Reassembly: Waltham Pocket Watch 1865

My attempt at soft soldering the hour hand of Constantine’s Waltham failed miserably. Wondering where I could find a hand that fits, I asked some friends at the BHI Cheltenham if they knew who could help. Everyone agreed that Philip Priestley would be my man. I wrote him an e-mail, detailing what hand I was looking for, and giving the measurements.

I waited a couple of days, and just thought that it had been a bit daring to just ask out of the blue. Well, I was in for a surprise!

A couple of days later, I got an e-mail back. in which Philip said that he was sorry not to have the right hand, but that he had made me one! I just couldn’t believe that he had actually gone to this length to help me, even though he doesn’t know me directly. And, the next day, an envelope arrived in the mail, with the hand stuck to a piece of Rodico, fixed to an hour wheel. And, of course, it fitted like a glove.

When I put the dial back on to the movement, I noticed that I had glued the second hand dial too far up! These things are there to try us … At least that made me glad that I had used shellac to put the second hand dial into place. I boiled the dial up in a saucepan, and re-glued it in its proper position. This time I used two pieces of Rodico to make sure it was in the right place before using the shellac.

For cases like this, I keep a jar with shellac dissolved in methylated spirit.

Now the second hand fits without touching the dial, and I’m much happier.

A beautiful pocket watch, and a great silver case. I’m very envious, but I will have to ship it back to its owner, as much as it hurts sometimes 😉

1 thought on “Reassembly: Waltham Pocket Watch 1865

  1. Beautiful job, yet again. Mr. Pristley’s involvement will no doubt add to the watch’s history, and perhaps even its provenance. But it’s your craftsmanship that I value above all, Christian.

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