Restoring A Vintage 1940s Longines Watch: learning From My Mistakes

In this video Mike looks at a vintage Longines that is in need of repair. He finally has to face up to a job in watch repair he has not attempted in the 7 years he has been repairing watches as a hobby. Can he succeed in bringing this 1940s vintage Longines watch back into service? watch to find out!
My Retro Watches channel is the home of affordable hobbyist watch repair. Mike shows across the whole of his channel how this hobby can be fulfilling working on the most affordable watches of all kinds from digital to mechanical and everything in between.
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About me:
My name is Mike and I am a hobbyist watchmaker. I am completely self-taught in watch repair and restoration. My channel is all about my journey of hobbyist of watchmaking. I have watch repair tutorials, watch restorations and watch repair videos. Some of my content you can easily follow along to if you are working on the same watch movement. My main focus is to document my journey and inspire more people into this wonderful hobby and demonstrate that this hobby can be very rewarding. I do not profess to be a professional watchmaker and in my videos, I show all my mistakes, mishaps, highs and lows and keep everything as honest as possible. It is easy to edit all the mistakes out and make my videos look perfect but I believe that keeping it real reflects the true reality of this hobby. So what are you waiting for? please check out my watch repair and restoration videos, get inspired and start your own watchmaking journey.

#watchrepair #watchrestoration #watchmaking

[AdamSmith-duqr]

Watchmaking can be a lonely hobby at times and when you have a disaster it's amplified as you have no one to immediately turn to in that moment of darkness that descends. I managed to do the exact same thing last year when i tightened the movement holder and heard the pop of the balance pivot snapping on an antique watch from 1918! Knowing there was no chance of finding a doner for it i was beside myself with grief and couldn't go near a watch for months after that! Thank you Mike for reminding us that we are not alone out here and major fails like this can happen to anyone and is all part of the very steep learning curve that is watch repair😊

[SHOGUNv]

I'm glad you documented your failure. There are many that would edit it out. It's good to see someone be honest and humble. Keep at it Mike. All the best.

[Seftdelmer]

I think this is one of your best videos to date. Love the honesty, passion and determination. Never stop trying!

[Dudden]

Super fun to watch and nothing to be ashamed of Mike!

[ForSquirel]

Glad I found this channel. Managed to fix my first watch today. An ebay find, but all I did was loosen some screws that affected the winding mechinism.

Low and behold, but the 4 screws back together and it miraculously works. I'll take the win.

[federicoprice]

Excellent video, one of the most instructive and honest I've seen! Bravo 🎉🎉

[justincrouse]

Gosh Michael what a rollercoaster!! Thank you so much for posting this and sharing the steps of your journey even when you have to take a couple steps back to move forward.

[markdrake]

Love the vid as always! Thank you for keeping me company at work.

[whatsstefon]

What an amazing learning opportunity especially with a willing watchmaker near by who is allowing you access to his expertise, and tools. Amazing!

[pipodorologio]

thanks for sharing Mike, ...love the part where you broke the new balance staff...this happens to all of us at one point...

[CharlesThompson-ouwp]

Thanks for keeping it real and letting us know that we can overcome our mistakes! I really appreciate your dedication!

[projekt_official]

Always the worst feeling when you mess something up - especially when you break it in the process. Doesn't matter if it's watchmaking, car servicing, home improvement, or anything... Have spent many hours breathing deeply, walking away, sitting down, and holding my head in disbelief. You only fail when you fail to try again. I really love that when you feel you're out of your depth, you reach out to others for help. Another great watch video - thanks for sharing!

[darrentabor]

I value your honest mistakes as much as your successes. Both are incredibly helpful.

[WrightsW]

Another interesting watch adventure 😀
There is a family in my street of the Short surname.

[csspinner]

This hobby definitely has its ups and downs. I am thinking of the quote: "I am grateful for the challenges that lead to growth". I have full confidence you will replace a balance. You were so close with that first attempt! It's much easier to punch the staff out with that tool to secure the arms so they don't deform. However, with brass arms that rivet should jam through without much fuss. With steel arms, you'll end up deforming it more than not - just be aware of that. Also, how the heck did you get the beat error to 0.0 msec?! That's some wizardry right there. I bet you were over the moon when you saw that after what had to be the 5th attempt! Great video as always, and don't forget that the outcome is what matters and the difficult journey meant you grew and advanced that much further during the process. - Chris

[Bristol]

Great job on the best error! I've not tried to replace a balance staff yet; I don't have any of the tools for it. All in all very well done. Cheers!

[michaelbelice]

Thanks again for a wonderful video. You are the MAN.

[madheji]

I commend you for showing the flaws and failures, I respect you for that.

[WristwatchMedic]

I think you did a great job on the watch. That's the same way my repairs go. Thanks for the video Mike

[Mars-zgblbl]

Mike, you’re the GOAT! We all feel the same when things go sideways (particularly pivots under a bridge), but your comments are helpful and educational to the rest of us. Since you mentioned the modern rarity of blued screws, I’m going to try this on the screws of my $5 yard sale Seiko Sea Lion. Cheers!