Vintage ladies Robot watch—needs repair

1897 Views 36 Replies 4 Participants Last post by Alan D, Feb 2, 2022

Alan D

Discussion Starter · Dec 30, 2021

Hi all: I would appreciate your help. My Mom has given me a beautiful vintage Robot watch (gold with rubies) she received many years ago an an engagement gift. It’s not working and needs internal repairs I suspect. She would love it to work again. Does anyone have info on where I can seek such help?

I brought over to a local watch repair person who through his sources could not get any original parts. So not sure what to do. Thanks

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CometHunter

· #2 · Dec 30, 2021

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Alan D

Discussion Starter · #3 · Dec 30, 2021

3

CometHunter said:
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CometHunter said:
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Alan D

Discussion Starter · #4 · Dec 30, 2021

Do these photos help?

SFwatchGuy

· #5 · Dec 30, 2021

Not much. Focus is important. Elliminate glare, Close up of any markings on the watch. And it would help to see the movement. BTW, is Robot a brand? I can't find anything on line that points to much other than kids watches featuring pictures of robots.

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Alan D

Discussion Starter · #6 · Dec 30, 2021

SFwatchGuy said:
Not much. Focus is important. Elliminate glare, Close up of any markings on the watch. And it would help to see the movement. BTW, is Robot a brand? I can't find anything on line that points to much other than kids watches featuring pictures of robots.

Will try to post better photos.
FYI, Robot is the brand of watch but also may have been the name of a NYC firm that marketed those Swiss watches in the USA in the 1940s and 1950s. My Dad gave my Mom this watch as an engagement present.

mikeyt_53

· #7 · Dec 31, 2021

It would help to know what kind of movement is inside the watch. That will need a good clear closeup photo. I cant imagine that your 'watch repair person' was unable to source another similar movement. To be honest, many 'watch repair' people dont like working on ladies watch movements because they are so small. Its usually easier (& less expensive) to simply replace the entire movement and transfer the dials and hands onto the new (working) movement.

As far as i know, Robot Time Comp was simply an importer of watches based in New York City. They bought watch movements & cases, printed their names on them and sold them at retail outlets. So.... while the movement may have 'Robot' printed on it, you can be certain that it was made by someone else.

Alan D

Discussion Starter · #8 · Dec 31, 2021

mikeyt_53 said:
It would help to know what kind of movement is inside the watch. That will need a good clear closeup photo. I cant imagine that your 'watch repair person' was unable to source another similar movement. To be honest, many 'watch repair' people dont like working on ladies watch movements because they are so small. Its usually easier (& less expensive) to simply replace the entire movement and transfer the dials and hands onto the new (working) movement.

As far as i know, Robot Time Comp was simply an importer of watches based in New York City. They bought watch movements & cases, printed their names on them and sold them at retail outlets. So.... while the movement may have 'Robot' printed on it, you can be certain that it was made by someone else.

Thx am sure you are correct. Tomorrow I will take more hopefully better photos including inside the case. The watch repair guy here in northern Virginia had the watch for a couple months and then he told me that he had checked with one of the biggest watch part firms in the US that’s been around a long time who also buys out parts from other repair shops when they close for good. He said that this firm couldn’t help.
I’m not sure whether this guy tried hard or not but I took the watch home.

mikeyt_53

· #9 · Dec 31, 2021

If you cant get a good clear photo of the movement, just tell us what markings / names etc are on it as well as whatever mark or number might be hiding under the balance wheel. Ladies watch movements are a pita to work on. I wont dismantle them anymore and simply source a replacement movement off eBay or wherever.

Alan D

Discussion Starter · #10 · Dec 31, 2021

mikeyt_53 said:
If you cant get a good clear photo of the movement, just tell us what markings / names etc are on it as well as whatever mark or number might be hiding under the balance wheel. Ladies watch movements are a pita to work on. I wont dismantle them anymore and simply source a replacement movement off eBay or wherever.

When you source a replacement movement from eBay or wherever, are you installing a brand new movement per se?

mikeyt_53

· #11 · Dec 31, 2021

Not necessarily a brand new movement but I've always been able to find one that works better than the one i have.....

Alan D

Discussion Starter · #12 · Jan 3, 2022

4

Here are the best photos I can take having removed the mechanism No numbers visible

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SFwatchGuy

· #13 · Jan 3, 2022

Sorry about my lack of instruction. I was hoping for pictures of the back side of the movement.

mikeyt_53

· #14 · Jan 3, 2022

Ummm.... you need to remove the movement from the case back. It just lifts straight out although it might stick a bit. Just be careful of the balance wheel when handling it. There will be numbers/images/symbols on both the backside of the movement and the inside of the case back.

Alan D

Discussion Starter · #15 · Jan 3, 2022

SFwatchGuy said:
Sorry about my lack of instruction. I was hoping for pictures of the back side of the movement.

I am not sure how to get photos of the movement per se or flywheel. Can you please provide some instructions?

Right now the movement is out. On one side of that you see the dial and it’s hands.

On the other side you just see the back of the exterior case of the watch.

On the side is the wheel dial to wind it up or change the position of the hands.

Does the watch face come off or the back of the case pop off exposing what’s in there? I’m trying not to hurt the watch. At present I see no numbers or letters anywhere. Thx

mikeyt_53

· #16 · Jan 3, 2022

The entire movement including the dial and hands should lift out of the case back as it is simply a 'press fit'. I generally just lightly wiggle the crown/stem until the movement works free of the case. Here is an example of a 'press fit' movement & case back. Note that the case back is actually rotated 90 degrees counter-clockwise so that you can read the information inside.

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Alan D

Discussion Starter · #17 · Jan 3, 2022

Thx. Sorry for the dumb question but where exactly on your photos are the crown and stem? Do not want to make a mistake.

mikeyt_53

· #18 · Jan 4, 2022

The 'crown' and 'stem' are the things you wind the watch with. And if you look at the pic of the case back on the right side of the photo, you can see where indent is (at the top) that the stem slots into when placed back into the case back. See the photo below & note that my 'crown' is called a 'button' in that pic.

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Alan D

Discussion Starter · #19 · Jan 4, 2022

Ok. I’ll try wiggling the crown and stem tomorrow

mikeyt_53

· #20 · Jan 4, 2022

Just be gentle with it and take your time. It may stick a bit if that movement hasn't been out of the case back in a few years. I would also suggest you place some sort of soft mat down so that if you do accidentally drop the movement, you wont damage / break the balance wheel pivots.

Your watch movement will look a little different than the photo of a pocket watch movement below but essentially all of the parts are the same and you can see the 'balance wheel' i was referring to.

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