Repairing the Tärnan MS 80

The Tärnan watch that I won at a Swedish auction site did not work when I got it. It was obvious that some pieces were missing from the watch as it arrived with a matchbox with pieces in it.

Photo by the watching

The pieces were a small screw (don’t know where it fits), the second hand and a piece from the keyless works (the set lever).

Photo by the watching

I decided to take the watch apart for ultrasonic cleaning and then oiling and putting it together again. I used a hand remover so that I could remove the dial from the movement.

Photo by the watching

When I was putting the date works together again the spring for the “date wheel click” disappeared in one shot and I had to replace it with a slightly modified one I luckily had as a spare. I found the caliber number on the movement; it seemed that it was a France Ebauches, Caliber 233-66, from the sixties.

Photo by the watching

Finally I cleaned the dial up some and replaced the old crystal with a new one.

Photo by the watching

I think the results are pretty good considering that the dial was a bit banged up.

The Watching - why Im in this mess

I’m a pretty normal guy that has in recent years shown a big interest in wristwatches and at some extent pocket watches. Some people may call it an unhealthy interest and they do. Family and friends are not always as sympathetic as I would like but I can understand were they are coming from. I bought my first watch at flea market in Stockholm (Skärholmen). I dare say that I got cheated by the salesman (he kept saying that the watch contained jewels and was worth a lot of money even thou it wasn't working) and I think I paid about 100 kronor (10 euro) for it.

watch was a nonworking “Tevomatic”, automatic of course and 25 jewels.

When I got home I took it apart with a screwdriver that was not intended to be used on anything bigger than a grandfather’s clock. I never did get that watch working and now it sits dissembled in a box, I think that it was something to do with a broken jewel for the mainspring. Six years has past since that day in the flea market and since then I have bought many more watches. Even if I buy watches with intent to sell them I usually never do. This blog is a way for me to keep track of the watches I buy and what I do with them, so you can say that it is manly for me but I hope other people will enjoy it to. I have realized that repairing watches is hard and should not be done by someone who does not know what they are doing. This is true but if you do not try how will you learn? Most people that collect watches and have horology as a hobby have no training, only a interest.

My motto is “if it’s broken and cost under 50euros, try repairing it!”

it’s always worth a try. I have nothing against hard working watchmakers, but I will not pay 20euros for a crystal change that I can do myself for 2. Unfortunate the watchmaker’s occupation seems to disappearing and now when you buy a new watch they ship in abroad for repairs. If you make friends with a real watchmaker and get discounts you are lucky. In my blog I will mostly write about diver watches.

In recent years I’ve discovered that I love Seiko divers, especially from the 60-70ies. I own a few and I am always looking to find new ones.

Heres an Seiko diver 7005-8050

The particular Seiko in the image I bought on the net, I don’t remember what I paid exactly but I think it was around 40 euros. The watch was posted as “nonworking” but I was willing to take a chance. When the watch first arrived I noticed that the Seiko smelled funny and the smell reminded me of a lubricant and rust removal spray that you use on rusted screws. When I opened the watch I realized to my horror that the former owner had sprayed the entire movement with it! I guess to get it to move again. I email the seller and asked why he had done this, I never got an answer.

The Seiko divers are workhorses and highly reliable and if they are broken it is easy to find replacement parts for your movement. The hard part can be to find replacement parts for the case. Finally, I am not a watchmaker; I make repairs to my watches with the best of my knowledge and hope that it will work. If it doesn’t I still learned something. 90 percent of the repairs consist of changing crystals, cleaning the movement, oiling the movement and finding replacement parts. I do not make my own parts (yet).