What is the most commom problem with pocket watches?

[usadude]

Assuming the watch has not been tampered with, other than a good cleaning, what is the most common problem found? Can we exclude dropped, run over with a truck, etc.

USA Dude

[usadude]

Assuming the watch has not been tampered with, other than a good cleaning, what is the most common problem found? Can we exclude dropped, run over with a truck, etc.

USA Dude

[Jon Hanson]

I'd say broken main spring, followed by either a broken staff or crystal!



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Jon Hanson, nawcc#8801
Founder & President, NAWCC chapter 149, The Early American Watch Club

[Greg Davis]

My guess would be "movement installed in wrong case" :smile:

Followed shortly thereafter by "wrong dial installed on movement"...

[Spike]

What is it about the nature of staffs that causes them to be among the most-often broken parts of a watch?

[Julian Smith]

Most pocket watches have pivot diameters of from.10 to .14 millimeters.With a heavy balance wheel it is easy to break one when the watch is dropped or bumped pretty hard.
J Smith

[Tim]

Most common problem? Perhaps dirt or dried oil?

-Tim

[usadude]

Greg, are you saying that if the watch has not been tampered with, it still would be wrong case or dial. Please explain, thanks

USA Dude

[xylo]

Greg,

usadude said:

"Assuming the watch has not been tampered with, other than a good cleaning, what is the most common problem found? Can we exclude dropped, run over with a truck, etc."

I think the rest of us assumed he meant "Mechanical Problems".

Personally, I don't consider wrong case, wrong dial, or wrong hands any problem. Those things are easily corrected and don't affect the quality of the watch (movement)much, especially when the original buyer had the option to purchase any combination of cases, hands, or dials that he found pleasing or fitting his budget.

[John F]

Okay, well, here's an equivocal answer - it depends.

Most I've seen have a broken mainspring, busted balance staff, and/or broken crystal, and have been sitting in a drawer for years as a result. Some of that that might have happened from a drop, but it seems that everyday use/an occasional bump can result in a broken staff, for example. Of these, I'd say most "not running" watches are easily fixable - new mainspring and cleaning often does the trick.

If it's otherwise OK (i.e., the broken mainspring isn't the reason for the watch being retired to a drawer), it's simply gummed up/dried up oil causing problems, or a well-worn watch that's seen many years of service (and needs some help due to, e.g., enlarged bushings - but that, of course, depends at least in part on whether it's a lower-jeweled or higher-jeweled watch. So it depends).

For some reason, a messed up 4th wheel seems to be a common malady of non-functioning watches (probably because the pinion is long and relatively fragile).

Rust is another, probably from sitting unused.

So...IMHO it depends. Maybe wear and/or neglect sums it up best.

Interesting question. Any thoughts from professional watchmakers out there?

John

[Greg Davis]

Yeah, onlooker has me nailed. I'm silly at heart. :smile:

- Greg

[GD]

The biggest problem I have found with pocketwatches? The one's I really want are priced too high. Ha.

[jagkar]

USADUDE's question is kind of deep. On reflection watches don't just break their pivots unless they are "tampered with" by either dropping them or smacking them into something. Same goes for crystals, but they do break their mainsprings, so by elimination that's the correct answer.

[Tim]

By elimination only if we have come up with all possible "common problems."

I'm sure there's one out there that we've all missed. :smile:

[Jerry Treiman]

In addition to those mentioned, how about (in no particular order) a set mainspring? magnetized? broken roller jewel? hands catching on each other? worn pivots? broken shipper spring? I have seen all of these on watches that have not otherwise suffered some trauma.

[Greg Davis]

All right, you want a serious answer, here it is... rust.

I've see a lot of dysfunctional watches cross my bench, and by far the most common problem was rust. In many cases it was not the only problem, or even the one that necessarily put the watch out of commission. But it was a pervasive problem.

Sometimes it was caused by some other problem (off-gassing or warping of plastic crystals, for example). Sometimes it's obvious that the watch came into direct contact with water at some point. Sometimes it may have been simply stored in the wrong (humid) place. Most often you can only guess at the source of the damage. But you certainly need not guess at the extent of the damage.

I've seen hands decayed to the point of crumbling as they are removed. Pinions that were so corroded that they merged with surrounding parts. Winding stems so rusted through that the crowns would screw off before the stem would move one iota.

And once it gets into the watch, it's a bit like cancer... hard to get out and harder still to keep it out.

So if I was to place a serious guess as to what problem claims the lives of more pocket watches, I'll go with rust.

- Greg

[Tom McIntyre]

If you buy watches from dealers at outdoor fleamarkets, or from other who buy them there, you can expect rust.

When a watch is exposed to sunlight and heats up, it exhausts air and when it is cooled, it sucks in damp air. The humidity frequently results in condensation inside the watch and rust is the result. This is especially true if the dealer has the watch in stock for any period of time since it just gets stored between insults.

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Tom McIntyre
Past President, NAWCC Chapters 174 and 87
Member Chapters 8, 87, 149, 159, 161 and 174
NAWCC: Crafts Committee, Web Committee
Pocket Horology Web (http://www.pocketwatch.org)
Tommy the JOAT's Web (http://www.AWCo.org)

[Greg Davis]

Never bought a watch from a flea market. We don't have real flea markets here in Texas. Our flea markets are really just places where people sell crap imported from Mexico and China.

[Tom McIntyre]

There used to be a pretty decent flea market about 30 miles west of Tyler on the small road that parallels I10. I have bought one or two watches there but nothing to amount ot anything.

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Tom McIntyre
Past President, NAWCC Chapters 174 and 87
Member Chapters 8, 87, 149, 159, 161 and 174
NAWCC: Crafts Committee, Web Committee
Pocket Horology Web (http://www.pocketwatch.org)
Tommy the JOAT's Web (http://www.AWCo.org)

[jagkar]

Greg--good answer, but also consider that the amount of rust you will run into varies a lot around the various parts of the country. Here in my part of California we don't see it much, enjoying a temperate climate with low humidity. Still believe the original question runs pretty deep.