Definitely make sure none of them hold any real value to a collector, before wearing them with no oil in the movement.I decided to wear the Japanese SIGNAL today, and aside from the oddity with winding it was set over 10 hours ago and has kept time adequately.
I really love the size, weight, simple dial, and overall look of this watch.
If it didn't have that hiccup with winding or if I knew it truly just needed a service, I just might be willing to put that money into it.
A thought I've had is to reach out to one of the watchmakers on YouTube that I occasionally watch and see if maybe I can work something out to get a lower priced service on one of these watches that may not be worth it otherwise.
I found 4 that " work " and maybe they'd be willing to service the 1 I want to wear then repair and resell the others.
As far as I know none of them are particularly valuable, I was pretty much able to find examples in better cosmetic condition for $50 or less on ebay.Definitely make sure none of them hold any real value to a collector, before wearing them with no oil in the movement.
back in late 90s early 2000s I took some watchmaking classes online. taking apart a movement was quite easy as im used to working with tools and taking time to get things to fit and not hammer and jam things together that don't fit. I also had lots of time, working at my own pace and lots of patience.Aside from a movement holder and maybe a couple other things I pretty much have tools adequate enough to service a watch with, so I'm thinking I may order a starter pack of watch lubricants and attempt to service the SIGNAL watch.
I have looked it up, and the Hamazawa 5020a movement it has is very different from a typical Swiss MTD movement but it also has far fewer parts.
Since I have never worked on a watch before, I figure this will not seem any more difficult to me than another watch would having no expectations or comparison .
If I fail the watch has very little value, and if I succeed then I've got a wearable watch that I know at least has proper lubrication to keep it running.
Otherwise I believe this is a watch that basically nobody would actually be willing to work on.
I've read that you must be very patient to work on watches. If you get frustrated you have to stop until you calm down.taking apart a movement was quite easy as im used to working with tools and taking time to get things to fit and not hammer and jam things together that don't fit. I also had lots of time, working at my own pace and lots of patience.
putting it back together got the best of me. I used to take a break to calm myself and I'm a patient person
yep. pretty much.I've read that you must be very patient to work on watches. If you get frustrated you have to stop until you calm down.
Wristwatch revival is no stranger to showing his mistakes and that's why he's about the only one I ever watch, he does make it look easy but still doesn't hide the mistakesback in late 90s early 2000s I took some watchmaking classes online. taking apart a movement was quite easy as im used to working with tools and taking time to get things to fit and not hammer and jam things together that don't fit. I also had lots of time, working at my own pace and lots of patience.
putting it back together got the best of me. I used to take a break to calm myself and I'm a patient person. I barely got it back together after many months of attempts and I learned this was not for me.
when i watch youtube of folks assembling making it look so easy I chuckle. I wonder how many takes they cut out to make it short and sweet and easy lookin.
I support ya trying but take your time and take lots of breaks to rest your eyes and keep your hand steady. remember these parts are super fragile. doesn't take much to deform or bend parts.
quality tools are mega expensive. those chinese cheap ones ain't gonna work well.Wristwatch revival is no stranger to showing his mistakes and that's why he's about the only one I ever watch, he does make it look easy but still doesn't hide the mistakes
I have been looking into what I'll need and I still have to do some thinking on it because it turns out the lubricants are pretty darn expensive, I need to figure out just exactly what lubricants would be absolutely necessary for this watch.
I'm not spending multiple times this watches value on a starter set of lubricants, especially if I may never even want to work on another watch again.
That's what I figured.quality tools are mega expensive. those chinese cheap ones ain't gonna work well