Repeater Watch Restoration

Repeater Watch Restoration is incredibly demanding.  These watches strike the time only when activated.  Usually they have two gongs although they may have more or none.  The Automaton on the right is a Fusee Verge and has moving figures striking the bells shown on the front of the watch similar to the Skeleton Automaton below.  Both watches are over 200 years old

Also shown below is a more recent L. Audemars Split Seconds Chronograph Minute Repeater and a very thin Patek Philippe Minute repeater.  The replacement gongs were made from one piece of steel.  They were hardened, tempered, and tuned to provide clear bright tones.  Unlike most repeaters these gongs are circled inside one another.

 

This Quarter Hour Repeater Strikes on a bell housed inside the pierced multicolored gold case.  It also has a switch to convert it into a dumb repeater that taps on the case instead of striking the bell.  That way it would not disturb others as it discretely indicated the time to the owner.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The top photo shows a modern (1930's) Minute Repeater movement disassembled for cleaning and repair work.  There are literally hundreds of well made parts.  Below is a photo of an antique Fusee Quarter Hr Repeater with an unusual dial and hand arrangement.  This watch was modified shortly after the French Revolution to display both conventional and the new French system of decimal time.  At that time there were ten hours in a French day with 100 minutes each.  It is necessary to completely disassemble, repair any faulty parts, reassemble and properly lubricate the many places subject to wear within the mechanism of these watches.   That is the only way to reliably restore them to proper function.