One of the most underestimated brands out there must be Helvetia. They have some very nice in-house movements. General Watch Company first created Helvetia and some years later introduced Omega.
This Helvetia is looking rough and is hardly ticking, but I see some potential.The movement is in decent condition.A rather unusual feature is that they use Inca shock on the top side and their own shock protection on the dial side. The set lever spring is broken. Very unusual bridge construction.The movement coming apart in it’s own quirky way.The gear train visibleThe old mainspring has seen better days.New mainspring in the barrel. After the parts have been cleaned, I start by putting the centre wheel back in place.Gear train back in place.Crown wheel and ratchet wheel in place under the barrel bridge.Winding mechanism back in place. I also fit a new set lever spring. Pallet back in place.Hands and dial get new luminous compound and the dial looks very good.Movement back in the newly restored case and ticking.Performance is very good.Now that is a lovely watch both on the inside and outside:)
Do you still repair Halvetia watches please?
Yes, we still do. Please use the booking form on our website.
Lovely job you’ve done here, as a matter of interest,
Did you rechrome the case if so how did you do it? It looks very good whatever method it is.
The dial did you clean it like you did in another post on cleaning dials?
The new mainspring is it a brass alloy one or the original just cleaned?
Thanks once again for all your posts of these wonderful timepieces.
Hi Anthony,
Yes the case has been sent to be restored with http://replateit.com in Canada. The I have only removed the dirt on the dial and replaced the luminous compound.
Thanks for the reply, I see now that you replaced the mainspring with a new one it was just that the pic looked a bit brassy most probably the light shining onto it! The whole watch looks brand new again. Thanks for the case restoration link,
could yourselves at watchguy do this kind of plating in house?
We use a company in Canada to rechrome cases, and they did the excellent job.
We used a new stainless steel mainspring.
We used the same method of dial cleaning as shown on the blog.
Best regards,
Christian
I have a Gold Helvetia Watch given to me on my 21st Birthday(1964) It is in good condition but in need of repair. Can you assist please.
tel 02380891392 Mobile 07500219639
Many Thanks David Readhead
Yes, we can. Please read our FAQ and booking pages.
Quite a stunning transformation. You must spend a lot of time cleaning! The new hands really add something special.
Very nice work! It’s nice to see these old watches restored. How large is that watch?
Also, it’s very rare to see a second hand with no tail. Has someone removed it from this example? I notice that the side of the hub where the tail would be looks a bit like it’s been filed flat.
Yes I enjoy doing unusual stuff and I really think the Helvetias are great. This watch is 32mm. I think Helvetia had some watches without a tail on the second hand as I have found some other examples with the same feature:
http://timerecs.com/inf/11933-helvetia_general_watch_co___17_jewels_mans_watch_handwinding_vintage.html and http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/VINTAGE-HELVETIA-MILITARY-STYLE-17J-RADIUM-DIAL-MENS-WATCH-RARE-SERVICED-1940s-/161755120463?
pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item25a95b434f
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Vintage-1940s-Art-Deco-WW2-period-Helvetia-Military-style-gents-swiss-watch-/141637232692?
pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item20fa3ca834&nma=true&si=0m2AVjt2g2TwVpCP7uPbPX865nU%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Vintage-1940s-Art-Deco-WW2-period-military-style-gents-swiss-watch-by-Helvetia-/141695515922?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item20fdb5fd12&nma=true&si=0m2AVjt2g2TwVpCP7uPbPX865nU%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557
Glycine frequently utilized “tail-less” second hands, particularly in their Vacuum models.
Beautiful work again but don’t you guys ever take a holiday?
We actually do – Mitka is on holidays at the moment, and I published the post that he had written last week today. 😉