on the other hand, it is nice to wear such old movements. I understand it could be a nice feeling.
Back to this watch ...
The history of this watch is a little bit different - it is not a modern
project. It probably was built when the wristwatch became popular in
1930-1950. Somebody in the past decided to use an excellent movement - IWC
Schaffhausen cal 57 (from 1916) as the heart of the project.
💡Tech details:
IWC 57 has 15 jewels, Breguet hairspring, bimetallic balance and 37h power
reserve. Cal 57 was very successful with many versions and many copies. There were 140k movements Cal 57/58 produced between 1890 and
1930. What made it easier to find a donor's pocket watch with this
calibre. Calibre 57 was renamed and sold later as Cal 58. Parts between
cal 57 and 58 were interchangeable.
The main differences compared to modern projects:
No transparent case back.
Tiny company logo on the dial. The quality of the dial is
excellent. This is typical for original dials. But in my opinion, the dial was repainted (sub-second at 9 indicates that). Also, this is not 1910s style.
I have examined the dial under the microscope. There are a lot of
scratches (The dial might be polished or too hard cleaned in the
past?).
The company stamp is hidden under the dial. So, the original pocket watch was not branded by IWC (a different company bought the movement from the factory), or it was expected in this version (I don't know for sure).
An antique/vintage case without telescopes (welded lugs). So, to change a watch belt, it must be sewn together:
The case can be opened from both sides - from the front (1 - bezel) and back (2) - This is typical in pocket cases and old wristwatches:
Typical antique watches issues
A pocket watch was not designed to work for 100 years. After this amount
of time, mechanical elements could be in bad shape. But still, some issues
could be avoided with the proper servicing.
Examples of normal wear and tear (winding mechanism,
hand-setting mechanism, balance wheel). I noticed (in my vintage
watches) several especially vulnerable elements:
- cannon pinion,
- winding pinion,
- balance staff,
- mainspring.
Dirty movement is also a typical issue in vintage watches.
Diagnosis - what is wrong
When I got this watch, it was working, but I noticed some disturbing things
quite fast. The time set feature wasn't working right. And after some time, I was
not able to set a time at all.
During movement inspection, I noticed that the intermediate wheel
have been damaged. The intermediate wheel is incomplete - one tooth is missing. That is
why the time set feature did not work right:
There should be two teeth visible in the selected area. One is
missing.
According to the movements specification, the power reserve should be
about 31-37h. But, the watch is working only for about 24h. I check the
mainspring - and it is OK. It looks like the movement needs
servicing/cleaning.
Minutes hand is too loose. It is easy to take it off incidentally:
There were some winding mechanism modifications in the past - which may
cause winding issues. There should be two screws holding the winding stem in the correct
position:
This old modification/replacement will generate problems (wobbly
crown).
Donor
There is a problem with finding the correct parts for pocket watches. The
number of new parts is limited. It is hard to buy complete movement. The
best solution is to make the right part or to repair it. I have developed some watchmaker skills
but not this which are required in this case. I decided to look for a similar intermediate wheel in
alien 👽 movements. After some time, I found the intermediate wheel
with the right size, tooth number, and geometry. The donor is a gentlemen's
Rakieta (or Zaria) movement 🙈.
Repair
I have started by checking if the donor's "new" part works as expected.
The intermediate wheel was too loose so I had to add a small ring:
I cleaned movement manually (ultrasonic cleaner could be dangerous for
old movements). I put all parts in a jar with isopropyl alcohol (disassembled
movement plates and wheels). Then I used a small brush to clean each
element. I also used rodico cleaning putty to clean some components. I used eyeglass to check if the element was well cleaned.
I used swiss watchmaker natural oil and grease to lubricate the movement. I used only one type of oil
to lubricate the jewel's bearings (Moebius 8000). I used grease to lubricate winding mechanism elements.
I used a watchmaker staking tool to repair a loose minute's hand. A
direct hit by a hammer will most probably damage a minute hand. I genty
hit the staking punch using the watchmaker hammer:
There is an excellent yt video
showing how to repair a loose hand.
The Staking tool has many uses - it can be used to fix balance staff,
wheels, hands, set elements in the correct position (like cannon pinion)
and many more.
Summary
The final result is not bad - the time setting feature works great. Watch accuracy is very good - around +30s/24h, although the beat error is relatively high according to the accuracy meter. There could be many reasons why the beat error is high (issues with hairspring geometry, regulating pins and many more). I will examine it in the future. A more urgent thing to do is a better stem holder.
Short video with this watch.
IWC cal 57 - this should be a pocket watch, but it was converted. Right now, it is clean.
Checking accuracy with Watch Accuracy Meter App (for Android) and Apple Earpods.
Tools
When I was working on this project, I used only essential watchmaker tools:
- Movement holder
- Metal and plastic tweezers (a good quality number 2-3)
- Rodico cleaning putty
- Screwdriver set (a good quality watchmaker set with precise blades)
- A good quality small brush (not too soft)
- Watch hand lifting levers
- Watch hand press set
- Watch oilers
- Watchmaker oil (Moebius 8000)
- Case opener/pocket knife
- Pegwood
- Eyeglass (4x, 10x)
- Metal and plastic tweezers (a good quality number 2-3)
- Rodico cleaning putty
- Screwdriver set (a good quality watchmaker set with precise blades)
- A good quality small brush (not too soft)
- Watch hand lifting levers
- Watch hand press set
- Watch oilers
- Watchmaker oil (Moebius 8000)
- Case opener/pocket knife
- Pegwood
- Eyeglass (4x, 10x)
Links
1. Vintage Watch Inc - WHAT IS A MARRIAGE WATCH?
2. Horlogerie Suisse - Working on a simple mechanical watch
5. History of IWC cal 56, 57, 58
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