WatchUSeek Watch Forums banner

chronograph hand

703 views 9 replies 5 participants last post by  BenchGuy 
#1 ·
Hi, the minute and on mu chronograph fell off its axis.

Long story short, I was told that it is not possible to re-fit small chronograph hands and it has to be changed with a new one. Is this statement correct?

For info, The movement is a seagull.
 
#2 ·
You mean the hands drop off inside the watch ?
If yes, it could be a matter of refitting.
Unless the poles are enlarge and possibilities of re-work or new hands. Which you will not know unless its has been tried refitting.

Statement means nothing without some pic or works.
Suggest to bring it to a watch repair guy to have it fix rather.
 
#4 ·
Thanks for the answer, really appreciated. Just to be clear, you are saying that it is not possible to know if the hand can be refitted until someone actually tried to refit it, is that correct?

And yes the hand dropped off inside the watch. I have send this watch for repair as it is under warranty. But as it was delayed and delayed for months I eventually asked to get the watch back so I could have it fixed myself.

The response was it was impossible to refit the small hand on chronograph and that a new hand had to be ordered (hence more delay, etc). I just wanted to check is I wasn't given false info.

Thanks again
 
#5 ·
And yes the hand dropped off inside the watch. So the hand with is floating around inside the space between the dial and crystal? Also assume the hand with came off the miunte counter post?

The response was it was impossible to refit the small hand on chronograph and that a new hand had to be ordered (hence more delay, etc). I just wanted to check is I wasn't given false info. This may or may not be correct.

Thanks again
No one will be able to answer this with certainty over the internet...physical examination is required (caveat: if someone is directly familiar with this model they may KNOW that the hands are amenable or not amenable to refitting).

Posting a good image of the hand may give us some idea. If the movement is mechanical and the hand is too loose when at the correct height, then replacement may be the only option...there is a lot of torque during reset...quartz is more forgiving.

Regards, BG
 
#8 ·
If pinion is the axis, well no, the pinion was not broken (no broken bit was attached to the loose hand). But the good news is I just got informed the watch was fixed, so waiting is over and hopefully the watch is really fixed! I just received so many excuses to justify the long delay (5 months) that I thought I would check on the hand replacement thing;

For my personal understanding, the problem (I assume) was that the hole in the hand was too large to hold the hand in place on the axis. But how can a watchmaker re-sized down the hole to refit the hand? Add metal to the pinion? or the had? Glue it!!

Thanks guys.
 
#9 ·
A second hand, or register hand is made from two pieces, the hand, the flat pointer thing, and a small tube pressed and riveted to the point of rotation. The ID of the tube is properly sized for the pinion. The tube can be swagged to reduce the diameter.
 
#10 ·
As lysanderxiii said...not a big deal, if the tube (or pipe) can be swagged. Lathe collets work nicely for this...or in some cases a staking tool is required. If the tube is very thin or has been cracked, then replacement is usually the only option. If you sent it to the OM, they probably just replaced the hand...although they may have replaced the complete internals or even the watch... Never know what the decision points are for OMs...but the economics are clearly different than those in a watchmaker's shop...sometimes I think the gravitational field must be different, as well.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top