Elgin Grade 217, Twisted Jewel Bezel

The upper balance jewel here is loose and sitting what looks like a normal jewel bezel that has been mutilated into a sort of cup.  I have here images of the bezel, what's left of it, face up, face down, and one showing a proper replacement jewel.

In addition, the cap jewel was turned 90 degrees off, so that the screws held it down a lot further, lowering the jewel, into the balance cock. You can see the semi-circle cut aways on the cap bezel that the screw heads fit into what the bezel is in the proper position.

My Grandfather said many times "you never know what you'll find when you get into an old watch."

He wasn't kidding...

This is a grade 217 Elgin, 18 size, 15 jewels, this one made about 1903.

Elgin Grade 317, Repaired Click

The pin that the mainspring click sits on, on the other side, must have broken off at some point.  It's been soldered in place.  It didn't hold, the pin is loose.

This is an Elgin grade 317.  It's a 18 size, 15 jewel movement, this one made about 1903.

Hamilton 911, Animated

Here's an animation of a Hamilton 911, lady's wristwatch movement, 22/0 size, 17 jewels.

Look for more watch photos here!

New Lens

I'm experimenting with a new Nikkor 40mm lens for macro shots...  So far so good.

A Replacement Pallet

This is from an 18 size Elgin pocketwatch that is in a bad state. Here's just one surprise it presented.

The pallet has been replaced with... I don't know, something. The upper one is what I found in the watch. It's a little hard to see but the guard pin is even broken off, probably to make it (sort of work). The lower one is the correct part.

This is from a grade 73, 7 jewel model.

Elgin Grade 303, Animation

Here are a couple of good Google+ auto-awesome animations of an Elgin grade 303.

This is a popular 7 jewel, 12 size movement, this example made about 1926.

Ground Down Pallet Bridge

We sometimes see the top of the pallet bridge ground down so that the balance wheel doesn't rub.   This is actually pretty common, unfortunately, and this watch is a prime example.  The original finish is gone for good.

The correct adjustment is such a case would be to true the balance wheel.  It's an important general principle of watchmaking never to alter a good part to correct for a problem elsewhere.

This particular watch movement is a 12 size Elgin grade 303.