Timeless Ticks
Watch problems and fixes
Symptom in, diagnosis out. What each fault usually means, what you can safely do yourself and when it belongs on a watchmaker's bench.
12 fixs. Grouped by subject. Repair costs are indicative US figures.
These pages start from the symptom, not the cause. Something is wrong with the watch on your wrist and you want to know what it means, whether it is urgent, what you can safely do yourself, and what it will cost if it goes to a bench.
Two rules run through all of them. If water has been inside the case, time matters more than money and it should go to a watchmaker today. And a watch that is merely running fast is far more often magnetized than broken, which is a few minutes' work to fix.
Care and servicing
Rust and corrosion on a watch
Rust inside a watch does not stop on its own, and the repair bill climbs every week. What to do in the first hour, and why rice is not one of the steps.
The bezel is loose, or it will not turn
A bezel that spins freely has usually lost its click spring. One that will not move is packed with grit or salt. How to tell, what to rinse, what it costs.
The crown is stuck and will not turn or pull out
A crown that will not turn or will not pull out points at a jammed keyless works, a broken stem or corrosion. What is safe to try and what needs a bench.
The crown will not screw back down
A crown that will not thread back down is almost always cross-threaded or caught on the stem position. What to do, what never to force, and when to stop.
Complications
The date changes at noon, or not at all
A date that flips at midday means the hour hand is twelve hours out. How to fix it in a minute, and what to do if the date is simply slow or stuck.
Materials
My watch irritates my skin
Nickel allergy, friction and trapped moisture produce three different rashes with three different fixes. How to tell them apart before you replace the watch.
The bracelet rattles, or it has stretched
A stretched bracelet has not stretched. The pins and the holes they run in have worn, joint by joint. How to check it, and what a rebuild really costs.
The crystal is scratched
What can be polished and what must be replaced, by material. Plus the misdiagnosis behind most scratched sapphire: it is usually the anti-reflective coating.
The strap keeps breaking
Most watches that fall off a wrist lose a spring bar, not a strap. Why fat bars and drilled lugs matter, and what to replace long before it ever fails.
Movements
My quartz watch has stopped
A stopped quartz watch is usually a dead battery, but four other faults look identical. How to tell them apart before you pay for a battery that will not help.
The automatic will not hand wind
Many automatic movements cannot be hand wound at all, by design. Which ones, how to confirm yours, and what a genuine winding failure actually looks like.
The hands do not line up with the markers
Hands that miss the markers are usually fitted slightly off, which is cosmetic. A gap that grows over a day is a slipping cannon pinion, which is not.