Repairing mechanical watches

Yes, but start on cheap movements you don't mind destroying. Buy a few inexpensive working watches or a job lot of broken ones and practise disassembly and reassembly until your hands learn the scale. The parts are tiny and the tolerances unforgiving, so the first dozen attempts are about building dexterity, not fixing anything. A common Seagull or Miyota movement is a forgiving teacher.

A set of quality screwdrivers, fine tweezers, a movement holder, a loupe, and a dust blower. Cheap screwdrivers slip and scratch, so this is one area worth spending on, with Bergeon being the benchmark and several decent budget brands below it. Add a timegrapher (around €150 to €200) later to measure accuracy. To begin, a basic kit under €60 lets you take a movement apart and back together.

Because tiny springs and jewels want to escape, and everything must align perfectly under tension. The mainspring, the balance wheel, and the click spring are notorious for pinging across the room. Work inside a clear container or over a light tray so launched parts land somewhere findable. Patience matters more than speed: forcing a misaligned part bends pivots that are almost impossible to replace.

Cleanliness is half the craft. Work in a dust-free spot, blow parts clean rather than wiping, and apply oil sparingly with a proper oiler, since too much oil attracts dirt and gums the movement. Each pivot needs only a microscopic drop. Beginners almost always over-oil, which slows the watch and traps grit, so err toward too little until you can see the right amount.

For learning and cheap watches, absolutely. For a valuable or sentimental piece, no, at least not until you are genuinely competent. A professional service costs €100 to €300 because it demands skill, cleaning equipment, and parts access you won't have early on. Practise on throwaway movements, and send anything precious to a professional until your own work is reliably better than not touching it.

Months of regular practice for a basic service, longer for complications. Stripping, cleaning, oiling, and reassembling a simple three-hand movement so it keeps good time is a real milestone that most people reach after many repeated attempts. Complications like chronographs and calendars add whole layers of difficulty. Treat it as a slow craft, not a weekend project, and the progress is deeply satisfying.

⚠️ Mechanical watch parts are extremely small and easily lost or damaged. Work over a tray, handle mainsprings with care as they store energy, and keep valuable watches away from your bench until your skills are proven.