What to do for a watch that has been overwound

In My Humble Opinion
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I’m putting this here instead of Factual Answers, because there is going to be more than one answer in general, one of which will probably be my solution, and actually, more than one might work, and some spitballing of “do this, or try this if you watch has an ‘x-wing flange’,” etc. may happen, and could be helpful.

Also, have the question, and a story that explains why I have it. Question first, so you can skip the story if you want.

Does anyone know what to do for clockwork that has been overwound? I have some small tools I use for other things, including glasses screwdrivers, some dental tools, and literally needle-nosed pliers, plus, I’d be willing to invest another $25-30 in tools if I needed to, since that’s probably what an horologist would charge me, after which, I wouldn’t still have the tools. So if you do have an idea, but it requires such-and-such, don’t worry-- just start with a list of the tools needed.

There are probably different ways of doing this for different designs of clockwork, so whatever you know, please share.

STORY:
When I was going through a trunk of my mother’s stuff, that had everything from travel souvenirs, to a collection of campaign buttons, to my old report cards, I found an old watch. It’s pretty, and seems to be solid silver. It’s a Bulova, and 100 - 120 years old, according to the closest horologist.

I didn’t realize how old it was when I popped it open to see if it needed a battery. It didn’t, so I wound it. It started ticking, and for the next day, kept perfect time.

That was about a year ago. It’s been keeping perfect time.

It’s clearly a woman’s watch, & has initials on the back that do not match anyone in the family I could come up with (with an extensive genealogy in front of me), and even wrote to the family in Slovakia: no one.

I emailed pix around in case it had been someone’s MIL or SIL’s, or step-somethings, but no one recognized it.

So, at that point, I was at “finders, keepers.” Which meant, I could change the strap to one that fit me better; had an unusual fixed strap instead of one with pins, and was just a bit tight on me. I ended up selling it for the silver value, which is why I think the watch is solid silver; I had to sell it to get a silver stretchy strap and have it put on.

All has been well, until I wound it the other day ago, a bit absent-mindedly, and it wouldn’t tick.

I think I have over-wound it, and there is not a YouTube video for that, shockingly. Yes, I realize the horologist can probably fix it, but I want to see if 1) I can figure this out for free; 2) I can figure this out in case it happens again; 3) IME, things like this tend to require leaving the watch for weeks, even if they shouldn’t; & 4) it’s little, and I just think it would be easy to lose.

So, if anyone can help, PLEASE do.

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Are you sure its “overwound”? That term has a very specific meaning; i.e. the mainspring is wound so tightly you dont have any slack to release the click and release it.

Overwound does not stop a watch from running. It is a consequence of someone cranking down on a watch that was already not running to begin with.for some other reason.

Assuming the balance and train are good what i would do first is do a cheat; remove the movement and use rodico to clean out the pivot jewels and add oil and hopefully get it start ticking, and let it run down enough so that you could release the mainspring.

If that doesnt work i would hold the barrel with a screw driver and remove the click. You need to have this secured (holding the watch in a vise helps because youll need 2 hands to do this). Once the click is removed the mainspring is going to want to unwind all at once; if you let that happen you’ll destroy the watch. With the watch secured and you controlling the barrel with the screwdriver, gently let down the spring.

This is tricky and i would not recommend you doing it yourself if you dont have experience or the peoper tools.

In other words, let your watchmaker fix it :slight_smile:

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(Note i am not a professional, i just like messing around with watch repair as a hobby)

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I’m assuming it’s overwound, because there was nothing wrong with it. It wound down every day, and I wound it every morning. I don’t remember how many times, but I had looked it up on a website for Bulovas.

I guess lost count, because when I stopped, it didn’t tick, and has not worked since.

I overwound an antique watch once before, and it was pretty much the same scenario.

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If a watch/clock is going to run, it will run. If it’s not running something is wrong. If it’s been sitting for a long time and nothing else has happened it may just need a service - the oils etc… dry up eventually and gum up the train.

“Overwinding it” won’t do anything, unless you wind it so tightly that you actually break the mainspring. In which case you’ll know - you’ll wind it and wind it and it will wind forever and nothing will happen.

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Go to a jeweler & have it cleaned, internally.
Many will do repairs on watches, as well.

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There’s one close by with a big “Certified Horologist” certificate on his wall behind the counter.

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I’m gonna vote for broken mainspring myself. And point out that you don’t have to ‘overwind’ a watch to break that spring, it’s just eventually going to happen one way or the other due to wear, especially if the watch has been used for decades without any servicing.

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Based on the information given I agree. If so, that’s an easy fix for any halfway (or even quarter-way) competent watch/clock repairer.

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Yeah. I have no idea how long it was in that trunk, nor where is was before that, and it is possible it’s never been serviced. It may have been in the trunk for a while, and I suppose I was lucky to get as much service as I did from it.

Out of curiosity, what would you use to oil it?

I have lots of choices: the usual WD40, plus; sewing machine oil; silicone lubricant (for electronics); lithium spray grease; bicycle chain grease; & liquid wrench.

I would guess the lithium grease would be closest, but I’d need a syringe with a needle to apply it.

Oh-- nevermind-- I see that if I go to Amazon, they sell “watch oil.”

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If it’s an overwound spring, too tight to release the catch, or if some congealed oil is binging the mechanism, you could try using phony psychic powers to free it. IOW, use your body heat to warm up the watch which may be sufficient to melt oils or lengthen the spring enough to free it.

I think I’d find out how much the watch is worth to decide whether to open it myself or take it to an expert.

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It’s a women’s Bulova from the 1920s, which may be silver. Similar watches sell for ~$100 if plated and not running, ~$200-300 if plated and running, all the way up to $850 for silver and running, with “original parts,” but I don’t know if a part that breaks in the course of use counts. This one I’d wager has the original band, clasp & crystal, at least.

I realize that when an individual goes to sell to a dealer, you get about half what the dealer will ask. You can get more selling someplace like eBay, but it’s a hassle.

I’m not sure who buys the plated, non-running other than people who want the parts, or maybe costumers-- though I seriously doubt costumers pay that much.

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There is no such thing as “watch oil”. There are many different oils and greases used for watch maintenance, each have different viscosities and are used to oil different parts of the movement. The movement should be disassembled and cleaned before reassembly and oiling.

I might oil a movement just to get it running enough to let down the mainspring but after that it’s a complete disassembly and service.

Woman’s watches are usually not collectable or desired. Usually can get melt value for the case and bracelet if it’s precious metal, but that’s it. A service by a competent watchmaker will cost you a couple hundred dollars minimum - not worth it unless the piece has sentimental value.

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I can buy a bag or 50-100 woman’s watch movements from the 1920s-1950s (naked movements- the cases were long ago scrapped for the gold and silver value) for about 20 bucks on eBay. There is no value in a single watch movement, even for parts.

I have a drawer full of these that cost me peanuts.

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Then freaking post them on eBay or Etsy, because people are making money off them. Maybe they need to be a Bulova or Waltham or something, but I’m telling you, people are asking those prices and getting them.

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Now you see why I posted on the SDMB.

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Lol I have a thriving side hustle selling watches and vintage watch repair tools on eBay. I know exactly what stuff sells for :slight_smile:

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I know diddly about watches.

I know a little about Etsy / eBay. What stuff sits there being asked for but not selling for is a much more impressive number than what similar stuff actually sells for.

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If it’s a watch you care anything about at all, please don’t just apply oil semi-randomly. Any given movement will call for three or four different weights of oils, from ultra thin to grease. And they’re applied in drops barely visible under 10x magnification, usually to jewels that have to come out, be disassembled, then oiled internally before putting the jewels back together.

But anyway, given that the most likely diagnosis is a broken or bound mainspring, all the lube and careful application is the world isn’t going to fix it. At least a couple of bridges, the going train, the balance spring and the escapement have to come out to access the mainspring barrel for replacement.

ETA: two hobbies I dabble in, watch repair and camera repair are similarly related, in that a mechanical shutter on a camera is not much more than a very singularly focused watch. And in both hobbies the most common mode of failure after an attempted repair is too much of the wrong lube in the wrong place. Both a watch and a shutter will run better dry than too wet. Not that dry is good, but…

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Watch a few of this guy’s videos:

It’s a fascinating hobby/profession, but … I’m utterly not built for it.

Good to see all the moving parts, the precision involved, and – to @Pork_Rind 's point – the right way to lubricate moving parts.

Good luck!