Equipments and tools for collectors and amateurs

Like for every activity, it is recreational that professional, also for the collector of watches, some instruments and tools are necessary that they make it better to appreciate its creatures.

The collectors and amateurs of watches can be subdivided in three main categories, and for everyone of it we will see which are the useful instruments.

First of all, we see as it is opportune to conserve the own watches.

The first precaution to take is to control the place well in which they come conserved: usually in house they come put in small safe deposit boxes to wall: verified that to the inside of they forms of the humidity, or worse of are not condensed: the problem is more frequent than how much species can be thought, if the cassettes are wall up in wine cellars, or underground. Like precaution, you wrap the watches, or the equipment boxes them, in cloth, therefore inserted all in plastic envelopes.

Inner of the cassettes you put the appropriate sachets in order to absorb the humidity.

The same speech is worth for the safe deposit boxes of the banks.

We see now which are these typologies of fan.

1) Contemplative.

Contemplative passionate, is limited to use, or to conserve, its watches and simply observe outwardly, without to take part in some way on they, in order not to replace a strap.

For theme, the “irons of the trade” are simply:

- a pair of gloves in cotton, in order to handle the “babies” without to leave prints or traces of sweat.

- cloth in order to clean up the same watches, sold in the warehouses of supply for watchmakers and goldsmiths, lightly impregnates of polishing products,

- one or two loupes, one to 3 or 4 magnification and one double to 12 magnification, than concur to see the watches in the detail, the quadrants, the movements, where there is the caseback with a special crystal display back to show off the movement, and eventual small scratches on case, bracelet or glass.

Is advisable to practice some holes to sides of the loupes, in order to avoid the clouding of the same ones during the use.

2) Minimal risk.

This kind of collectors interacts in directed way with the watch, without but penetrating in the heart : the movement.

It limits itself to operate like the contemplative, in more he supplies from himself to the operations of small maintenance like the substitution of the strap or the washing of the bracelet.

Here it is useful to draw the attention on as he is advisable to wash a bracelet.

If the clock comes carried frequently and "heavy" discreet amounts of impurities are deposited: it must therefore take apart the bracelet, than then it can calmly be washed with water soap and small brush. If the impurity to you are difficult to remove can also be tried to dip the bracelet in a small pot with water and detersive, to carry to boiling the water for some minute, therefore to soften the scales, and, after to have made to cool the water, to proceed with an old small brush from teeth, in order to remove the dirtiness remained between the meshes.

As far as the case, you can use a little bit of water, soap and small brush ONLY if the clock is supplied of screw crown and making sure that this is very sluice. Obviously is not recommended avoid to boiling the entire watch. (Don' surprise, I know some persons to have make it!!!)

The necessary instruments for these persons, beyond to those of “the Contemplative”, are:

- a tool for remove the straps or the bracelets, whose use is intuitive: the two extremities have, from a part a pin that serves in order to let out the spring bars from its casing, when there are the holes passing in the case of the watch, to the other instead there is a peak with a forked tail that serves in order to extract the spring bar acting from the inner part of the case.

- a set of spring bars for spare. (the spring bars have the ugly habit, during is made of taking apart and of assembly, to jump from all the parts and to slip themselves into the more unattainable places, beyond to the prerogative, when they fall, it is not made to find, if not when by now they do not serve more).

- a pair of tweezers in order to handle the spring bars.

- a set of screwdrivers for the taking apart of straps or bracelets, on watches with screwed bars, of the type Panerai, Cartier, etc.

.

3) What there is within.

They has the same prerogatives of the two previous typologies, but they have in more the curiosity than to see in the detail the heart of their watches, or similar watches, and to understand of their working.
These succeed in to open the bottoms of their watches in order to contemplate of the mechanism, and, the more enterprising succeed in to take apart the movements from the cases, but only on watches little value, fakes, or mechanical worthless, very aware of the risks to which would go encounter, to carry out on own the precious assets.

For these persons it is a lot important, beyond to the equipment, also to operate in a place adapted: the ideal it would be a table or a bench that allowed to work without having to fold the back in order to see the watch in the detail. It is necessary to have an erected position, therefore, from seated, the job plan would have to arrive approximately to the height of the shoulders.

Is important to have also a good source of light, than it can be placed enough close to the point in which it is worked. The better lamps are those to neon, than, also placed much near to the point of job, and consequently to the head, not heat up, to difference of the normal filament lamps. And it's preferable to use the lamps with two neon, that they cancel the stroboscopic effect, much annoying one for the sight, when the tube to neon is one single, amplified from the fact that we worked close to the source of light and often with loupes.

On the job plan, limitedly to the zone of job, he is advisable to spread a plastic piece of 30x20 cm., of clear colour, green tenuous as an example.

The tools are those of the two previous categories, and that is: eyeglasses, tweezers, tool for remove spring bars, to which but it will have to add a good number of tools for the several operations.

- a case opener for cases to pressure. Usually a blade small knife double with which opening the bottoms making lever on those small carvings that are found on the edge of the bottoms.
To this it goes bound together a woven cloth of enough often, with which wrapping the watch during the operation, that it will avoid, if for case had to be slipped, to provoke themselves some injuries to our fingers.

- A key in order to open screw bottoms.
Most practical they are those to three dowels, with interchanging dowels, for several the types of bottoms. (Remembered that we always speak about operations to complete not on “watches” from experiment for which are large impediments in case of incidents: for high grade or particular watches, special keys exist, that they are used from the attaches to the jobs, and that,at the time, they do not re-enter in our detailed lists).

- A clamp by hand in order to hold firm the watches during the phase of opening of the screw bottoms:

- an hand remover tool that serves for remove hands without damage the dial

- Rodico. A kind of compound, consistency between the rubber , than make in use in order to eliminate the eventual finger prints left on the movement during the manipulation, or in order to remove small impurity from the same movement.

- a dust blower. To use in order to eliminate dust from the glass or the movement, during the reassembly.

- Movement holders. There are those round classics, where the movement comes simply supported, or those more complete, adaptable ones, where the movement comes fixed, allowing one various manipulation of the same one:

- Boxes with compartments, where to deposit the parts of the watch, if operation had to be interrupted.

For thoroughness, in lubrication case of the watch, is necessary also:

- Oil cups.

- Oilers of several measures.

- disks in marrow of elder, for place and cleaning up the oilers and the tips of the tweezers.

- Wood rods in several of diameters, to point, in order to remove eventual traces of dirt, as an example in stones where old oil is deposited, or between the teeth of the wheels, or between the pinions, or wherever it is found.

Now, virtually, with this equipment we will be able to taking apart and reassemble a watch, and to even proceed to its lubrication.