Restoration of another Pierce Navigator
As anyone who has invested a little time perusing this blog will know, I have a hard time passing up an affordable chronograph that is in need of some TLC and so it is that I found myself with another Pierce Navigator in less than pristine condition. Continue reading “Black Dial Pierce Navigator”
Restoration of a vintage single button chronograph
In sticking with the theme of repairing old chronographs, I picked up another Pierce Navigator a few months back from eBay in non-working order. This chronograph is a little bit different from the others that I have repaired in that it’s a single button chronograph. A single button chronograph is a closer relative to the stop watch since only one button is utilized for the start, stop, and resetting action. Continue reading “Pierce Navigator Restoration”
Minding the risk of radium paint
A popular feature of most wrist watches is the ability of the hands and hour markers to glow in the dark. This feature makes it possible for the wearer to read the time when sufficient light may not be readily available. We take this for granted now, but in the early twentieth century glow in the dark paint was an exciting new technology. Continue reading “Radioactive Dials”
Service and repair of a gold plated Pierce Navigator
Today I wrapped up service of the second Pierce Navigator chronograph that I purchased back in February of this year. This watch was purchased at the same time as the nickel plated Pierce that I serviced earlier but it took much longer to complete as there were numerous issues on the inside and it needed a bit more restoration work on the outside. Continue reading “Gold Plated Pierce Navigator”
Cases and pushers are received back from RePlateIt in Canada
About a month and a half ago I sent out two watch cases to RePlateIt in Canada for restoration; this past weekend I received them back.
The cases in question belong to two Pierce Navigator chronographs that I’ve had on my bench for a while now. I’ve completed cleaning and assembly of the watch movements but the since the watch cases were in poor condition I decided having them restored was a worthwhile endeavor.
Continue reading “Replating Watch Parts”
Heat bluing steel watch hands
Last week I collected the Pierce watch hands in my inventory and set about restoring them to their former glory. The hands are carbon steel and have oxidized over the years so the first part of the restoration project was to clean and polish each hand. I started by knocking out the luminous compound from the large hour and minute hands then polishing each hand to a mirror finish using a Dremel tool and jeweler’s polish. Continue reading “Restoration Work (Part 2)”
Restoring damaged watch hands
Well the past two days I finally got a bit of time in with my hobby again.
On the desk right now I have four Pierce 134 chronographs in various states of repair. The first is actually the Navigator that I serviced earlier which is now in need of a new balance staff. The watch was repaired completely but then took a spill onto the center console of my wife’s Mini Cooper which resulted in a bent pivot. A replacement is on the way from Australia. Continue reading “Restoration Work (Part 1)”
Things don’t always work out as planned
Among the items on my bench today are two Swiss Pierce watches. One I received from the Bay has a series of maladies which are testament of its long life of service. Missing parts, broken bits, and an accumulation of grime and grit inside and out. Continue reading “Momentary Setbacks”
Service of a 1950’s Pierce Navigator chronograph
After acquiring the bits and pieces needed (screwdrivers, staking kit, Rodico, pegwood, various oils, etc.) to properly service a vintage timepiece I set about finding an economical watch to service and settled on a chronograph manufactured by Pierce.
Chronographs in general are a bit more difficult to service than a standard watch. Continue reading “Pierce Navigator”
Lost Time 