Basic watchmaking tips - Spotting wear

peripatus · Oct 19, 2018

Thanks Al. Noble of the watch companies in a way, since unlike cars, we aren't going to die if our watch fails. The issue of originality clashing with improvement is clearly an issue for some people though.

Jules

Omega alan · Oct 20, 2018

Most interesting, with super photos.
I always find it amazing to think that a watch has been running to get into the state shown with that horrendous wear and ground up bearing dust!

Alan

Archer · Oct 31, 2018

So I wanted to post this since it's a little more unusual than the wear I've shown in most of the photos so far. Servicing a micro-brand diver with a Standard grade ETA 2824-2 inside. The watch was barely ticking when it came in, and my inspection showed that some oils had broken down so pretty normal stuff, but the thing that caught my eye was a large amount of brownish debris on the pallet stones:

So as I disassembled the movement I kept a close eye on that area, and found this:

This is not something that I see a lot, but I have seen it a few times. Wear happening at this extent between the fork horns of the pallet fork is unusual certainly. This is where the roller jewel (impulse pin) swings into and unlocks the escapement, and the fork pushes the balance - here is what the roller jewel area looked like:

Tried to get a good shot of the wear in the fork:

Decided that my usual microscope was not powerful enough, so pulled out the bigger one - you can see the wear in the area between the two arrows, and there is the same wear on the opposite side of the inner fork horn:

Over the years I have seen a number of watchmakers debate the cause of this wear, as it's very specific to this area. The sheer amount of debris seems to be more than the actual material that has been worn away from the pallet fork. The material looks quite rusty in colour, and for me the best explanation I can come up with is that there was possibly improper application of epilame to the pallet fork. Epilame is a treatment done to specific parts in the movement to prevent oils from creeping away from where they are placed, and typically only the actual jewels of the pallet fork are treated, so you keep the treatment away from this area of the fork. The application is done using a solvent carrier, and when it dries quickly the temperature of the parts drop rapidly, and condensation can form - my best guess is that happened here and it lead to a slight amount of rust forming in this spot, that in turn lead to this wear.

The roller jewel is fine, so a thorough cleaning of the movement and a replaced pallet fork will get this movement running again. But this is another illustration that when you see debris, it has to come from somewhere, so you must track down the source and check those parts carefully.

Cheers, Al

Cchao · Oct 31, 2018

Amazing information. Thanks!

vbomega · Jul 13, 2025

The impact of inappropriate epilame application is fascinating. It seems analogous to improper lubrication—like over-oiling or applying lubricant to parts that shouldn’t be lubricated at all.

In recent years, many technical documents for specific mass-produced movements have begun recommending epilame treatment for a broader range of components, including much of the winding/setting mechanism. After seeing the kind of damage epilame can cause—such as to the pallet fork—I can’t help but question whether applying it to the winding/setting mechanism is always a good idea.

That said, the wear in that area would likely be less severe, since the winding parts don’t operate continuously like the pallet fork does. So the risk of abrasive grinding due to epilame residue or crystallization might be lower.

Still, it makes me wonder—what are the movement manufacturers aiming to achieve with this expanded use of epilame? Is it primarily to prevent grease migration, especially in cases where lubricants are applied too generously? But how damaging would that grease migration be, if parts remain untreated, like they have been for decades?

vbomega · Jul 13, 2025

The forum software glitch isn’t letting me add to my previous post, so I’m posting this follow-up question separately.

Al, with more parts becoming unavailable, obsolete, or restricted to manufacturer-authorized service centers, I’m curious—when worn components are encountered during a full service, what types of repairs do you most commonly perform? Is it typically pivot burnishing and polishing, or are you often making new parts entirely? I’d be very interested to hear some examples.

Archer · Jul 13, 2025

Many modern technical guides will just tell you what not to apply epilame to, so yes most of the movement is treated at the factory. Epilame is only used to create a surface that repels oil or at least makes it ball up. You can see this effect in one of my oiling threads for the escapement.

So the only reason is to keep oil from spreading.

One thing…it can also be used in place of good watch hygiene. For example in school I was taught to use it on balance cap jewels, but if the jewel is properly cleaned and I draw the flat surface across some clean watch paper, I can get the same effect as using epilame.

I use it for the escape wheel and pallet fork, not for much else.

Archer · Jul 14, 2025

V vbomega
The forum software glitch isn’t letting me add to my previous post, so I’m posting this follow-up question separately.

Al, with more parts becoming unavailable, obsolete, or restricted to manufacturer-authorized service centers, I’m curious—when worn components are encountered during a full service, what types of repairs do you most commonly perform? Is it typically pivot burnishing and polishing, or are you often making new parts entirely? I’d be very interested to hear some examples.

It really depends on the specifics of each case, but in general my view is that I do what is best for the customer. If there is a replacement part available that is less money than doing a repair, that will be my choice every time, barring some other factor..

As you might have noticed, there's a watchmaker on another forum that although I agree with much of what he says, he advocates for servicing very inexpensive quartz movements instead of replacing them. Since I can have a new movement on my bench in a couple of days, I don't personally see a scenario where I'm going to service a quartz movement that I can buy new for $7. I either have to charge them far more than a new movement would cost for my labour, or I have to eat the timer I spend on it.

It's the same thing with parts, and thankfully for most common parts like worn train wheels, replacement are available. In some instances very minor wear can be addressed with burnishing pivots on a wheel that is difficult to find, but I generally prefer replacement if I can find the part. One exception is that when the end of balance staffs are worn - I burnish those often...

I have also repaired worn holes with bushings...

Even if a part is readily available, I will sometime repair it if it makes economic sense. This is a worn post on a 7750 based Omega movement:

I made a new one for it, as to get a new part would require replacing the entire bridge, since the post is not sold separately:

Done:

Repivoting is certainly an option, but really only in very extreme circumstances would I do it. For example this vintage PP wheel:

One other wheel was worn that I was able to find a replacement for, but not this one. The only replacement I could find was a used wheel for a lot of $$ that came with no guarantees, so it might be just as bads as this. My lathe headstock and tailstock don;t line up 100% (I think they might be from different lathes originally) so repivoting on it would be quite difficult. I "have a guy" though, so off it went to him:

You can see the plug on this end view:

vbomega · Jul 14, 2025

This is great - thank you so much, Al!

RonP · Aug 9, 2025

Archer
It really depends on the specifics of each case, but in general my view is that I do what is best for the customer. If there is a replacement part available that is less money than doing a repair, that will be my choice every time, barring some other factor..

As you might have noticed, there's a watchmaker on another forum that although I agree with much of what he says, he advocates for servicing very inexpensive quartz movements instead of replacing them. Since I can have a new movement on my bench in a couple of days, I don't personally see a scenario where I'm going to service a quartz movement that I can buy new for $7. I either have to charge them far more than a new movement would cost for my labour, or I have to eat the timer I spend on it.

It's the same thing with parts, and thankfully for most common parts like worn train wheels, replacement are available. In some instances very minor wear can be addressed with burnishing pivots on a wheel that is difficult to find, but I generally prefer replacement if I can find the part. One exception is that when the end of balance staffs are worn - I burnish those often...

I have also repaired worn holes with bushings...

Even if a part is readily available, I will sometime repair it if it makes economic sense. This is a worn post on a 7750 based Omega movement:

I made a new one for it, as to get a new part would require replacing the entire bridge, since the post is not sold separately:

Done:

Repivoting is certainly an option, but really only in very extreme circumstances would I do it. For example this vintage PP wheel:

One other wheel was worn that I was able to find a replacement for, but not this one. The only replacement I could find was a used wheel for a lot of $$ that came with no guarantees, so it might be just as bads as this. My lathe headstock and tailstock don;t line up 100% (I think they might be from different lathes originally) so repivoting on it would be quite difficult. I "have a guy" though, so off it went to him:

You can see the plug on this end view:

The worn post on the 7750 bridge is sold seperately. Partnumber 1599 ETA. Send me a PM if you want to know where.

vbomega · Aug 11, 2025

Archer
I wanted to add a couple of other things to watch out for specifically - there are many but seeing a damaged barrel this week reminded me to add this one. So even when dirty, you can see there are some shiny spots around the hole in the barrel drum here:

This is a different barrel, but after cleaning you can see all kinds of damage around the hole:

You rarely see this damage on corresponding hole in the barrel lid, because this is damage caused by a watchmaker, rather than wear. This is some watchmaker making a very ham fisted attempt at installing the barrel arbor, and in the process the hardened steel arbor has caused damage to the soft brass of the mainspring barrel. The damage here can cause a lot of problems with lost balance amplitude and erratic running, because when the mainspring unwinds, the barrel spins around that arbor. If there are burrs here it's going to cause added drag. This damage can be repaired (cleaned up) to a certain extent, but if it's really bad, a new barrel drum is needed.

The damage to these barrels looks to be very extensive - at least by looking at the magnified photos. That it can be repaired is amazing. My first reaction was that this looked completely irreparable.

Archer · Aug 11, 2025

V vbomega
The damage to these barrels looks to be very extensive - at least by looking at the magnified photos. That it can be repaired is amazing. My first reaction was that this looked completely irreparable.

These are probably too far gone, but I’ve cleaned up others…