How far into this hobby do you want to go?
Back story: My Grand Uncle was a jeweller, he's since retired and with age his health, mainly his eyes haven't been as great as they used to. I didn't get much time with him in my younger years as I was always away at school. Boarding school, then college and lots of traveling abroad in between.
A while back I went to visit him (about 10 years or so) and found this beaut on his desk, it wasn't working and asked him what was the problem. He couldn't see well enough to tell me what was wrong just that it wasn't running. Asked him if I could have it and of course, without hesitation he said sure. He has a whole treasure chest full of non-runners but I've been so busy, I've not gotten another chance to run through them.
Fast forward to present day, a family friend and my jeweller had it for a while but never got around to it. Asked him about it and he said he had a brand new 7S26B movement, can I replace it myself?
Filled with confidence, I tackled it... Needless to say, I didn't even consider fixing the other one. Pulled it a part and I saw rust... So... Yeah, swapped the dial, the new one didn't come with a day disk, so took it off the old one and put it on the new one. First mistake, didn't test it if it was going to change.
Second mistake it wouldn't fall in like the one that came out did, so had to give it a little motivation. Now it's "stuck" I guess, scared to try giving it any motivation to move.
The good news, it's running, about +25 seconds, I can live with that but I'd love to have it as close to perfect as possible.
Can you fixers help me? How do I get this movement back out? How do I get the day to move? How do I do this without breaking the crystal?
Modders? Fixers? Help!!!!
Just a Jamaican graphic designer with a watch obsession. A sucker for a beautiful dial. Living vicariously through my watchmates here! Seiko fanboy, Rolex Fanboy, HM&C fanboy
I'm sure there are good resources here that will chime in, but you may want to check out r/watchrepair on that other social platform. They have some great resources over there.
The sole reason that I have been accumulating watches and enjoying them for over 5 decades is that I say in my lane.
I am a collector and appreciater and leave the fixing to trained pros who know exactly what they are doing.
The money spent is well worth the enjoyment I get.
Check under posts tagged #modding or #repair and you may be able to directly message knowledgeable individuals.
I can only go so far. But if I had unlimited money to spend I be lost and gone with this hobby. The watch you got there looks great worth the effort.