Job Number 180087

I am struggling with an issue with this watch.

First, the watch is a railroad grade movement, which means it is of course open face (stem at 12:00, 180 degrees from the seconds dial), and it is lever setting.

This first image shows the lever pulled out for setting mode. Note the clutch is push in toward the center of the movement so it is not touching the beveled pinion. Turning the stem turns the minute wheel in this mode, setting the time.

Here the lever is slipped in. The clutch, slides down, now engages the beveled pinion instead, winding the watch.

The lever of this watch when I started was observed to be hard to pull out, or broken off or something. This is not an uncommon problem. The tip gets broken or just worn and you can't get a finger nail in there to pull it out.

I happen to have another one (just one, they're are rare) of these lever pieces that is pretty much new. I put that on this watch. But there was then a new problem.

The tip of the new part stuck up too much and was blocked by the bezel of the case from going inward all the way. The watch would not go into winding mode.

It was then that I examined the original lever more closely.

As you can see from the photo, it is not worn or broken off. In fact it has been at some point deliberately filed down no doubt in order to fit under the bezel!

Here is the hunter case, snap-on bezel, showing the notch that has been cut out for the lever.

It's worth noting at this point, as I often do, that most American watch companies did not make watch cases. People purchased cases separately at retail. Watchmakers and jewelers fit the cases and movements. They made notches like this in the right place so the movement would work.

Here is the movement in the case (no dial) with the bezel on. If you look closely you can see how far in under the bezel, into the notch, the lever goes in setting mode. It is almost unreachable.

I'm still trying the come up with a solution to this... It's also worth mention that this open-face railroad grade watch is unusual in a hunter case. But there is no reason to think it has not been in this case for a very long time, likely even it's whole life given what the owner knows about it.

See the entire album for this project here.