VSF VS3235 DJ36mm 126234 jewel gone missing - UK

[Printworks 0]

Hi,

Watch: VSF VS3235 DJ 36mm 126234

The balance wheel bridge jewel is no longer there. I have only owned the watch a few weeks, but I had the watch in a bag when I went travelling and I think it might have got knocked out of place.

It sounds like I might need a watchmaker to look at it. But the watchmaker near me won't look at reps from China.

I live in the UK.

Thanks in advance 

Printworks

Edited November 2, 2023 by Printworks

[SteveA 308]

Oh Iam intrigued to see what responses we get here

[GingerApple 7,285]

Try one of the Trusted Watchsmiths.

[Printworks 0]

I've PM'd  @ROLIE.

I've seen that he's been able to help other people.

Edited November 3, 2023 by Printworks

[Rokerite 2,444]

1 hour ago, Printworks said:

I've PM'd  @ROLIE.

I've seen that he's been able to help other people.

Top man, but I believe he is in the process of moving house at the minute so he might take a while to get back to you. 

[tomtom1988 63]

25 minutes ago, Rokerite said:

Top man, but I believe he is in the process of moving house at the minute so he might take a while to get back to you. 

Makes sense, I Pmed him a couple of weeks back but hadn’t got a reply. Thought It might have been lost in a sea of PMs but I’ll wait patiently now. Top bloke who’s worked on a couple of watches of mine in the past. 

[Fray Jason 25]

Considering the price of international shipping, the risk and the rates of most watchmakers... I would seriously consider replacing the movement. Especially if you can source one and if you can do the work by yourself.

Btw the balance wheel jewel is one of the most critical of the whole movement and not all watchmakers are able to work on that. Telling you this by experience with a local watchmaker (on a gen watch).

Good luck. 

[GenTLe 1,501]

4 hours ago, Fray Jason said:

Considering the price of international shipping, the risk and the rates of most watchmakers... I would seriously consider replacing the movement. Especially if you can source one and if you can do the work by yourself.

Btw the balance wheel jewel is one of the most critical of the whole movement and not all watchmakers are able to work on that. Telling you this by experience with a local watchmaker (on a gen watch).

Good luck. 

Balance jewel, if it's not got lost by opening the case, is still there, so definitively not a big dial, providing the brass microscopic spring is still intact. 

[Fray Jason 25]

14 hours ago, GenTLe said:

Balance jewel, if it's not got lost by opening the case, is still there, so definitively not a big dial, providing the brass microscopic spring is still intact. 

You mean the hairspring? 

By the way, even if it's still there, he hasn't found it.

Which means he needs to strip down the movement to find it. That's a watchmaker work. 

[GingerApple 7,285]

1 hour ago, Fray Jason said:

You mean the hairspring? 

By the way, even if it's still there, he hasn't found it.

Which means he needs to strip down the movement to find it. That's a watchmaker work. 

Dude, you're questioning one of  the best watchmakers on the forum

[deju 1,874]

1 hour ago, GingerJesus said:

Dude, you're questioning one of  the best watchmakers on the forum

I received no questions? 

[Fray Jason 25]

23 hours ago, GingerJesus said:

Dude, you're questioning one of  the best watchmakers on the forum

I wasn't questioning him, I was addressing a mistake he made. 

And by the way, it's easy to say... yeah, just open the movement, strip it down and find the microscopic jewel.

It's very easy to do that if you are a watchmaker. 

But OP is definitely not a watchmaker and he won't realistically be able to do anything like that without making a complete mess.

And that's my whole point. 

[GingerApple 7,285]

38 minutes ago, Fray Jason said:

I wasn't questioning him, I was addressing a mistake he made. 

I only meant to quote part of your earlier response - where you start talking about the hairspring. Gentle was talking about the jewel spring, which is obvious from the context, but you then suggested he meant hairspring. That's what my earlier comment was aimed at.

What mistake did he make?

[GenTLe 1,501]

On 08/11/2023 at 12:22, Fray Jason said:

You mean the hairspring? 

By the way, even if it's still there, he hasn't found it.

Which means he needs to strip down the movement to find it. That's a watchmaker work. 

I never wrote that he should/could do that, I simply contested your sentence "the balance wheel jewel is one of the most critical of the whole movement and not all watchmakers are able to work on that", This is simply not true. There's nothing difficult into setting the balance wheel jewel. We're not speaking of, for example, "staighten a mangled hairspring", now THAT'S a difficult task. But a balance jewel? Com'on...

[Fray Jason 25]

57 minutes ago, GenTLe said:

I never wrote that he should/could do that, I simply contested your sentence "the balance wheel jewel is one of the most critical of the whole movement and not all watchmakers are able to work on that", This is simply not true. There's nothing difficult into setting the balance wheel jewel. We're not speaking of, for example, "staighten a mangled hairspring", now THAT'S a difficult task. But a balance jewel? Com'on...

It's easy for you, for sure. I was just trying to discourage him from doing it. 100% sure he's going to mess it up. 

It's not a repair someone that's not into watchmaking can do at home. 

edit: and by the way I had troubles with a local watchmaker messing up a balance setting on watch that didn't have that problem before, so that was what I was referring to. 

Edited November 9, 2023 by Fray Jason

[GingerApple 7,285]

Still waiting for you to explain what mistake you say Gentle made. 

[Fray Jason 25]

11 minutes ago, GingerJesus said:

Still waiting for you to explain what mistake you say Gentle made. 

you serious? he called the balance shock spring a "brass microscopic spring ".

It's not the same thing.  There are many "brass microscopic springs" in a watch movement. 

And I know that this sounds pedantic but in a hobby like watch repair we can't call everything a brass spring, or people are not going to understand what we are talking about. 

[GingerApple 7,285]

From the context, everyone knew what the (non native English speaking) Gentle was on about. Apart from you, who thought he was talking about the hairspring, lol. Good googling btw, glad you know the difference now.

[Fray Jason 25]

23 minutes ago, GingerJesus said:

From the context, everyone knew what the (non native English speaking) Gentle was on about. Apart from you, who thought he was talking about the hairspring, lol. Good googling btw, glad you know the difference now.

What's with the attitude, dude? Why so triggered? I wasn't even correcting YOUR mistakes lol

[Foxindebox 464]

Mate, it was absolutely clear he didn’t mean the hairspring. Microscopic, brass spring, balance setting.  Even a complete fuckwit would know he meant the lyre-shaped “Balance” shock setting spring (if incabloc) as he didn’t even mention the word hairspring…

Plus the fairly obvious fact that hairsprings aren’t made of brass.

[GingerApple 7,285]

Is there a word for a person who refuses to admit he's in the wrong and can never apologise? Asking for a friend.

[Fray Jason 25]

2 hours ago, Foxindebox said:

Mate, it was absolutely clear he didn’t mean the hairspring. Microscopic, brass spring, balance setting.  Even a complete fuckwit would know he meant the lyre-shaped “Balance” shock setting spring (if incabloc) as he didn’t even mention the word hairspring…

Plus the fairly obvious fact that hairsprings aren’t made of brass.

I'm glad you know very well what a complete fuckwit would know. 

And what's with everyone here being not just triggered fucks but also completely useless?

I'm basically the only one here trying to help OP. 

[GingerApple 7,285]

I bet you work in finance.

[Foxindebox 464]

3 hours ago, Fray Jason said:

I'm glad you know very well what a complete fuckwit would know. 

And what's with everyone here being not just triggered fucks but also completely useless?

I'm basically the only one here trying to help OP. 

A - Always happy to oblige 

B - At least we know the difference between a hairspring and a shock spring…

3 hours ago, GingerJesus said:

I bet you work in finance.

Merchant banker?

[GenTLe 1,501]

Guys guys, com'on, let's tone it down  

I don't ned advocates (thanks @Ginger jesus anyway) and there's no need (really) to heat things up. 

I use "non technical terms" because "antishock spring" or "cap jewel" may not be understood by all people here, I try to adapt to the audience (by the way, in Rolex movements like that -not sure about daytona, skydweller or YM with countdown- there are no other brass springs around, other than the 2 antishock ones).

@Fray Jason a "watchmaker" that messed up with your balance is not a "watchmaker": errors happen (just messedup a 7750 hairspring myself the other day due to a slipped tweezers, and managed to bring it back in shape with 290° amplitude and no positional errors) but, generally speaking, it should not happen, especially for people that are supposed to do this job on a daily bases.

Coming back to the OP: surely best idea is to let someone with watchmaker skills to deal with it. Those antishock springs are so tiny that (even if it didn't break) they can go into strange places and require maybe the movement extraction from the case (think if it ended up between case and movement). Don't open the case, and give it to Rolie or the other guy in UK that is trusted in the list of trusted people.