As experts in the field, we often hear stories of bodge jobs, as well as genuine attempts to fix watches as opposed to taking them to an expert who can fix the movement using their range of tools and qualified skills. Instead the efforts to save money, or cure curiosity/ability ends up costing people more time and money when they either end up with an irreparable timepiece, or have to pay to have it fixed correctly anyway. We urge you not to be that person. There’s a reason why there are people out there who can help. You wouldn’t fix a broken leg (even with help from Google), would you? Don’t run the gauntlet of risk, especially if its antique pocket watches, or similar – often irreplaceable – watches you own.
Let’s discuss three common mistakes people make with their watches, shall we?
Avoid making ‘simple’ repairs to your watch at home
Apart from giving it a wipe down, we would never recommend servicing a watch yourself. In a warning that is really rather self-explanatory, there’s a real risk of damaging the watch if you try to look into anything yourself. We’ve all been guilty of it from time-to-time, but if you’ve ever been to a watch repair centre you will know is a very clean environment; everyone is in official lab coats. It’s much cleaner than your work space at home, and if you are working on something with a lot of moving parts, you can end up with a lot of dust inside. Should this occur, and the dust settles, you basically have to take it all apart again and begin again, while trying not to lose any tiny pieces again!
Common mistakes people make to damage their watches
Watches, of all shapes and sizes, are particularly delicate objects, and as such, should be treated with the kind of respect they demand. The problem with a lot of watch owners is that they like to do everything with their timepieces, such as DIY, or working on the car at the weekend. All the components inside a mechanical watch is a moving part. On a complicated timepiece there can be as many as 300 to 500 individual parts inside, which are all working together to keep your movement functioning. Therefore, if you knock the watch or are not cautious with it, it’s inevitable that you’ll break something.
It’s worth taking your watch off, if it’s a wrist watch, at bedtime, and you should wipe it down at least once every five to seven days. This prevents further skin/sweat rubbing into the tiny nooks and crannies found on the watch. And by wiping the watch with a soft cloth you will remove any of the build-up that may have occurred. If you are unsure, a professional can clean the watch as part of a service.
Scratches on the glass
Should you accidentally find that you have bumped up against something and consequently scratched the glass, there are things that can be done. This applies mainly to plastic or acrylic faces, because ifit’s sapphire there’s no way to remove the scratch, and therefore you will have to replace the whole face. It’s worth noting that it takes a fair effort to scratch a sapphire face, but you should always be as cautious as possible.
