This watch was the first pocket watch I ever got, at the time I knew nothing about watches and was just getting interested in watches, after buying the watch I went home and took it apart to see how it worked needles to say I broke it. So, we took it to a local watchmaker so he could repair it. Half a year and a huge bill later I got it back, they got it working but all they did was replace the balance staff and the click, they didnt oil it and it came back dirtier and with more stains on it than it went in with, it also came back with the strange grid like stain on it.

So, 4 months later I desided to clean and oil it and these are the results:

After coming back from the watchmaker:

After Restoration:

Thats spectacular Francesco, excellent job. Hope you no longer have a need for that watchmaker.
Bill

Look great...Nice work..

I'm impressed! What did you use to make it shine?

Keep up the good work we need young people like you
to get more involve in watch repair so the watches will be here ticking long after we stop.

Very nice job of cleaning! Luckily it looks like the plates cleaned up very well. sometimes those little spots of gunk are permanently embedded into the plates...

Jared

Hi Dave, I used brass polish, it works very well at removing stains but I wasn't sure if destroying the patina decreases the value so I used my cheapest watch. But the movement was in such bad condition I thought it deserved a clean .

Okay, I see now. This is not a gilt finished movement. Looks great!

Very nice work Francesco.

looks nice Francesco.

Great job Francesco!

Nice job! So rewarding to clean one up and get it back into running order!

Dan

Francesco, For a 16 YO student you are a brilliant man. I can't think of any young people that would be interested enough in PW's to make the leaps and bounds you have demonstrated here on the site. You stick with it till it is done and that is hard to find in todays ADHD society. You make us all proud that you are a member.

Agreed 100%!

Now, that said, let's make this an educational piece too......does he have anything to be concerned about by using brass polish on the plates of an assembled movement like he did?

Regards! Mark

Mark, I was wondering the same thing. I assume it was taken apart to be polished but would the gilding be removed thereby causing oxidation?

I need some clarification on the plates. Is it gold gilding on a brass or nickel plate?

When a watch is described as having nickel plates is it solid nickel or nickel plated on brass or does it depend on the quality of the movement?