This lovely Waltham Vanguard was sent in for some tlc as it was not running at its best and the casing had become a little dull and tarnished. The movement was fairly clean and running but was showing that lack of lubrication and debris was having a negative effect. The case was a nice quality Dennison Star in gold  but with lots of small surface sratches and tarnish marks, a simple two stage polish should take care of business.

The first stage is to remove the movement from the casing, simply pop off the front bezel, undo the case retainers, lift stem and out she comes. >>

With the movement now free from the case it could now be stripped down for cleaning, the cause of the poor timing would then reveal itself. The level of finishing is superb and a delight to see >>>

It was clear the dirt on the pallets and escape wheel were the major cause of timing issues, ive added extra picture below of the pallets & escape wheel prior to cleaning >

With the movement clean it was time to re assemble the movement, the first point of call is lubricating the balance jewels and checking the balance is working as it should ( not in photos ). As you can see the cleaner did an excellent job cleaning up the escape wheel and pallets >>

The movement jewels were also quite dirty and the cleaner did not eradicate the stubborn oil deposits so manual cleaning with pegwood and a rinse in Renata essence finished the job. Timing once adjusted was very good and so it was ready to be re cased. Timing >>

With the movement complete and running well it was time to fit everything back together, the casing was cleaned up while the movement was in the cleaner. The casing was given a clean with some home made super fine diamond polishing powder and then followed up with a cotton mop buff and final finish Italian polish compound for gold.

With the watch now complete the only thing to do is monitor the timing over the coming week and enjoy the subtle ticking in the workshop. Its been a while since ive done any pocket watches but it is always a pleasure to see them running well once more. Enjoy the pictures of the finished watch >>

In todays blog  we follow along with the service of an unbranded Swiss pocket watch, a straight forward and simple affair but as yet a first for this blog.  The upper Waltham in the picture will also be included in an upcoming blog but for now we take a look at the unbranded model.

The watch movement is fairly classical but has no marks to discern its maker, the casing is a nice quality Dennison in gold plate/rolled ( Double Hunter ). The movement is running but requires a service and the casing has some tarnish marks that need cleaning off.

With a new mainspring in stock the movement could be assembled, the casing meanwhile was given a hand polish to remove the tarnish marks and then lightly buffed on the cotton mop.

The train bridge jewels had a little minor damage but the movement runs well and timekeeping is quite good for the age.  Once the movement has settled in the timing can be adjusted for better accuracy.

Despite having no name the watch is undoubtably a good looking piece and now that its running correctly it can be used as a pocket watch should. Once fully assembled the watch was given a final wipe over, below are photos of the watch once finished.

The Chinese may not be well known for being watchmakers but the Sea-Gull Watch Company has been producing movements and watches for some time ( Started as Tianjin Watch Factory in 1955 ) and is still producing today with over 3000 employees.

​Whilst most items produced in China are felt to be cheap and poorly made the Sea-Gull company have several high quality Tourbilon movements under their belt and even a Orbital Tourbilon ( similar to Jaeger LeCoultre GyroTourbilon ), and these are no cheap knock off's. In todays short blog we take a look at a simple and unassuming Sea-Gull watch produced in the 1970's, during the time this was considered a luxury good and equivalent to purchasing a Rolex today.

The casing of the ST5 is rather simple and understated with a stamped sheet metal case back that seems cheap, however the movement does have a dust cover and includes a signed crown. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder so lets not jump to conclusions based on what we see :)

The movement inside is surprisingly well made, whilst some parts lack fine finishing the parts that matter are well made and to good standard. The upper bridges have a nice and interesting finish and the 19 jewels ( including the barrel pivots ) certainly go a long way to improving the quality of accuracy and reliability.

With a little tlc the watch was cleaned up and timing was returned to normal, the glass was lightly re polished to remove scratches and the casing given a light polish. A new 19mm leather strap to finish and this gem was back in business :)

The watch is very simplistic in its form and function but in honesty it does not need to be anything else, with so many watches of the era shouting out loud its refreshing to have something plain and functional. The Made In China print may be tag we often associate with cheap things but in this case i believe its a mark of pride, a historical point of proof that luxury is not always the loudest or shiniest of things.

There is another model that is identical to this but was used on a Chinese expedition to the Antartic, if your interested then follow the link below for more details >>

East Watch Review - www.eastwatchreview.com

Link > Sea-Gull ST5

This rather lovely Bulova came in with a broken balance, however a new complete balance was included for  fitting which made things much easier. The watch as a hole was in very good condition for the age as most of these end up rather battered, the new balance was not going to be enough as even when fitted with a new one the timing was not right. A service and new glass should see things right, along they way we shall see what is causing the timing issues.

The casing and case back on this watch, like many military watches, has a grey to dark grey finish. This finish is created by a chemical process known as " Parkerizing " and this helps to prevent corrosion caused from moisture , kind of a good idea in a tool/military watch. A similar look can be acheived today by shot or sand blasting a watch case, although this won't have any effect to corrosion resistance the look still has appeal.

This model has a Bulova 10BH movement ( other similar models may have a 10AK ), this comes in either a straight forward 17 jewel variant , or the 21 jewel with added cap jewels. Whilst the added jewels may have no effect on accuracy or running they do keep the pivots reasonably free from debris and prevent lubricant evaporating.

​Onward to Strip down - Balance Re Fit >>

With the movement uncased the mainspring can be wound down and the balance and pallets can be safely removed. Close ups of the balance show the old hairspring is way beyond repair, the staff is also broken >>

With the balance removed it was also clear that the pallet stones were no longer set correctly and all trace of shellac was completely gone, with the stones loose it was no wonder the timing was erratic.

Strip Down

With the movement cleaned it was time to lubricate the balance cap jewel and make sure the watch was in beat >>

Assembly
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With the movement clean ,lubricated, adjusted and assembled it can now be recased. The movement ring was very stiff when removing so this was cleaned and a light abrasive used to smooth the walls so fitting would be easier.  The casing was untouched but a new glass  was bonded in place to help keep the watch sealed against moisture.

With the watch complete it was time to send it on back to the owner, hopefully it will provide more years of faithful service :)