Waltham PocketWatch

[John Cote]

Seth,

It sounds to me like your watch has a broken main spring. Sometimes when the spring breaks near the barrel end, the watch will wind a few turns before enough winds of the spring come away from the inside edge of the barrel to let the tension get to the broken end.

Almost any watch maker should be able to put in a new mainspring.


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JohnCote
President, Indiana Chapter 18 - NAWCC

http://www.interstatetime.com

[seth]

Can a main spring be installed without a watchmaker needing to do another overhaul? Are main springs easy to come by for size 16 Waltham's? How much should this cost? Thanks.

[Kent]

Hi Seth:

Mainsprings are amongst the most available parts for pocket watches. If no damage was substained when the mainspring broke (and it probably wasn't - since the watch runs for a few hours under low spring power of the remaining portion), the repair can be limited to just the mainspring and it should be only a modest charge.

However, if the watch needs cleaning and oiling, or some other work (if recommended by the watch repairer), you'd be wise not to run it very much without having it serviced properly.

Good luck,
Kent

P.S. I grew up in Wantagh in the 1950's and early-to-mid 1960's. I attended McArthur HS on Wantagh Ave, north of Southern State Parkway.

[This message has been edited by Kent (edited 12-26-2001).]

[jim88]

Seth, contact me at SJim88@aol.com. I collect and repair pocket watches. I'm on the South Shore of LI.