Even before disassembly, it appeared to be of very good quality. The layout is typically Swiss.
There was a surprise under the dial, the Tissot name. However, I have been advised that this is not the Tissot. I would be very obliged if anybody could throw some light on this Tissot.
On barrel bridge we can see this 'HB' logo. Also, the regulator is marked 'fast-slow' as against 'avance-retard' which was more common on the continent.
It is evidently a good quality movement. It has a Breguet over-coil hairspring. The balance, lever & escape wheel pivots are capped on both sides.
An interesting feature is the side, English type of lever. This indicates an early date. Perhaps before the entire Swiss industry adopted the anchor escapement.
Every part reeks of quality. even parts that would only be seen by a watchmaker have been carefully finished.
This movement is fortunate to still have the Geneva stop-work intact. This is a feature little understood by watchmakers & was generally discarded during servicing.
The only real problem this movement had was with the balance. As you can see in the picture below, the roller table was miss-aligned and, indeed, loose.
... an easy fix on the staking set.
I hope you enjoyed reading about this beautiful movement. One day I will make a nice dress watch using it :-)
Aditya
i love the handwritten type text - FAST / SLOW !!
ReplyDeletethese watches were largely handmade :-)
ReplyDeleteWould it be possible to post on the tools you use and perhaps on their availability in India. I'm trying to get a start by trying to disassemble and reassemble a HMT movement, but am having a hard time getting hold of good tools that dont mark the delicate screws inside..
ReplyDeleteThanks,
Hello taikendan,
ReplyDeleteworking on a watch is quite a specialised job. As with any other activity the most important thing is to know what one is doing. In case of a machine, I feel it is very important to know how it works before one repairs it. You might research online and get to know how a mechanical watch works.
The tools needed for watch work are too many to list out here. You could buy 'Practical Watch Repairing' by Donald De Carle. It is an excellent book, highly recommended. You can decide what tools you want to invest in after reading the book. I have bought most of mine on ebay. One bit of advice, buy the most expensive tools you can afford. It is more economical in the long run. Hope this helps
Aditya