WatchTech

A friend of mine, a Highway Patrol officer, always says there is a battle going on between his patrol cruiser and his wristwatch--if he exits the car in a hurry, the watch pays a price. 

Another customer is a fireman - I detailed his diver and a week later it was totally scratched. I asked "What happened!?" and he replied "well I had this old lady over my shoulder, taking the steps two at a time to escape the smoke, and I ran into a concrete wall at the bottom". We decided to do his repair for free ...

Anyway, there are a number of small gears, springs and levers concentrated around the end of the stem, as shown here. 

I am using a Seiko diver because I have these photos handy but most mechanical watches are similar:

You couldn't do that by winding or adjusting the time or date. 

Another issue I have seen, from a good customer whose Rolex Submariner showed no external damage, was a crystal that "had a tiny chip" and eventually shattered. He wanted a warranty replacement. I was skeptical but said OK, and when I tried to fit a new crystal - I couldn't get it to go in. I measured the crystal seat in the case with a digital caliper and found it was slightly oval, not round.

He confessed to the watch falling out of his locker at the golf club - from the top shelf to the tile floor. But visually there was no obvious damage so he strapped it on and went out to play golf. A day later the crystal "suddenly cracked". I think his was the watch on the right below.

I'm not suggested either of these is exactly what the service department found, but they are examples I have personally dealt with.

Finally there is always the case where the crown was not screwed in all the way, and the threads either become deformed when it is dropped, or worse! the person goes swimming... first Rolex I serviced was full of water for a day or two till the lady used her hair drier to heat it up in an attempt to dry it out...

I hope this gives you some ideas.

Cazalea

 

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