Broken Dial, Barely Working Breguet Watch from 1859 Makes for a Daunting Restoration!

Proud to say this is my watch. Just wanted to say a huge thank you to Marshall for taking on this project. He is clearly passionate about his work; a craftsman/artist and a gentleman.

As he mentions, sending this off to Breguet for a "proper" service/restoration was out of the question for me currently. So, I took a bit of a gamble as the alternative was leaving it not working, unloved or appreciated in a dusty drawer for another generation and that seemed a shame given what I knew about it so far. And boy am I glad I did. What a journey, and now watching the video last night with my partner I had to pause it at one point as I thought about my Dad, grand and great-grand mother - it was quite emotional.

Proud and honored to be a part of this story but all I did was inherit a broken watch - Marshall, at least in my books, is the GOAT :)

Keep up the great work!

I just watched 2 videos at this time on this channel and I'm a fan now! How the hell did they made that tiny screw in 1800s?

Bro these videos are so damn fun to watch, I have two separate playlists just for his videos. One just for watching for entertainment and the other to sleep too. I either can’t sleep from watching them cause I’m to involved. Or I fall asleep immediately

I havn`t read all the comments , so someone may have already told you this , but the blue colour is not decorative , it is the the result of hardening and tempering. , If you heat steel to bright red hot , quench it in oil . it then becomes glass hard. Then you temper it by slowly heating it. first it turns a straw colour then slowly darkens , first a bright blue then on to purple then stop heating it and again quench it to stop the action this turns the steel from glass hard to tough. . If you wanted spring steel , you would stop it at bright blue. Also the polished head is to enable the changing colours to be seen easier.

Beautiful watch really. WELL DONE Marshall

The enamel was chipped but the chip was not floating around inside the watch. Can we assume the watch was serviced after it was dropped? Just an observation...

Love these videos. Your narration is fantastic too. Many thanks for your content

Absolutely stunning. The watch, the story, the history and circumstances are all amazing.

just beautiful,.. soothing to watch the process but I get nervous sometimes, like how's he going to remember where all those parts go.. i took apart a lawnmower once to change the belts. that was expensive.

Gold is really not a colour i like but god damn, that watch is really pretty!

I am normaly not into Watches, but i wondered what price range such watches are.....
Modern production Watches from Breguet are in the high 5 to 6 figures. 😲
How much is a antique like that worth??

I thought bluing was a chemical process

It's amazing that they could manufacture precision parts this tiny in 1859 and prior.

How did they make those parts so small back then? Just amazing.

Looking at you screw sizing, an iPhone screw side by side would be a nice comparison some day

Just nit picking but it looks like you did leave your mark after all. With those tweezers on the main body

“We’ll have to do it the old fashioned way! Use a phone.”😂

How much would the Breguet service cost?

Okay, random question time! I've a pocket watch I purchased about two months ago, and have been noticing all kinds of clues that indicate the watch was owned by a watchmaker and master engraver. The movement appears to have been, at the time, new old stock from the watchmaker's father's company, who also used to be a watchmaker. The movement is a verge fusee likely from the late 18th to early 19th century and the case was made - according to the hallmarks - in 1843. It appears the son made all the engravings, along with his name, date (1843) and location (Edinburgh). Dust cover being sterling silver was also engraved with a large letter of His last name. The movement and dial (zero cracks/crazing) are both in pristine condition. It runs like a top, strong beat to it and I'm not about to [key]wind it more than, say, one full turn.

The case has no watchmaker's codes or initials indicating service at any point in its "life", except for the tiniest engraved letter of the owner's last name. Lastly, the owner's coat of arms is engraved on the back surface of the case within the center medallion (which would have been used for monograms, etc).
All this said, is it all-out rare to come across a watchmaker's personal watch, or has anyone in the forums or enthusiasts communities had encounters like this before? Everyday I look at this watch, I see something new I haven't seen before which continues to point to the fact that this indeed was a watchmaker's personal watch. Thanks in advance for any insight or input anyone can provide!

What a stunning piece of work, both yours Marshall and quite obviously Briguet's....

beyond cool, love breguet

A beautiful restoration with minimum intrusion. Thank you

Hi Marshall love your channel.i bought a vintage gruen precision very thing off ebay when i got the watch the hair spring was loose inside the watch is there any way you can help me.thanks in advance.

1859... Jesus! I'm mind blown by what they could build in a time where there was no advanced technology to help them build such tiny parts for something so small. And yet, all those details are something we rarely see even nowadays. They loved making these pieces and attention to details is out of this world

well done superb watch and service

HOW DID THEY MAKE THAT SCREW?!

Amazing the simplicity of that old, antique pocket watch. Don't think you'll find one these days that are that simplistic in it's make up! Amazing watch.

Anybody knows were to find the stuff used for attaching the dial to the movement i need it for a project?? It would help me a lot🙏

Marshall, you should make friends at a local Cartier AD; the Cartier watchmakers are now stocking a laser welder that fits on your desk top that can be used to reattach dial feet or weld new ones in place. We are playing with them at my WOSTEP school and they are frickin sweet! Great job on this restoration and I love dial dots for the very reason you used them👍

Looks like a relatively common Stauffer movement, I've heard about them being in old IWC watches. They're relatively common and appear to be widely available. Though, with many movements that old I imagine not all the parts are interchangeable.

I hope more young folks get into watchmaking. Step back from the iwatch toy and experience real craftsmanship

I have an older(I think. No date, but judging by the movement) needing help. Want to take a look?

The greatest lapidarist I ever met and learned from are the German lapidarist families that cut gems for watch mechanisms. I have had the honor of learning from many top known lapidarist, but the knowledge and capabilities of these old families in Germany I met were so amazing, most likely the best lapidarist in the world.

I heat blue my old flat gunsprings that I make. The amount of carbon in the steel dictates what heat color the metal can attain.
Purple = about 425° F
Blue (Peacock) about 475° F

A basic model these days of a Breguet is a snip at $30,000...so a great return on this wonderful watch.

Excellent!

I can only imagine that Breguet descendant watching this video nervously and saying "oh no, careful with that... no no no... ok... argh don't do that... ok it's still fine... oh that's not how you... awww come on... ok ok that's fine... guess that's ok given the circumstances... phew it survived!"

I wonder if cold soldering could be an option.

I don't know anything about watches, but damned if this man didn't get me interested in them! Lol

We did it Marshall! We did it!

Stunning.

how can a goat make watches?

Almost no one keeps time using a pocket watch in 2023. And one from 1859? Nobody. Therefore I would say you did an amazing job with this beauty.

i bought 38pcs of vintage watch and i surpriced i found 3 mechanical movement in it😂 the only problem is 1 dial couldnt find the name of the watch it completely vanished. at the back it says swiss made antimagnetic and incabloc.😟😟what am i gonna do sir i really dont know...

Kudos

Stunning! 😍

Greetings Marshall, Really enjoying your UTubes. Any chance I could send you my Grandfather's Howard from 1908 for your inspection? It's a 14 kt gold case, has a wonderful inscription inside, and it runs, albeit only for fifteen or twenty seconds. The real value to me is that a bear his name... I'm the third. I've been on the lookout for someone of your calibre for a number of years.

Warm regards,

Joe