Amateur repairers of clocks and watches grow in number every year as they discover the delights and challenges of the horological hobby. Often an initiate will begin with one of the classic books on the craft for the professionals, published by NAG Press. This time, however, this book is for amateurs.The author, Anthony Whiten, was bitten by the horological bug and communicated his enthusiasm to others with the result, as he says, that he was asked so many questions he had to write this book! If the reader does not have the right tools or they are too expensive to buy, the author describes how to make alterations out of simple and easily obtainable materials, or how to avoid the necessity for the tool at all. He also describes how to dismantle and assemble movements, what may go wrong with them and how to set faults right. He tells you how to oil the right parts and how to restore cases in all stages of decay. The book is illustrated with over 270 line drawings specially drawn to the author's specification. These range from step-by-step demonstrations of how to do things, to diagrams of movements identifying each part and its position in the movement - a great help at the 'gulp and shut the case' stage. Tony Whiten is not a professional, but many who are will find his comments both stimulating and inspirational. The amateur will find a sympathetic guide because the author has been through all the agonies of learning by hand experience. He hopes that this book will help others to avoid making some of his worst mistakes and encourage them to tackle bigger and better problems in the future.

A full history of the Rolex Oyster Perpetual Submariner watch. The first ever book authorized by Rolex.

For the first time, Rolex has authorized a wide-ranging account and full history of the Rolex Oyster Perpetual Submariner watch, in the first of a series taking a deep dive into the watches of the iconic brand.

Oyster Perpetual Submariner: The Watch That Unlocked The Deep, written by author, editor, and watch expert Nick Foulkes, is published by global design authority, Wallpaper, which brings its sharp, cinematic eye to the project, creating new and original photography in collaboration with Rolex to run alongside testimonies from renowned witnesses to the Submariner's illustrious 70-year history, including marine biologist Sylvia Earle, photographer David Doubilet, and aquanaut Dr Joe MacInnis – further highlighting the role this iconic timepiece continues to play in the exploration and protection of the marine environment.

A general list of Watch and Clockmakers. Contents Include: Conventions - Abbreviations - List of Names with Alternative Spellings - List of Watch and Clockmakers - List of Initials and Monograms - List of Place Names - Maps

"...a beautiful book, filled with captivating images and explanatory text which never gets too dry or too technical..." - Revolution Despite the functional obsolescence of the mechanical wristwatch (our phones and computers tell more accurate time) the early 21st Century has seen a boom in the development, production, and appreciation of all things horological. Whether it is presented to the collector as an alternative investment, as a feat of micro-mechanical technology, or as a showcase of artisanal mastery, the mechanical wristwatch has never possessed more forms, functions or facets than it does today. The Wristwatch Handbook is written from the epicentre of a renaissance, a place in time between the Quartz revolution and the rise of the smart device - where the mechanical wristwatch is the antidote to the microprocessor and the permanent buzz of your inbox. From the multi-axis tourbillion, to the split-second chronograph, to the sidereal sky chart, The Wristwatch Handbook covers it all and does so with more than 470 rich illustrations from over 90 of the World's leading brands. The book is separated into two sections. The first section provides the reader with a comprehensive understanding of the mechanical movement. Its chapters explore power, transmission, distribution and regulation illustrating the basic concepts before considering the innovation and complexity that takes place further toward the cutting edge. From the fifty-day power reserve, to the constant force mechanism, and the 1,000Hz mechanical escapement, section 1 will allow the reader to understand and appreciate what is happening beneath the dial of their watch. Section two allows the reader to take this understanding and apply it to the vast range of complications (functions) that exist in modern horology. Each chapter showcases a distinct category of complication. For example, the regatta timer, pulsometer, and monopusher chronograph join a host of others in a chapter entitled 'Recording Lapses of Time'; The power reserve indicator, dynamograph, and crown position indicator are featured in a chapter for 'Power and Performance Indication'; The moon phase indicator, annual calendar, and planetarium can be found in the 'Astronomical Complications' chapter. Once the functional categories are exhausted, the final three chapters explore whimsical complications that have little regard for practical function, novelty time indication, and the 'super-complicated' watch - a rare breed of timepiece that houses an intimidating host of complications featured throughout the book. Upon completion of The Wristwatch Handbook the reader will be able to identify even the most exotic complication from across the room, and be able to share their appreciation and understanding of what makes it so useful and compelling. The Wristwatch Handbook is "brand agnostic", using only those watches that most aptly illustrate the given subject-matter. As a consequence the book places equal emphasis on the classic and the cutting edge, on watches produced in large volume or exclusive runs, by industry-leading technology or at the hand of a master. In doing so the book provides an unparalleled range of watches from over 90 brands, allowing the reader to determine for themselves which brands, complications, and styles they will build their collection from.

Contents Include: Early Time Measures and Modern Watches A Watch Movement and How to Take it Apart Examining, Cleaning and Putting Together Repairs and Adjustment Glossary of Terms, Tools, Materials, Parts and Processes Used in Watchwork

Originally published in 1914, this book aims to give practical advice to anyone wishing to clean, repair and make all kinds of clocks. Alongside the very detailed and precise descriptions, there are many illustrations that deal with everything from chimes and the description of striking works, to hints on clock making. Contents Include Introduction Cleaning a Skeleton Clock Repairing a Skeleton Clock Special Tools and Processes Other Pendulum Timepieces Pendulums Portable Clocks English Striking Clocks French and American Striking Clocks Quarter Striking and Chiming Clocks Turret Clocks Making Clocks Altering Clocks Electric Clocks

The British Museum watch collection is unsurpassed anywhere in the world, and tells the story of the watch which spans an incredible 500 years. Within the collection are examples ranging from sixteenth-century early stack freed watches made in south Germany to exquisite decorative watches of the seventeenth century. Everyday watches from the eighteenth century and precision-made chronometers from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries are included, as are examples from the modern era. All the major makers of Europe and America will be represented, including Thomas Tompion, whose reputation stretched far and wide even in his own time, and the Swiss-born Abraham Louis Breguet, who lived and worked in Paris supplying the best that money could buy to the crown heads and aristocratic families of the western world. In contrast to the high precision of the horological giants, the Museum has a growing collection of wristwatches, including those with automatic winding systems. There are also extensive collections of pin-pallet lever watches made for the mass market during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries by companies such as Waterbury and Ingersoll. The collections are brought up to the minute with the inclusion of early examples of electro-mechanical watches and the quartz revolution.

This book provides a technical history of Ferranti synchronous electric clocks, including details of movements and cases and the development story. The book also has a catalogue of all clocks made by Ferranti between 1932 and 1957

Hundreds of Westclox (R) electric clocks introduced between 1931 and 1970 are displayed in over 720 images. This impressive book also covers Westclox store displays, after-market automobile clocks, and weather instruments. Many of the over 200 store displays pictured feature impressive Art Nouveau, Art Deco, and Mid-Century Modern designs. Although Westclox did not introduce its first electric clock--the "Big Ben Electric"--until 1931, it nonetheless proved to be an innovator in electric time keeping. This book contains extensive information on those innovations and the men behind them. It also provides documented evidence of the designers of dozens of models. In addition to Henry Dreyfuss, readers are introduced to lesser known designers such as Max Schlenker and Ellworth Danz. An extensive history of the company is presented, drawn largely from the pages of Tick Talk, Westclox's employee magazine. Westclox's expansion into overseas markets, acquisition of other companies such as the Sterling Clock Company, and merger with Seth Thomas to form General Time are all discussed. Marketing efforts ranging from Westclox's earliest Saturday Evening Post ad in 1910 to its sponsorship of the Today Show in the 1960s are also included. Endnotes, a bibliography, indices, and values in the captions round out this impressive presentation for collectors, designers, and historians.

Innovation, exclusivity, and elegance define Patek Philippe, a family-owned company with a single and passionate calling: to perfect the watch. These lavishly-illustrated books present some of the most important timepieces from the more than 3,000 watches exhibited at the Patek Philippe Museum in Geneva. These precious timepieces have been passionately assembled over more than 40 years by Philippe Stern, Honorary President of the company, and include some of the most valuable pieces in watchmaking history. From the collection of historic watches featuring the first portable timepieces dating back to the 16th century to innovative milestones in Patek Philippe's portfolio since its founding in 1839, each watch is reproduced with such beauty and precision, you can almost hear it ticking. With expert curatorial insight and context from Peter Friess, Director of the Patek Philippe museum, these intricate mechanisms are not only presented for themselves; they also offer a unique perspective into the cultural history of the last 500 years. True to the trust and excellence of the Patek Philippe brand, the presentation, design, and content of these sumptuous publications meet the highest professional standards. They are the perfect books for the "perfect watch."

The watch has a long and fascinating history, from a fifteenth-century status symbol of the rich and powerful to the mass-produced everyday timepiece of modern times. This book describes the main technical developments across a 500-year timespan, from the beginnings in Germany and France, through the golden age of English horology in the 18th century, to the development of modern factory production in America and Switzerland. It also sets out to give the general reader and collector a grasp of the key technological developments in watch and sets the lives of the inventors and artisans in the context of the social and economic history of their times. With over 290 photographs and 3D diagrams, this book includes an extensive listing and history of watch brands and manufacturers to assist in identification along with a useful glossary of terms.

Dealing with a complicated watch used to be a rare job for the watch repairer, but with the popularity of the automatic, it is almost commonplace. Furthermore, the increased interest in calendar work, alarm watches, and chronographs will undoubtedly bring more and more complicated work into the workshop. This book deals with complicated work essentially from the repairer's point of view. The action of each mechanism is briefly and clearly described because understanding this is essential to proper servicing, repair and testing for functioning. Dismantling and assembly instructions are given, as well as oiling charts and - most important - hints on fault-finding and their rectification. Another essential feature of the book is that it deals with all complicated work - from the relatively simple automatic to the triple-complicated watch with chronograph, calendar and repeater work, and the very complicated clock watch. Exceptional care has been taken in the preparation of diagrams, which have been drawn from actual movements in various stages of assembly, so that the reader can actually work with the book illustrations beside the watch itself. As always with books by Donald de Carle, instructions are easy to follow and there is no reason why anyone well versed in ordinary work and able to use watchmakers' tools should not become a specialist in complicated watches and their repair.

First compiled in 1929 as a pioneer work by the late G.H. Baillie, this directory of watchmakers and clock makers of the past soon established itself as the standard reference source and has been used ever since by watchmakers and clockmakers, collectors, dealers, museums, historians, and libraries the world over. The list of makers has more than doubled, having been thoroughly updated and revised by Brian Loomes in this twenty-first century edition, and now contains information on about 90,000 makers working between the late 16th and early 20th centuries. As well as the makers and retailers of clocks and watches, the list includes makers of scientific instruments, sundials, and barometers. Working dates include dates and places of birth, apprenticeship, freedom, marriage and death, as well as movement between different locations, and monograms. It is a unique and essential work of reference.

Here is a unique book. It describes the theories and processes of repairing and adjusting the modern watch in precise and meticulous detail: a thing which has never been done so completely before in the many books on the same subject. As a text book it is a revelation. Taking nothing for granted, except the ability to read and comprehend a simple description of mechanical processes, de Carle takes his reader through every stage and every operation of watch repairing ...and to deal with them thoroughly is quite a programme - it takes 300 pages containing 24 chapters, two appendices and 553 illustrations. The fine draughtsmanship and accurate technical detail of the illustrations set a new standard. Practical Watch Repairing can justifiably claim to be the best illustrated book on practical horology yet issued, and one of the best of its kind on any subject. The publication of the book marks the beginning of a new epoch in the study of the mechanics of horology.

The absorbing and everlasting subject of watch repairing has been dealt with in books in many languages throughout the years. But when de Carle first set out to write "Practical Watch Repairing" in 1946, it was with the intention of creating a textbook "that a watchmaker can understand, even if he can't read." With over 550 instructional black-and-white illustrations and an approach that assumes no prior watch-repairing experience, this book achieves and surpasses that lofty mission, and has been touted as "the best illustrated book on practical horology" ("Horological Journal") ever written. For the readers in his audience, de Carle has provided well-informed discourse on every topic a watchmaker, or aspiring watchmaker, needs to know. With "Practical Watch Repairing," even a layman can become a watch-repair specialist.

Time is a great mystery. A changeable element, which expands or vanishes, but that appears concrete as it is marked by the passing of seconds, minutes, hours, days, and years. The path toward the capture of minutes and seconds coincided with the phases of scientific evolution that allowed man to manufacture watches that are increasingly reliable, but that are also in tune with changes in customs, social needs, and aesthetic canons. This book covers the art of watch manufactory as well as 60 great models, covering both their technical evolution and style trends. In each chapter in-depth studies will guide the reader to the history of the most important manufacturers, the personalities linked to the models treated, technical innovations, styles of the period, or records achieved by the wristwatches: from the watch that helped Charles Lindbergh during the first transatlantic solo flight, to the one worn by Sir Edmund Hillary on the top of Mount Everest, the most iconic models will be discussed in detail.

This book's contents include: general condition of the movement; cleaning and oiling; balance pivots; fitting a flat balance spring; fitting a breguet balance spring; positional timing; further considerations when fitting a spring and observing the point of attachment; general notes on springing and timing; other methods of positional adjustment; and, timing machines. "No writer can have added more volumes to the horological bookshelf than Donald de Carle, and his careful and detailed approach to the technical side of the craft has done a great deal to improve the standard of knowledge of a host of craftsmen, and has gained him readers in every part of the world. The many craftsmen who are already familiar with Mr de Carle's earlier work, Practical Watch Repairing, will note a great similarity in the attitude of mind behind both books, and, indeed, this latest volume is, to some extent, a companion and a follow-on from the previous book, for it carries the reader into what is, undoubtedly, the most exacting and skillful aspect of all work on watches." Horological Review

This introductory guide and valuation of the world's most legendary wristwatches includes more than 200 photographs that trace the trends of man's favorite toy - and his only socially acceptable piece of jewelry - for more than 100 years. The finely detailed photos reveal the beautiful and fascinating fashions in wristwatch style from 1879 to the modern era. From the prolific collection of renowned auctioneer and wristwatch expert Stefan Muser, the most legendary models from every era are described and pictured. Brands include Omega, Patek Philippe, Longines, Cartier, Rolex, Vacheron & Constantin, Ulysse Nardin, Orlys, Vulcain, IWC, and Movado. Values range from interesting and trouble-free entry-level wristwatches to exceptionally rare pieces for ambitious collectors.

Breitling. One watch has made this name famous worldwide, the Navitimer. In 1952 this watch was a real sensation, the chronograph along with the calculator made it possible for the pilot to carry out all necessary calculations during the flight. This made the Navitimer a valuable on-board instrument at that time, and a valuable collectible today.This newly revised book shows the whole spectrum of the firm's products since its founding in 1884, and gives the reader an informed insight into more than 100 years of the firm's history. Many photos, old catalogs, and advertising material support the informative text. With the help of reference numbers, the collector can also locate individual watches chronologically. This fascinating portrait of the Breitling firm will enthrall all who appreciate fine mechanical precision.

The repair of clocks calls for a variety of skills and crafts, few of which can be 'picked up' by bench work alone. In the horological trade, it is technical practice that the 'prentice hand' is first tried out on clocks, before attempting repair work on watches. Clocks have the advantage of possessing sizeable and robust parts and of being easier to handle. But there the advantage for the repairer ends. The sizes, shapes, complications and even the nationalities of clocks appear to be without end. Every movement has detail difference and, naturally, the defects when due for repair, are as varied. In this book, the author has dealt with the usual faults likely to develop in each type of movement in general use; from the lordly grandfather to the humble alarm. All the tools and equipment are described and illustrated, together with the ways of using them. The craftsman's most important and valuable tools of all - his skilful fingers - are shown in use in the clearest manner. As is usual in N.A.G. Press textbooks, the drawings have been specially made from parts under working conditions. A glance through the book will show their usefulness and clarity. Over 400 line drawings are used throughout and the reader is left in no doubt of what he is asked to do in following the author's clearly written technical and practical instructions.