Where to buy small watch screws

[signcarver]

Is there a supplier who sells an assortment of small watch movement screws.

I have looked at 10 or so suppliers, including Otto Frei, Cas-Ker, Esslingers, Jules Borel, CousinsUK and others. They all have screw assortments but none of small screws like you would use on bridges in watch movements.

Thank you very much!
Steve

 

[Bernhard J.]

Hi Steve,

Screws for European pocket watch movements are a general problem. There were no standards and many makers used proprietary screws with own threads.

I just recently resolved the problem of a missing screw of a Longines 19A. Simply by buying a defect 19A movement for these parts.

The only alternative would be to test through a heap of screws against an existing one for the same thread and the same head or larger head, to machine the larger head to fit and finally blue it. For testing the threads you need a micrometer for the diameter, and a lupe for checking against a light, whether the threads mesh really exactly. If you do not have an original screw, this approach is obviously not possible.

Cheers, Bernhard

 

[signcarver]

Hi Steve,

Screws for European pocket watch movements are a general problem. There were no standards and many makers used proprietary screws with own threads.

I just recently resolved the problem of a missing screw of a Longines 19A. Simply by buying a defect 19A movement for these parts.

The only alternative would be to test through a heap of screws against an existing one for the same thread and the same head or larger head, to machine the larger head to fit and finally blue it. For testing the threads you need a micrometer for the diameter, and a lupe for checking against a light, whether the threads mesh really exactly. If you do not have an original screw, this approach is obviously not possible.

Cheers, Bernhard

Hi Bernhard,
Thank you for the super fast response. The movement is a Seiko 7019A, made in September 1975. When i disassembled it, one of the two screws from the pallet fork bridge was missing. So luckily i have 1 to compare with a replacement. I bought a donor movement so that should solve my immediate problem. I did find the Seiko part number for the screw, but so far i haven't been able to locate one.

I'm really new to this hobby, so my stockpile of parts is minimal so far.

Thank you for the valuable information!
Steve

 

[Bernhard J.]

Seiko 7019A

Hi Steve,

Oh, such a modern stuff . These "modern" movements are generally a lot more easy, because various vendors have all kinds of spare parts on offer. Just an example (no relation, just a google result) is this one:

SEIKO 7019A watch Movement, original Spares Parts - Choose From List | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for SEIKO 7019A watch Movement, original Spares Parts - Choose From List at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

Although no screws are listed, I find it likely in view of all the other parts listed that screws can be provided as well.

Cheers, Bernhard

 

[signcarver]

Thank you Bernhard!
I found a resource on Jules Borel's site. They have a number of catalogs at this link. One of them is their Horological Catalog which shows screws on pages 203-207. They have more choices than on their online listings.