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Electroplating Wizardry Saves a Hopeless 1940s Zenith Watch - Restoration!
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- Опубликовано: 1 авг 2024
- Join us as we embark on an incredible journey to restore a rare and historic Zenith watch from the 1940s. With fewer than 3,600 of these timepieces ever made, this watch features a remarkable Blancpain movement that makes it truly unique. In this video, we'll take you through the entire restoration process, from the watch's initial state of disrepair, including the disaster of a watch case, to its stunning transformation with the help of electroplating magic!
Zenith, founded in 1865 by Georges Favre-Jacot in Le Locle, Switzerland, is a prestigious Swiss luxury watch manufacturer known for its high-quality movements and exceptional craftsmanship. Zenith has a rich history of innovation and has produced numerous iconic watches over the years.
Blancpain, established in 1735 by Jehan-Jacques Blancpain, is the world's oldest watchmaking brand. Blancpain is renowned for its exceptional mechanical movements and timeless designs, making them a perfect partner for this rare Zenith watch.
Follow along as we meticulously restore every component of this incredible timepiece, including the electroplating of the watch case, breathing new life into a piece of horological history. Don't forget to like, share, and subscribe to our channel for more amazing watch restoration projects!
#VintageWatch #WatchRestoration #Restoration #electroplating #Zenith #WatchLovers #WatchCollector
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Oil used
Light oil (escape wheel/third wheel/fourth wheel/balance pivots): Moebius 9010
Heavy oil (centre wheel/barrel arbor/barrel/motion work): Moebius HP 1300 or Moebius D5
Pallet oil: Moebius 941/2 and Moebius 9415 pallet grease (for fast beating watches over 19,800bph)
Mainspring: Moebius 8200 grease
Keyless work and upper crown wheel: Moebius 8301 grease
Cleaning agents
Elma - WF Pro Watch Cleaning
Elma Suprol Pro
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Chapters:
00:00 Introduction
01:43 Disassembly back side of the movement (Wheel train, Escapement, Balance wheel, Et Cetera)
11:38 Disassembly dial side of the movement (Keyless & Motion Works)
13:50 Cleaning the watch movement
15:13 Reassembly back side of the movement (Wheel train, Escapement, Balance wheel, Et Cetera)
25:15 Reassembly dial side of the movement (Keyless & Motion Works)
30:45 Sanding the watch case down
34:43 Soldering the lugs to build up metal
35:53 Polishing the case
37:11 Electroplating copper strike
40:17 Electroplating bright nickle
42:31 Finishing the movement
43:04 Incabloc shock protection system
44:52 Bringing everything together and finishing the watch.
Love your “how I do it and what I learned along the way” channel. This is the true YT maker sharing approach.
I appreciate that! Glad you liked it.
I would love to see an electro-plating video! It would be great to see your whole setup, as well as getting tips on how to build and acquire everything necessary to do the process at home.
I can do that, next watch that needs the full treatment I will do a separate video on the electroplating and go a bit more into detail.
Thanks for all your hard work…. Great video. From watch city, Waltham, Massachusetts, USA
@@Saving-Time- Yes yes, watch electroplating video please.
Great video! Love the plastic bag over the spring trick.
Thanks it's saved my bacon a few times. Glad you liked it.
@@Saving-Time- Yes! I plan to retire in 2-3 years and take up watch making. This is the first I've seen of the "plastic sheet spring arrestor". Thank you for that!
i was fascinated watching this video... the surgical precision of your manual dexterity, the amazing close-up camera work... WOW! Thank you for sharing 🙂
You're welcome glad you liked it.
@Saving-Time - As you apologize about your camera work (it is actually good) I wonder if he's not pulling your leg.
@@donnyboon2896 Me? No, I wasn't kidding. I was mesmerised watching it all the way through.
The way the gold accentuates this movement is just superb.
Yup real pleasure to work on this one.
David, you are doing a fantastic job for a hobbyist! Don't put yourself down if not perfect. Be proud you brought a work of art from the past back to life. You're video editing is great for a beginner, lol.
Thanks 👍 This is one of my favourite watches.
Nice job.
I have a 1957 Enicar that I intend to try and Electroplate. It's not as badly pitted as the body of the watch you restored but the original plating is well worn off, so thanks for taking us through that process.
Accidentally damaging or losing parts is nothing to be ashamed of. I lost a balance wheel off a ladies watch a couple of weeks ago when it flew out of my tweezers, onto my shirt, then onto my pants when I moved to try and grab it, and then it went into outer space. It's not like it was as small as a tiny screw being about 4-5mm in diameter. I spent about a day of time looking for it as I carefully cleaned up the area. I looked everywhere but could not find it. God knows where it is.
So 9 dollars later I have a brand new replacement with it's hair spring and roller table. The upside is that the original had a broken pivot on the staff. I had ordered a pair of replacement balance staffs for it for about 10 bucks, and they are now going in the spare parts.
The way I see if we don't make mistakes, accidentally break things, lose things, we're just not doing enough of this work. Oh and I also bent the pinion on an escape wheel by thinking the bridge had stayed in place after moving the movement after I had lined up all the pivots and then tightening the screws. I appreciated your careful checking and rechecking before tightening things down, and NO, when I carefully tried to bend the pivot back straight I snapped it off.
Nice work. You might want to consider using a small piece of rodico to hold springs down instead of the plastic. It gives you more control and the added weight will prevent the spring jumping to outer space.
I've tried rodico way in the past never seemed to have to much luck with it. I'll practice a bit I've seen watchmakers use it to great effect. Thanks for the tip glad you enjoyed the video.
Glad your restoration was sensitive and definitely not phony (I seriously dislike those videos where there's all sort of schmutz and rust on a non-rustable item, etc.) and well done! (except of course for the moment of clutziness but that happens to all of us.) I don't make or repair watches and thoroughly enjoy watching others show us how it's done. And your videography has gotten better and better just in the time between this video and your latest - I love your commentary and self-deprecating humor as well... the history of these timepieces is indeed interesting!
Thank you; I'm glad you enjoyed it. The fake restoration videos are hilariously bad. "I was just out walking when I triped over a 100,000-dollar Patek Philippe. Now I'm going to just wash it under the tap for a moment." I'd never seen rusty brass until I watched a RUclips restoration :D
I enjoyed the video. A beautiful watch. Thank you
Great video. No need to apologize about anything.
Thanks! Was a fun project to work on
Good job, love the gold plated movement.
Thanks it's pretty watch both inside and out big fan of the vintage Zeniths.
David, well done, indeed! I just love the simplicity and attention to detail the vintage watches display.
Thank you Robert very nice of you to say. Glad you enjoyed this one.
Level of detail is great. Thanks.
You are welcome!
Woah, really, very impressive restoration for in 80ś watch, I have enjoyed the video. Somehow, one day I'll have Zenith in my collection, but for now, I'll admire yours and leather band great looking band great content as always, Viva watch making.. until next time chao.!
Thank you again, a Zenith would make a fine addition to any collection good luck with finding one :)
Beautiful restoration 👍 Personally I like the long form videos as I find the details interesting, but I can understand some people just want to be entertained by watching a banged up watch become beautiful again by cutting weeks of work down into a 5 minute video.
Glad you liked it. I think there is room for both I like the long stuff so that's what i do, but yes i do see the appeal in short-cutting from a to b I wish i could sometimes lol
I must say, your photography and editing are absolutely stunning. It makes the video very enjoyable.
Thanks so much 😊 Very nice of you to say, glad you enjoyed it.
Oh wow what an amazing transformation, amazing focus and patience - im not a watchmaker but im a lifelong tinkerer, miniatures modeler computer builder and so on who loves to fix and repair small things, but this is just on another skill and patience level, really nice piece of work.
Hey, I'm also a miniatures modeller, computer builder, and general tinkerer of microelectronics. If I had to guess, I'd say you'd like watchmaking.Thank you for the kind words!
Bit late to the party but I really enjoyed the video. I'd love to see more in depth about elecroplating as thats something I need to do. Thanks again 👍
Glad you enjoyed it! Check out my Gruen video i do some more electroplating in that one
Hi David, camera work is great. Lovely job, shame about the balance but new appears even better. The hands don't do it for me at all, they just don't suit the watch. That's of course in my humble opinion. Didn't realise incabloc was around so early!. Great video. Thank you. Adrian
Thanks for the kind words. I don't like the hands either i got them mainly to practice bluing i'm going to try and find something that looks close to the original. Pics will go up on my Instagram at some point. instagram.com/savingtime_yt/ Cheers
great zoom aspect and techno servicing
Thank you appreciate the comment
Great bringing this beautiful watch back to life and bringing joy to the next holder of this watch..thank you for sharing your skill ,its amazing watching you work..cheers.
Glad you enjoyed it, thanks for the kind words!
*The new hands look good, no bluing needed.* Great job!
Glad you like them! Thanks for the comment
Glad I watched this. I've started buying a few cheap tools to see if I enjoy watch repair before investing more money into it and I have a cheap hand removal tool but no cannon pinion removal tool. Glad to see I can use it for both!
If you don't mind some advice, buy some hand set removing leavers www.cousinsuk.com/product/hand-removing-levers-non-swiss even these ones for a few quid are fine. You'll need to grind them down a bit, but if you don't mind the extra work, they are good. Even cheaper than the cheap hand removal tool and that thing to remove hands will end up causing you endless problems.
@@Saving-Time I appreciate all advice! Thank you for that. I'll buy some today 👍
Awesome job on that case and the cam work is awesome too!! Thanks for posting!
Thanks the case looks better IRL the camera shows every scratch :) appreciate the comment thank you
Just found your channel. Interesting work. thanks.
Thanks for watching!
Great job I won't mind wearing this time piece
Thanks it's a beautiful watch for sure.
That was a very good video, and a job well done. An electro plating video would be interesting. Subscribed.
Thanks for the sub! I shall get round to a video on electro plating i'm sure :)
Looks great!!! I would proudly wear a watch like this. Nice job.
Thank you very much!
great job
Thank you i appreciate that.
Magnificent job on the case. This by far the most enjoyable channel for watch repair. The fact you are also learning as you go just adds to that.
Your careful, honest and clear narrative is superb
Thank you very much! Very nice of you to say!
Excellent job, well done! I also love the patina of the dial. Only time can do this so convincingly. You've got many skills on the go and you're getting good results, so keep it going. We all never stop learning. Looking forward to seeing your next watch restoration!!
Thank you very much! Next one will be out in a couple of days.
I really enjoyed your video. One of the best I’ve seen, and I’ve seen most of them.
Keep up the good work.
Wow, thanks! I'm glad you enjoyed it. Check out some of the new stuff. I think my camera work got better, but I'll let you be the judge.
Well done! Loved the work on this watch.
A very nice job, enjoyed your video very much. Keep up the good work continually.
Thanks, will do!
"Who takes their Patek Philippe to a swamp bog?" ack ack ack this had me rolling 🤣🤣🤣LOL
Glad you got a chuckle out of it :)
What a brilliant idea using a platic cuver with the borne to fly spring. 😊
Glad you like it! They sure do like to fly
Very much enjoyed that.
Glad you like it thanks for the kind words
Great work!
Thanks!
Very nice job love the videos !! Keep up the great work!!
Thank you very much!
Thanks for posting
My pleasure!
Very well done I really enjoyed. Thanks.
Great video! I came here for the electroplating part, I'm definitely interested to know more about it.
Check out the video I think called from trash to treasure here on my channel. I make a dial so there is some more plating advice in that one as well. Glad you liked it
@@Saving-Time I will definitely check it! Thanks
Nice work.
Very well presented too, with pertinent explanations where needed.
I refinished the badly pitted case on my Zodiac chrono, using pretty much the same methods as you used. It came out fine.
Thank you I appreciate the comment glad it worked out for you
Nice work David. Hats off for the work you do. Fellow self learned “enthusiast” here.
Thanks 👍 Glad you are liking the content. I've seen you post on a few of my other videos, thanks for that as well! Always room for a fellow enthusiast.
@@Saving-Time I’m watching them in order. Finding them helpful and I like the production quality.
Well hopefully you think they are getting better as you go along!
You did good Dave .
Wonderful lighting and macro work.
I have the same watch with a close movement number from 1947. It is all original except the crown but thank you for showing me what that should look like.
The hands should be pencil shaped ,lumed with a bar across the middle. The hour hand reaches the tip of the unit one of the eleven. The minute hand reaches the outer edge of the rail track. Good luck finding similar.
The movement was used by Zenith (1945-1947 ) in only 3,600 watches . Perhaps incabloc movements were expensive then because I have a watch with the successor cal. 126 movement from 1956 which does not have incabloc.
Keep up the good work.
Thank you. the watch now has the correct hands! I think there is a pic on my Instagram, if not i'll post one. Thank you for the kind words!
Good video, yes I would like to see more details on the electroplating. Thanks
Noted! Check out my Gruen video i cover some more details there
This is a refreshing format and pacing , great video!
Glad you enjoyed it!
Great job! The pitting was bizarre - looked like the surface of the moon. I like your honesty - particularly about dropping the watch - not many people would have owned up :)
Dropped it 😂 I launched it at the floor. Ended up well though! Thank you I'm glad you liked it. Great watch
Yes please David, love to know the ins and outs of plating. Knowledge is always good.Fantastic content as usual. Stay well. Mike.
Thanks Mike I'm glad you liked this one; it was one of my first videos.
@@Saving-Time merry Christmas to you and family. Best wishes for the new year.
great work beautiful gold plating inside the watch
Thank you kindly. It's a great watch!
Another outstanding video.
Thank you.👍🤜🤛
Thank you too! Glad you enjoyed it.
Just a piece of advice, as someone who works with electronics and uses lots of tin based solder, for adding strength you really would be better off using silver solder as it is much stronger and bonds better. I would also recommend a torch of some sort to do the soldering with.
Thank you very much for the advice, appreciate it.
Enjoying your honesty.👍
Thank you only way to go on youtube IMO. Glad you are enjoying the videos.
Thanks!
Welcome! And thank you for the tip. Appreciate it.
Beautiful timepiece, thank you for sharing the experience. Good effort, and best of luck to you. Nice work ✌️❣️
Thank you kindly!
Great video David, thanks for sharing
Glad you enjoyed it
Cool down to earth video, honest, humble and interesting , i like it.
I appreciate that! I'm glad you liked the video. Thank you very much for the kind words.
This is a superb restoration of a watch, which nobody would be interested in putting back life into it. Well done. Great video and great restoration.
Many thanks!
Amazing transformation
Thank you!
Definitely I want to learn about plating. I have experienced making my own solution and tried to plate some vintage cases but failed miserably 😁
I'll try and get more in-depth at some point. Thanks for letting me know.
lovely movement and great video, especially the narrative. I always thought Incabloc was from the late 50s, never realised they came out so much earlier.
Glad you enjoyed it! It got cheaper in the 1950s which is why you see it in a lot of watches after 1950 :)
@@Saving-Time Thanks for sharing!
Great job... Looks like it may be in need for a couple balance screw washers to help slow it down and get that regulator arm centered. You have great skills so keep moving foreward! Screwdriver selection is very good 😊
Thanks Mike I have a lot to learn but i'm getting there thanks for the kind words :)
There is a well known American cave explorer who wore a Rolex in rough and dirty cave work!😮😮😮 It got scratched and dirt encrusted, but still worked!😀
Well done, I am very impressed.
Thank you! Glad you liked it
Beautiful watch David!
Yes i love this one, glad you liked it
Hello David, I really like your video‘s and you have a very Nice way of explaining and good developed techniques (as far as I can see). Above all you are very honest about the mishaps that we all experience so many times, and it is indeed those mishaps that we learn the most of … Mostly after hours of creeping on the floor with a flashlight … And (meant as a compliment) you try new things!! So the nickel plating really inspires me to want to learn that also, thanks! As wanting to give you something back, I have a few tips for you (perhaps you already have them in your pocket (or the knowledge-basket): 1. Hold down the bridge of the train of wheels while you are screwing this bridge down (also is helpful for the palletfork-bridge), 2. When placing the watch in the timegrapher do it with the crown on the other side, in the recessed side, so that there is no pressure on the crown and stem, you will see that the reading is then more accurate, 3. The ‘old’ ballance-assembly had a problem where the coils were sticking together (you could see on the old footage). Mostly contamination by f.e. oil, or due to magnetism. Demagnetise it an put it shortly in the one-dip (shortly because of the shellac on the impulse-stone). Greetings from the Netherlands, Peter PS please continu with your videos, your doing a hell of a good job!
I really thank you for the tips. I greatly appreciate it. I am now doing some of them on later videos, but it's fantastic of you to take the time out to help me out. Funny, the watch from my latest video was a gift to a man from the Netherlands. Greetings from Prague, sir.
really amazing skills, thanks for sharing...would love to see an episode with just plating from start to finish....
Coming soon! Next video i'll be doing a case elecrtoplate, Thanks for the kind words
@@Saving-Time thanks, looking forward to that.
Well done!!
Thank you!
Now, that case was a total loss... fantastic job! I like progressive ideas, and soldering was actually a great one! I can only give you a soldering advice-heat the point on object where you wish to apply the solder, not just the solder wire, and use the flux. Also, SMD solder paste (flux-powdered solder mix) applied in those craters in the case and so heated with soldering iron might neatly plug them.
Thank you for the soldering tips. Much obliged. SMD paste might work to fill the gaps, but I don't think it will electroplate right. I could be wrong on that, but I think you may end up with slightly different colors of plating where the SMD paste was. I'll try it out on an old junker at some point; it's an interesting idea for sure.. I have an SMD rework station so it's easy enough to try out.
Nicely done!
Thank you! Cheers!
Great job.
Thank you! Cheers!
Elegant and entertaining!
Glad you enjoyed it. Thank you!
Well done. The only think that would drive me mad is the crown. I would look for a solid crown screw.
The crown has been replaced i'll post an updated pic on IG at some point :) thanks for the kind words
Very nice work. Enjoyed that very much. Thank you.
Glad you enjoyed it you are most welcome!
Wonderful video and channel I might add. Your tech is good enough to indulge us with some oiling also :) very very nice material and the watch came out splendid!
Awesome, thank you!
Very good - the only little niggle I have is that your screwdriver should be hollow ground, like a gunmaker's 'turnscrew', otherwise the end doesn't fit properly and tends to damage the screw. The new hands could easily be stripped by reversing the polarity in your nickel plating setup.
Absolutely fantastic...this is actually therapeutic ❤
Glad you enjoyed it ❤
@@Saving-TimeI subscribed....it's really relaxing and escapism from the world, watching artists at work..Well done!
@@Saving-TimeNo offense to you....but watch wristwatch revival channel.....I see techniques are similar amongst watch restoration experts
None taken I do watch wristwatch revival it's great content!
Love the plating work. I haven't tried it yet, but I bought a power supply to phase Accutrons, so I'm dangerously close to trying it out. Also, I've recently had really good results polishing wretched old acrylic crystals with rouge compound on a soft buff. Shockingly good results, in fact.
I love acrylic scrapes easy enough but damn easy to polish so.... The plating is not that hard prep is key it's very satisfying :)
You may add a thin foil of Cooper to solder it there..because solder alone is very soft. So at the end, the solder should act only as a glue somehow..
Yes it was not the ideal solution. Just a patch job till i work out a better technique. Thanks for all the comments.
Nice work your patience rewarded l enjoyed that.
Glad you enjoyed it
Job well done 👍
Cheers!
I learned a lot!!
Glad it was helpful. Thanks for letting me know
wow such fine work well done sir
Thank you kindly
Excellent! Another matchmaker to subscribe!
Much appreciated! Thank you
That case looks like it was worn on the Somme. Props and what wonderful works inside. yea the whole watch is like an English man in the trenches of WW1 battle scared but when you open it and look within its gleaming bright of gold and rubies. Great video..
Yup well looked after this thing was not. Came out nice in the end though.
Nice video, nice watch.
Thank you sir glad you liked it.
Excellent work for a so-called hobbyist and good clear camera work.The overall look of the watch case and strap in the end balances out beautifully in my opinion.Great result.
Thank you very much! Glad you enjoyed it
EXCELENTE SERVIÇO 👍👍 🇧🇷
Thank you!
The plastic sheet over the click spring is an excellent idea. I don't care how careful you are those things fly to parts unknown.
That they do, with the greatest of ease
As for your soldering.
One of the "tricks" in soldering is: You want to heat up the base material such that the base material itself melts the solder. What you don't want to do is to heat up and melt the solder and then try to apply the solder to the base material. The later is a pretty sure way to create what is called in electronics to be a "cold solder". Meaning the solder did not properly attach to the base material and does not bond well. In electronics this usually manifests in solder joints which do not connect whatever needs to be soldered in place to the substrate, creating a joint which looks somewhat right but does not allow electricity to pass.
This applies to all different kinds of soldering: You always want to heat up the base material and only then add the solder.
(and of course you want to use flux to ensure the solder is not corroded when applied)
Thanks for taking the time to give me some tips it's much appreciated. Hope you enjoyed the video.
Gorgeous movement. If I where you I replaced the casing, but must admit you did quite a good job on it.
Thank you very much! Replacing the case certainly would have been easier and probably cheaper in terms of my time but it would not have made for such an interesting video!
Bravo ! 😎
Thank you
Nice restoration
Thank you! Cheers!
I've got one of these, with a bigger dial, if seems. Really good long watch, patina...
They are very nice watches :)
Excellent video. Very impressive. I discovered your channel with this video. New subscriber here.
Thank you. Glad you liked the video
Great preparation. Wonderful video. Please show the fine adjustment of the hour hand.
Thank you, I will try and get to that on the next one!
great stuff :)
Thanks for the visit
Well done David, great vid! I think a full in depth electro plating vid would be interesting. I’ve also done electro plating a few times and really enjoyed the process, but you can always learn from others, I’ve got a feeling you know your stuff. Maybe you could tell us what movement is in the watch, also adding it to the description or in the metadata of the video could help others searching for that in YT find your vid. Where did you get the balance and hands? I struggle to find the right hands, I’m always looking for other suppliers. My main supplier is Cousins UK.
Hi Boyd i'll add more details to the description in future, did not give it that much thought so thank you for the suggestion. The movement is this is a Zenith Cal.12-6. As to finding parts it's a pain Cousins for most stuff ebay for the rest I wish i could be more help on that but i also struggle with finding the right parts.
@@Saving-Time many thanks David. I’m just starting a new small project, so it’s a good day. MuDu 25 Jewels automatic and date in gold. Not running. See you soon.