Just a recent flea market find.
Not in great shape, but with good balance (important - cylinder is hard to repair!), a semi-slim pocket watch of the era with Lepine gen. 2 movement...
Broken barrel bridge screw, open barrel... dirty... does not look too bad.
The bad thing is that the slim case is bent and the caseback does not want to stay shut... Well - not a perfect watch, in fact - not even close.
Still, having an old Lepine 2nd gen for a bargain price was tempting enough to buy it.
I disassembled the watch and cleaned the parts...
Sorry for the pictures quality - I used my phone again
Center wheel endshake adjustment...
Unlike in later bar movements, this has a center wheel cock, not bridge, so it gets bent quite often...
Now - the screw...
No way unscrewing this from this side, but I saw...
...that is sticks out a tiny bit on the other.
I unscrewed it with a secure grip of a...
...nail clipper. Yes, very precise, yet firm grip.
Now - the barrel would not shut, as the mainspring was a tad too wide. Just a tad.
Finding a mainspring even thinner was a challenge, and I'm sometimes amazed what beautiful things can be hidden in trash parts movements!
This one looks almost brand new! And it fits so well...
I'm very happy - it's a good, strong mainspring that will provide plenty of power despite it's low width.
Assembling this movement is quite straightforward...
Nothing unusual here...
The logo is double struck and not readable...
Main plate waiting for parts...
...and bridges.
Just a run-down test...
And balance can be placed to check if it works...
It does!
The dial has an R stamped... hmmm... Robert?
It's pinned to the main plate...
Casing...
And done!
The case has been overpolished (or repeatadely polished), which is most obvious on the cuvette...
The lack of caseback details...
...could be just plain wear.
Running for an hour now, the watch seems to be keeping time.
Like I said - nothing remarkable, but old and pretty. Well worth the low price I paid...
Not in great shape, but with good balance (important - cylinder is hard to repair!), a semi-slim pocket watch of the era with Lepine gen. 2 movement...
Broken barrel bridge screw, open barrel... dirty... does not look too bad.
The bad thing is that the slim case is bent and the caseback does not want to stay shut... Well - not a perfect watch, in fact - not even close.
Still, having an old Lepine 2nd gen for a bargain price was tempting enough to buy it.
I disassembled the watch and cleaned the parts...
Sorry for the pictures quality - I used my phone again
Center wheel endshake adjustment...
Unlike in later bar movements, this has a center wheel cock, not bridge, so it gets bent quite often...
Now - the screw...
No way unscrewing this from this side, but I saw...
...that is sticks out a tiny bit on the other.
I unscrewed it with a secure grip of a...
...nail clipper. Yes, very precise, yet firm grip.
Now - the barrel would not shut, as the mainspring was a tad too wide. Just a tad.
Finding a mainspring even thinner was a challenge, and I'm sometimes amazed what beautiful things can be hidden in trash parts movements!
This one looks almost brand new! And it fits so well...
I'm very happy - it's a good, strong mainspring that will provide plenty of power despite it's low width.
Assembling this movement is quite straightforward...
Nothing unusual here...
The logo is double struck and not readable...
Main plate waiting for parts...
...and bridges.
Just a run-down test...
And balance can be placed to check if it works...
It does!
The dial has an R stamped... hmmm... Robert?
It's pinned to the main plate...
Casing...
And done!
The case has been overpolished (or repeatadely polished), which is most obvious on the cuvette...
The lack of caseback details...
...could be just plain wear.
Running for an hour now, the watch seems to be keeping time.
Like I said - nothing remarkable, but old and pretty. Well worth the low price I paid...
