- 28/2/17
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So i got the gorgeous breguet 7057 through and all was going well, until a week or two later, at half past 7 it stopped... following much swearing i thought ok whats wrong?
Forgive any piss poor terminology, im not a watch maker im just a tool maker with a collection of cheap ass watch tools ive picked up over the years as jobs dictate. Hopefully if you have the same problem (dont assume you have the same problem....) and the the balls to give it a go this may help you out!
There was power in the watch, i could both feel it through the crown and luckily it has not one but two power reserve indicators so that was ruled out. Rotating the watch side to side the balance wheel rotated but stopped after a few oscillations. I was thinking there may be a ‘spare’ aka built on a friday afternoon screw lodged somewhere in the gear train. Again luckily you can see straight through the watch. If you are familiar with the watch, the quick set gears on the back are separate to the main gear train on the front. I couldn’t see any screws in the front using a loupe, although you can see through the the gears pretty bloody well i still wasn’t ruling it out.
Time to open it up! I mean it was broken already, on paper i could make it more broken but it wasn’t running so balls to it, couldn’t get much worse than that!
Problem number one, how the hell do you open this thing up? After a while of trying to unscrew it using various rubber implements i had, I concluded no dice. It had to be a snap back but it felt super glued on! After many failed attempts i came up with the best method, open up a miniature vice so the lugs sit on the vice jaws and press down like a mofo using a case back lever. I have to mention, use as much protective tape or stuff on the jaws of the vice and the tool to stop them marking your case back. Hell use brass things if you have them, just dont damage your watch!
So after celebrating with a cheeky vodka, phase two, what the hell is wrong with it? I started by taking the case back off the watch so i could let the power out of the spring. This is done by pushing the lever down (red arrow). In case you dont know you dont want power in the movement if your intending on taking any of the gears out because BANG there goes all your wheels.
I then tried taking the movement out via the three screws on the back. DONT do this. Its a front loaded movement and its a pain in the ass trying to put screws in whilst holding the watch upside down. Next i popped the front ‘case back’ off using the same method. After much examination i realised despite the balance wheel being free, it only rotated to a certain point on the back stroke. I looked under the wheel and saw the balance jewel wasnt seated in the pallet fork, hence it was bouncing off it rather than sitting in it. So i carefully stuck my smallest screw driver into the jewelled end of the pallet fork and pulled it down to bring the other end towards the jewel on the wheel. I struggled with pics here sorry but ive done my best!
After giving it a little flick, boom it slotted in! A few winds on the crown and its good as new
when re assembling ensure the little plastic seals are seated well in the case back grooves and use a press to clip it all back together.
I appreciate not many people will ever try this and would rather send it to a watch maker, but i thought it might be useful information just to have in the breguet thread. Again im not a watch maker and try this at your own risk but it worked for me
Tools needed:
Watch makers screw drivers
A case back tool
Mini vice (not essential but very useful)
Loupe, i use the weird ass glasses because im lazy and loupes hurt my face after a while. Plus the built in light is useful
A big piece of foam, again optional but its a nice surface to work on and avoids scratches
Protective tape
Case press for re assembly, optional but easy
Stawrberry lemonade Vape (optional but tasty)
Vodka (optional but good to calm the nerves when taking apart things you dont fully understand...)
Forgive any piss poor terminology, im not a watch maker im just a tool maker with a collection of cheap ass watch tools ive picked up over the years as jobs dictate. Hopefully if you have the same problem (dont assume you have the same problem....) and the the balls to give it a go this may help you out!
There was power in the watch, i could both feel it through the crown and luckily it has not one but two power reserve indicators so that was ruled out. Rotating the watch side to side the balance wheel rotated but stopped after a few oscillations. I was thinking there may be a ‘spare’ aka built on a friday afternoon screw lodged somewhere in the gear train. Again luckily you can see straight through the watch. If you are familiar with the watch, the quick set gears on the back are separate to the main gear train on the front. I couldn’t see any screws in the front using a loupe, although you can see through the the gears pretty bloody well i still wasn’t ruling it out.
Time to open it up! I mean it was broken already, on paper i could make it more broken but it wasn’t running so balls to it, couldn’t get much worse than that!
Problem number one, how the hell do you open this thing up? After a while of trying to unscrew it using various rubber implements i had, I concluded no dice. It had to be a snap back but it felt super glued on! After many failed attempts i came up with the best method, open up a miniature vice so the lugs sit on the vice jaws and press down like a mofo using a case back lever. I have to mention, use as much protective tape or stuff on the jaws of the vice and the tool to stop them marking your case back. Hell use brass things if you have them, just dont damage your watch!
So after celebrating with a cheeky vodka, phase two, what the hell is wrong with it? I started by taking the case back off the watch so i could let the power out of the spring. This is done by pushing the lever down (red arrow). In case you dont know you dont want power in the movement if your intending on taking any of the gears out because BANG there goes all your wheels.
I then tried taking the movement out via the three screws on the back. DONT do this. Its a front loaded movement and its a pain in the ass trying to put screws in whilst holding the watch upside down. Next i popped the front ‘case back’ off using the same method. After much examination i realised despite the balance wheel being free, it only rotated to a certain point on the back stroke. I looked under the wheel and saw the balance jewel wasnt seated in the pallet fork, hence it was bouncing off it rather than sitting in it. So i carefully stuck my smallest screw driver into the jewelled end of the pallet fork and pulled it down to bring the other end towards the jewel on the wheel. I struggled with pics here sorry but ive done my best!
After giving it a little flick, boom it slotted in! A few winds on the crown and its good as new
when re assembling ensure the little plastic seals are seated well in the case back grooves and use a press to clip it all back together.
I appreciate not many people will ever try this and would rather send it to a watch maker, but i thought it might be useful information just to have in the breguet thread. Again im not a watch maker and try this at your own risk but it worked for me
Tools needed:
Watch makers screw drivers
A case back tool
Mini vice (not essential but very useful)
Loupe, i use the weird ass glasses because im lazy and loupes hurt my face after a while. Plus the built in light is useful
A big piece of foam, again optional but its a nice surface to work on and avoids scratches
Protective tape
Case press for re assembly, optional but easy
Stawrberry lemonade Vape (optional but tasty)
Vodka (optional but good to calm the nerves when taking apart things you dont fully understand...)
