I am in the midst of diagnosing my first project I found that the roller jewel was missing.I looked inside the watch to see if it had fallen inside but couldn't find it. I stopped there and replaced everything for the time.

To measure for the jewel can I use my Elgin gauge?

(photo from Dash2)
I've never ordered any parts before. Do I give the maker and serial # to the watch and size jewel I need.

This isn't a valuble watch at all, an old Tavannes that is beat up. I would like to get it running for my experience.

Should I wait until I gave more experience under my belt?
Thanks in advance!
Earl

Hi Earl,
Pick up a copy of The Watch Repairer's Manual by Henry B. Fried. It will answer all your questions including how to order parts. This book is a must if you're going to work on watches.
Brian C.

Thanks! It is on my buy list!

Earl

I would find that actually replacing a roller jewel (rather than resetting one that had loosened) to be a tedious and very delicate task.

You've identified a major problem... identifying the proper jewel.

Preparing a roller-table can be difficult as well. But... one major difficulty is handling the jewel in the process of setting it. They are very tiny and (necessarily) slippery. They are highly likely to "squirt" out of a tweezer, especially if one is new to handling them. If they fall to the floor, they become nearly invisible and, of course, you cannot fall-back upon a magnet to find them.

I heard a story once, that the Elgin Company had a soft asphalt floor in its assembly room. Supposedly, at the right angle, it would glitter with all the "lost" roller jewels that were embedded in it. And.... this is where the experts worked!

If you have not had "hands-on" instruction in replacing a jewel, I'd send it to one of the guys here. Frank Kusumoto comes to mind!

Years ago, my watchmaker friend gave me the following advice on setting a roller jewel. Before picking up the jewel with the tweezers, rub the tip of the tweezers across the side of your nose. This will pick up a small amount of body oil on the tweezers. The little roller jewel will then stick to the tweezers during plcaement and will not fly out. Before this, I was constantly losing roller jewels. Since applying this little trick about 15 years ago, I've never lost another. Silly as it sounds, it works. My friend told me he learned this when he attended the Bowman school for watchmaker training.

Tom

Great advice!

That sounds akin to using a small dab of grease on a screw head while performing odd angle/hidden repair work to keep the screw from dropping off the screwdriver.

I think I will have to pass of the suggestion of sending the part out. Like I said, this watch cost little, and the purpose of the exercise was to build experience.

I took the watch totally down last night again looking for the "missing" jewel, but it was not to be found. No worries though, I learned a lot of lessons on how to lose/find parts and the tiny second hand .

I will keep at it until I can find a jewel for it.

Thanks for the help.