Illinois watch restoration part 6: refitting the impulse (roller) jewel

Here I shellac the impulse jewel from my Illinois Bunn Special back into its hole in the roller. This is a bit challenging because the hole is round, while the jewel is D-shaped.

When I first saw the jewel, I was sure I had the wrong jewel and the original had been lost. However in discussions online since shooting the video I have learned that sometimes watch companies did just make round holes because it was cheaper, and then fit a standard D-shaped jewel.

Thanks for watching, and happy shellacking!

[boydsargeant]

Another fascinating and well described execution! Loving it!

[WristwatchMedic]

Very informative video. I enjoyed it and learned a lot. Thank you

[Mars-zgblbl]

Thanks for this. Any idea why the impulse jewel should be aligned at 90° to the balance arms? Provided the hairspring collet is aligned properly relative to the impulse jewel, the alignment of the balance wheel shouldn’t matter, unless this is a convention to make it easier to remember where the hairspring collet should be pointing.

[home-dpoh]

I feel your pain brother. 2 things I hate the most: fitting roller jewels and hairspring

[victorlozano]

Question: What kind of alcohol are you using on that video?

[ronperez]

Whoever build these watches to start with are genius. I mean who would think a wood finish (shellac) to mount a jewel is perfect. Then again I think who discovered shellac? Isn’t shellac bug guts? 😂