Hmmm, fun thread title! Just wanted to share today's madness, and maybe get this indexed by big G for posterity.
Introduction to me - watch newb, been collecting for 6 months, basically a keen amateur. I have a '67 Seamaster, a SKX009, a '64 Smiths Astral, an Ollech and Wajs M1, and a Steinhart Ocean GMT.
Also, last week I picked up a 1991 Speedy Pro from the bay of evil. For ÂŁ1350 I'm pleased; to my eyes it's lovely and even though I'm not sure of its provenance (can any of you experts tell me with certainty that the dropped-S Speedmaster logo on the dial is correct for a '91 watch?), it's a Speedmaster. I'm happy. I even love the 1479 bracelet now even though I thought it was a bit of sleazy Seventies-looking item at first!
![Image]()
However, one thing irked from the start - a 5mm long piece of fluff on the inside of the crystal (can you see it? under the '30' on the minutes subdial).
Even though my wife claimed it's not worth worrying about, it began to haunt me. Every time I looked at the watch it was there, goading me!
Anyway, today I got hands-on and sorted it out. Let me share my experience. First of all, I warn anyone thinking of doing this that YMMV - every time you get the back off a watch you are inviting trouble.
Dust motes, sneezes, fingerprints, errant hairs, upturned glasses of squash. Literally anything can and will happen when you take the back off your pride and joy.
However, I'm cheap and have insane self-belief (and steady hands) , so I figured I could do it myself rather than sending it off or trusting it someone on -shudder- the high street. After all, I took the back off a Seiko 5 once - what's the difference?
Seriously though, I don't feel a watch is truly mine until I've had a good look at its innards, even if it means leaving tiny scratches from my inept bumbling. Watch snobs look away now, as I'm about to apply some medievally amateurish technique in a quasi-sacrilegious fashion!
First off, the tool kit - as stated I'm a newbie and a skinflint, so:
Secondly, the working environment. I try and make sure I have at least half an hour of un-interruptable time to do this open heart surgery. I set my chair as low as it will go, turn the lights on and put a clean dark cloth down as my work surface.
So - to get a piece of fluff or hair off the inside of a Speedmaster crystal - do this:
![Image]()
3. Remove the inner antimagnetic shield by simply lifting out - I've read tales of using screwdrivers etc. to prise it out? Bad luck; for me, fingers were enough.
At this point we see the lovely Lemania 1873 / Omega 861 movement. Not as nice as a 321 but hey, I'm not *that* rich!
![Image]()
Seriously, that looks like yellow gold - is it? When did they stop gilding it? IMO the 1861 doesn't seem as nice. Such a shame for something so beautiful to be hidden from view.
Anyway, this is when you have to get courageous. To get the movement out of the case, the crown stem has to come out. It's held in by that TEENY TINY screw indicated by the arrow above.
My 1mm screwdriver was adequate for this task. 2 and a smidge turns anticlockwise were required, at which point the crown and stem could be slid out like butter.
If you're having to force it, that screw needs undoing just a little bit more!
Note that the chrono pushers don't have to be unscrewed or anything. They're not physically attached to the movement.
At this point, I felt perilously close to brown-trousers time. I could see that the movement was now free in the case, so I loosely held a piece of card to the the back of the watch and quickly inverted it (so crystal now facing up).
Placing the card carefully on the table, I could now lift the case, leaving the movement behind.
Tip! I quickly covered the exposed movement with an upturned whisky tumbler to save it from dust / hair / breakfast contamination.
![Image]()
After that, getting the fluff out was easy with my dust blower. In classic Steptoe fashion I also gave the inside and outside of the hesalite crystal a quick polish with some sensodyne - only the best for my watch, ho ho ho! I have no Polywatch in the house. Shame. Incidentally though I can verify that toothpaste did improve the scratches, and also left my watch minty fresh! A quick rub with a clean j-cloth got rid of any residue.
Re-assembly was just a reversal of the process. There was a heart-stopping moment on completion when I noticed that the second-hand subdial had stopped (that's right folks, I don't know if/how you should stop a working movement when removing it), and winding the watch normally was setting the hands! Aaargh! However, I pulled the crown out, pushed it in again, and everything was magically back to normal. Ah, the appliance of science. I guess this is just part of the process of reinserting the stem.
Also, fear and blind panic is an essential part of adventure! Happy tinkering!
![Image]()
That's right, it's on a buff-stripe NATO, and not a piece of fluff in sight! Watch the ladies go wild with desire!*
Zoot
* Not guaranteed to happen.
Introduction to me - watch newb, been collecting for 6 months, basically a keen amateur. I have a '67 Seamaster, a SKX009, a '64 Smiths Astral, an Ollech and Wajs M1, and a Steinhart Ocean GMT.
Also, last week I picked up a 1991 Speedy Pro from the bay of evil. For ÂŁ1350 I'm pleased; to my eyes it's lovely and even though I'm not sure of its provenance (can any of you experts tell me with certainty that the dropped-S Speedmaster logo on the dial is correct for a '91 watch?), it's a Speedmaster. I'm happy. I even love the 1479 bracelet now even though I thought it was a bit of sleazy Seventies-looking item at first!
.JPG)
However, one thing irked from the start - a 5mm long piece of fluff on the inside of the crystal (can you see it? under the '30' on the minutes subdial).
Even though my wife claimed it's not worth worrying about, it began to haunt me. Every time I looked at the watch it was there, goading me!
Anyway, today I got hands-on and sorted it out. Let me share my experience. First of all, I warn anyone thinking of doing this that YMMV - every time you get the back off a watch you are inviting trouble.
Dust motes, sneezes, fingerprints, errant hairs, upturned glasses of squash. Literally anything can and will happen when you take the back off your pride and joy.
However, I'm cheap and have insane self-belief (and steady hands) , so I figured I could do it myself rather than sending it off or trusting it someone on -shudder- the high street. After all, I took the back off a Seiko 5 once - what's the difference?
Seriously though, I don't feel a watch is truly mine until I've had a good look at its innards, even if it means leaving tiny scratches from my inept bumbling. Watch snobs look away now, as I'm about to apply some medievally amateurish technique in a quasi-sacrilegious fashion!
First off, the tool kit - as stated I'm a newbie and a skinflint, so:
- I bought this crappy set : 28 PIECE SET WATCH REPAIR / CARE KIT: Amazon.co.uk: DIY & Tools . I must warn you, it is cheap and very nasty. It is better, however, than a sharpened teaspoon and a rusty swiss army knife. The caseback opener tool works. The springbar remover removes springbars. It'll do for now.
- I needed a tiny screwdriver too, so I bought these which also seem to perform fine - for now. MKCLOCKS Set Of 9 Watchmakers Screwdrivers On Stand: Amazon.co.uk: DIY & Tools
- I didn't want to get fingerprints on the inside of the watch so I figured some non-powdered surgical gloves would do - also having them in the house freaks the wife out, which amuses me. HypaTouch Nitrile Gloves Powder Free- Box of 100: Amazon.co.uk: Sports & Outdoors
- Finally I wanted a dust blower so I didn't risk blowing spit all over Lemania's finest. SILVERLINE Rubber Dust Blower: Amazon.co.uk: DIY & Tools
Secondly, the working environment. I try and make sure I have at least half an hour of un-interruptable time to do this open heart surgery. I set my chair as low as it will go, turn the lights on and put a clean dark cloth down as my work surface.
So - to get a piece of fluff or hair off the inside of a Speedmaster crystal - do this:
- Remove the bracelet using your springbar remover. It helps if your lugs are already scratched to buggery like mine, so I don't care about the inevitable damage my cheapo efforts will do.
- Remove the caseback using your 3-pronged caseback tool. Even I'm not cavalier enough to try it with a 2-piece tool / pair of scissors (!) etc. as seen on YouTube...
.JPG)
3. Remove the inner antimagnetic shield by simply lifting out - I've read tales of using screwdrivers etc. to prise it out? Bad luck; for me, fingers were enough.
At this point we see the lovely Lemania 1873 / Omega 861 movement. Not as nice as a 321 but hey, I'm not *that* rich!
.JPG)
Seriously, that looks like yellow gold - is it? When did they stop gilding it? IMO the 1861 doesn't seem as nice. Such a shame for something so beautiful to be hidden from view.
Anyway, this is when you have to get courageous. To get the movement out of the case, the crown stem has to come out. It's held in by that TEENY TINY screw indicated by the arrow above.
My 1mm screwdriver was adequate for this task. 2 and a smidge turns anticlockwise were required, at which point the crown and stem could be slid out like butter.
If you're having to force it, that screw needs undoing just a little bit more!
Note that the chrono pushers don't have to be unscrewed or anything. They're not physically attached to the movement.
At this point, I felt perilously close to brown-trousers time. I could see that the movement was now free in the case, so I loosely held a piece of card to the the back of the watch and quickly inverted it (so crystal now facing up).
Placing the card carefully on the table, I could now lift the case, leaving the movement behind.
Tip! I quickly covered the exposed movement with an upturned whisky tumbler to save it from dust / hair / breakfast contamination.
.JPG)
After that, getting the fluff out was easy with my dust blower. In classic Steptoe fashion I also gave the inside and outside of the hesalite crystal a quick polish with some sensodyne - only the best for my watch, ho ho ho! I have no Polywatch in the house. Shame. Incidentally though I can verify that toothpaste did improve the scratches, and also left my watch minty fresh! A quick rub with a clean j-cloth got rid of any residue.
Re-assembly was just a reversal of the process. There was a heart-stopping moment on completion when I noticed that the second-hand subdial had stopped (that's right folks, I don't know if/how you should stop a working movement when removing it), and winding the watch normally was setting the hands! Aaargh! However, I pulled the crown out, pushed it in again, and everything was magically back to normal. Ah, the appliance of science. I guess this is just part of the process of reinserting the stem.
Also, fear and blind panic is an essential part of adventure! Happy tinkering!
.JPG)
That's right, it's on a buff-stripe NATO, and not a piece of fluff in sight! Watch the ladies go wild with desire!*
Zoot
* Not guaranteed to happen.
.JPG)
