My late uncle worked at the Timex Dundee factory and his job was to refurbish returned "service" movements. What Timex used to do back in the sixties and seventies was have their dealer replace a customer's movement with a service movement which most dealers kept a stock of (this I was told is one of the main reasons Timex marked the dials with the model of the watch, the movement number and date of manufacture, it was easy then for the dealer to replace the watch with the correct movement). What happened was that the customer would return the watch for a service, be charged a small fee for the job and usually have the watch returned in two working days. The old movement would then be sent back to Dundee which is where my uncle came in! The crown and stem were removed and thrown away and then the whole movement was then soaked in a solvent in an ultrasonic bath. When done the movements were put through a detergent bath then finally a demineralized water bath and then layed upon wire racks and put into a low oven which would dry the movements. The final part was a team of workers who would then oil the movements, attach a new crown and stem, wind them and then they would be left until wound down with the occasional check. If a movement had stopped generally, it was thrown out. all movements that ran to within a certain time frame were then placed in little plastic labeled boxes and sent out to the watch dealers. These then were the replacement movements, and the watches were checked for 24 hours by the dealer and if within two minutes were deemed good enough. Many dealers offered for a few pennies more an adjustment service which most (including myself!) would have done, and the watches then were usually good to +/- 15 seconds a day. It has always been a farce the fable that Timex designed their watches to be throw away! What they did do was desgin a movement that was virtually unbreakable, reliable and could be cheaply serviced by this replacement procedure. Back in the seventies when an average Timex was around fifteen to twenty pounds the service cost was five pounds for a standard replacement five fifty if you had the watch adjusted for better time keeping. They also made a mockery of today's water resistance ratings, any of the Marlins were regarded as good enough for swimming with and indeed were, I wore mine all the time when swimming in the English Channel and never once did water get in, no screw down crowns or backs, just a simple rubber gasket! In fact, the only thing to plague Timex watches was sweat! The case would degrade quicker than the dials or movements which is one reason so many people wore them on cuff style bands so as to keep the sweat off!
Me and my dad was just talking about this. I bought this exact same watch along with 4 more, all vintage Timex. 3/5 work, one having a broke hairspring and the other having water damage. Just timed and cleaned this watch and am currently wearing it. Definitely cool to know, and these were definitely not throw away watches!
I learnt this recently. To test whether a mechanical watch is broken or simply gunked up, remove the case back, add a drop of lighter fluid, let evaporate till only a tiny bit remains, replace case back allowing the small amount of lighter fluid to evaporate inside the watch case, this being absorbed by the movements oils makes them less viscous and can bring a watch back to life. Have fun , good luck. Kev, England. Peace dude.
Very interesting video. I collect many old timexes. I was a little perplexed, and perhaps you have a good reason, how come you didn't bathe the movement in cleaning solution (lighter fluid) before applying oil? Also, what kind of oil did you use?
I bought the exact same Timex from a thrift store for $8. After watching this video, I had some hope that I could get it working again. It wants to, but won't continue to run. I fiddled with it for over an hour and it just won't stay running. Any thoughts?
Great video, thanks for sharing. I do have a question that I hope you can answer. I have an old Timex, similar to the one you have here in the video, I got it when I was a teenager in the 70's, other than mine doesn't have the day in it. My Timex still runs, the problem is it gains time, even when I move the adjustment on the inside all the way to "S" and it will not go any further, it still gains time. Do you know why it would be doing this? Any thoughts would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.
I use straight ammonia, then isopropyl alcohol and then the naphtha. I put the movement in a small container in each fluid and run it in an ultrasonic cleaner.
Are you able to work that magic with a similar aged Timex quartz? Mine stops ticking intermittently. The quartz still vibrates so I'm guessing it just needs cleaning
My late uncle worked at the Timex Dundee factory and his job was to refurbish returned "service" movements. What Timex used to do back in the sixties and seventies was have their dealer replace a customer's movement with a service movement which most dealers kept a stock of (this I was told is one of the main reasons Timex marked the dials with the model of the watch, the movement number and date of manufacture, it was easy then for the dealer to replace the watch with the correct movement).
What happened was that the customer would return the watch for a service, be charged a small fee for the job and usually have the watch returned in two working days.
The old movement would then be sent back to Dundee which is where my uncle came in!
The crown and stem were removed and thrown away and then the whole movement was then soaked in a solvent in an ultrasonic bath. When done the movements were put through a detergent bath then finally a demineralized water bath and then layed upon wire racks and put into a low oven which would dry the movements.
The final part was a team of workers who would then oil the movements, attach a new crown and stem, wind them and then they would be left until wound down with the occasional check. If a movement had stopped generally, it was thrown out. all movements that ran to within a certain time frame were then placed in little plastic labeled boxes and sent out to the watch dealers.
These then were the replacement movements, and the watches were checked for 24 hours by the dealer and if within two minutes were deemed good enough. Many dealers offered for a few pennies more an adjustment service which most (including myself!) would have done, and the watches then were usually good to +/- 15 seconds a day.
It has always been a farce the fable that Timex designed their watches to be throw away! What they did do was desgin a movement that was virtually unbreakable, reliable and could be cheaply serviced by this replacement procedure. Back in the seventies when an average Timex was around fifteen to twenty pounds the service cost was five pounds for a standard replacement five fifty if you had the watch adjusted for better time keeping.
They also made a mockery of today's water resistance ratings, any of the Marlins were regarded as good enough for swimming with and indeed were, I wore mine all the time when swimming in the English Channel and never once did water get in, no screw down crowns or backs, just a simple rubber gasket! In fact, the only thing to plague Timex watches was sweat!
The case would degrade quicker than the dials or movements which is one reason so many people wore them on cuff style bands so as to keep the sweat off!
Me and my dad was just talking about this. I bought this exact same watch along with 4 more, all vintage Timex. 3/5 work, one having a broke hairspring and the other having water damage. Just timed and cleaned this watch and am currently wearing it. Definitely cool to know, and these were definitely not throw away watches!
Tx for background.
I learnt this recently. To test whether a mechanical watch is broken or simply gunked up, remove the case back, add a drop of lighter fluid, let evaporate till only a tiny bit remains, replace case back allowing the small amount of lighter fluid to evaporate inside the watch case, this being absorbed by the movements oils makes them less viscous and can bring a watch back to life. Have fun , good luck.
Kev, England. Peace dude.
That's interesting for sure and your explanation of the procedure seems clear.
Vintage Timex have 17 and 21 jewel movements too.
Very interesting video. I collect many old timexes. I was a little perplexed, and perhaps you have a good reason, how come you didn't bathe the movement in cleaning solution (lighter fluid) before applying oil?
Also, what kind of oil did you use?
I bought the exact same Timex from a thrift store for $8. After watching this video, I had some hope that I could get it working again. It wants to, but won't continue to run. I fiddled with it for over an hour and it just won't stay running. Any thoughts?
bath it in lighter fluid
or cleaning solution
then oil everything
lightly
I have a couple Timex watches that I might want to try this on. I was wondering : What oil are you using ?
Anchor watch oil is my go to
Mobeus 8000 is a great all round oil if you don't want to spend out on 5 different oils and greases😊
Awesome!
Great video, thanks for sharing. I do have a question that I hope you can answer. I have an old Timex, similar to the one you have here in the video, I got it when I was a teenager in the 70's, other than mine doesn't have the day in it. My Timex still runs, the problem is it gains time, even when I move the adjustment on the inside all the way to "S" and it will not go any further, it still gains time. Do you know why it would be doing this? Any thoughts would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.
It could be magnitized.
Buy a cheap de-magnitizer.
What about heat? Wouldn't hitting the movement with a blow dryer melt the waxy oils?
f that sort of thing works on a Timex it should also work with other movements that people love to disassemble all the way.
I have heard that you can soak them in naphtha, dry and then oil and that will work too.
I use straight ammonia, then isopropyl alcohol and then the naphtha. I put the movement in a small container in each fluid and run it in an ultrasonic cleaner.
Are you able to work that magic with a similar aged Timex quartz? Mine stops ticking intermittently. The quartz still vibrates so I'm guessing it just needs cleaning
Possibly. Depends on the movement.
My 1968 Timex has 21 jewels.
That's a rare one. Hold on to it
How can I get in touch I need a repaid sir. Best G
jjembalm@gmail.com
😳😳😳👍👍👍
demonter la tige de la montre et s assurer de son bonne etat du viltage