I am always looking for interesting, even if not enduro related content to post on the forum. I think it adds depth and entertainment and gives something back for the advice I have taken in the past.

I came across an old thread of mine on a watch forum that detailed the restoration of a non running Tissot watch.  It was quite a long thread.  I restored it in 2022 and as with these restos, sold it at a loss, although the buyer was very happy.   (yes it was a devil watch, someone had robbed it of good parts for other watch repairs and replaced them with the bad ones before selling it on as a non runner.  Too many bad parts in one watch for any other explanation).
I could copy paste the text and repost the appropriate pics without too much effort.

Would this be something of interest to anyone?  Obviously if there is no interest, I would just be taking up storage space on the forums limited resources and waste my time.

If you fancy it sing out.

Watch in question is a 1970s ladies Tissot PR516.  I do ladies watches because ladies non runners are far, far cheaper than mens non runners because they are so small.  No one wants to work on them.  The movement in question is about the size of a finger nail.


 

I remember seeing your post here a while back where you had some sort of calibration machine hooked to a watch you had restored? 

I am interested in seeing more!

Two of my dad’s best friends owned watch repair businesses they were always busy back in the day. One of his friends repair business was in a grocery store drop your watch off go shopping and pick your watch Up when you finished sometimes it would be ready. TK I like your stories. 

You have a lot more patience than I do, but I'd love to see the thread. I just have a couple automatics, but don't dare work on them. I recently replaced the battery in a Seiko kinetic, and getting the microscopic screws back in was a PITA. Without a magnifier they looked like a speck of dirt

I only have one vintage automatic, a 1950s Omega caliber 351. I've never opened it, but it runs beautifully. Have no idea if it's ever been serviced.




 

So we will make a start. Probably do one or so a day. It is a copy and paste from a two year old thread and as usual, my style is always warts and all. This thread is no different. I am most certainly not an expert watchmaker, I am just a tinkerer that gets lucky now and again.
Of course, you know how my luck usually goes by now...

I have left out other contributors posts as usual because they are not mine to re-post.



>>>>>>
Just arrived. Tissot PR516 ladies watch that needs to be brought back to life. I am guessing 1970s?

Unlike my cheap junk movements, I do care if I mess this one up. The poor Oris that had one of its balance end jewels go AWOL yesterday is now consigned to the basket case box. I have dusted every horizontal surface in the conservatory and swept every inch of the floor with dustpan and brush. Nothing. I usually find things like dropped screws after going round with the dustpan, but this is the second jewel I lost and never found a single one again.

I think the fairies carry them away in the night.

I have a few more movements to practice on before I start on the PR516, then intend to do it "right" including spending some money on its restoration.

At least it has proper captive incabloc springs, not those horrible KIF Trior springs!

When I get around to doing it, I will be taking lots of pics to jog my memory and I do like to try put back as much as I take from a forum, so would a dedicated thread of the restoration with lots of pics be of interest to everyone? My threads are warts and all, not ego filled I am the master if the universe type affairs. I am neither knowledgeable, nor skilled at watchmaking and repairing and never pretend to be. No doubt there will be much chortling as I dig myself ever deeper into the hole.

My other passion is restoring classic jap bikes and such threads have always been extremely popular on other forums. So dedicated thread? Let me know what you think.

New arrival. Tissot PR516 ladies. For some reason, I always seem to have more success with Tissot.



All the pivots in the movement feel sticky, almost as if it has been dipped in a glass of coke and rinsed off. The automatic mech is too stiff to turn and the balance wheel hairspring is not strong enough to oscillate it. Overall, everything is absolutely filthy inside, but no rust from what I can see.

I appreciate small precision mechanical devices. I repaired IBM Selectric typewriters in the mid '70s. They had many small parts.
You probably wouldn't have any trouble getting the small rollers and springs back in the autolube pump after they fly out. That is if they didn't fly across the garage.

Watch repair is like magic to me. Working with any fasteners smaller than 1/4” is difficult for me.
:-)

Pinned the movement down to a Tissot 844 (ETA 2551) which dates the watch between 1967 and 1972. I removed the case and stripped it down and have found the problem. Yes it is going to involve buying parts.

The main vexation after getting rusty dial feet screws out is getting the crystal out. It is solid in there. I cant see a tensioner ring or anything holding it in. Some advice welcome on this.

Pics.

Where it is all taking place.. Dust pot is full of the stripped Tissot.


Out of case and hands removed. Dial looks excellent for a 50 odd year old.


I said there was no apparent rust. Looks like I will need to source a replacement calendar wheel as it is rust stained and badly scratched.  

 

It appears that parts for this movement are readily available which is a pleasant surprise. Very different from my usual collection of the waifs and strays of watch movements.

I have ordered a new old stock date ring and a new replacement for the failed part. Everything else is subject to inspection.

Oh and it is a Tissot 744, not an 844 that I said it was in the post above. Senior moment.
So we have the date ring and mechanism removed and started to remove the keyless works. The cannon pinion was loose on the shaft and did not require to be pulled off hard with tweezers. If I turned the movement upside down, it would have dropped out under its own weight.

Is this correct for this movement. First one I ever came across so loose..




Movement turned over and we remove the automatic module. I will probably strip and clean this seperately. This weekend, bearing in mind the pivots were not turning freely. As the cost of the watches and movements have risen in line with my knowledge, it is time to invest in some brass tweezers. Does not matter with a £2.99 movement plus postage, but this Tissot is not going to be cheap to put right. As with all restorations, I will never see a return on my money. It is for personal satisfaction, not material gain.


Movement looks cleaner than expected under the auto works. First job is out with the balance. I am terrified of the balance, they seem to have a life of their own and have regularly been known to leap out of my tweezers. Several committed a suicide dive and came out of it with twisted and tangled hairsprings. I have several old movements in my basket case box because of this.


I have been "repairing" watches since May now and have seen my skills steadily improve. However, as one nemesis is defeated, another is in the wings waiting its turn to give me grief.

First it was flying clicks, click screws and springs. Then it was flying setting lever yoke springs and dropped balances. Now it is flying KIF Trior springs and dropped balance jewels as I start to dismantle and clean things properly, rather than be content to just get the watches running.

The main reason for this change is the arrival of a timegrapher, so amplitude and beat error suddenly became "a thing", necessitating properly cleaned and oiled movements.

Of course, the movements I pull from the mud at the bottom of the bay of fleas rarely respond to a proper clean and oil, they are well past their best and have probably been rejected by more experienced watchmakers because of this.

Final pic for today. The one thing that made me defeat the dropped balance nemesis. A home made balance tack. As soon as the balance is removed it is placed directly onto the tack, and not "messed with" until the movement is stripped, whereupon it is immediately placed and screwed back onto the baseplate for cleaning and storage. I cannot believe how this simple device has prevented such mayhem.

Balance waiting patiently to be refitted to the bare baseplate.


 

In case anyone is wondering how big the movement in question is..

Smaller than the tip of a finger.



It was quite common back in the day for ladies watches sent back to the manufacturers repair centres for servicing, to throw the original movement in the bin and fit a new one. The time taken to properly strip, clean and reassemble such tiny movements was not cost effective when lost production was taken into account.