The Breitling Watch Source Forums

Some of you might remember this one. The owner said his Dad's Nav had gone through the washer and dryer about 20 years and was stored in a box up till now. Just finished it today. Amazingly, it did not have much rust on the movement! Had to build an hour counter wheel but other than that, it was fairly straight forward. Craig

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S. Craig Bergsma

Very nice Craig.

What lathe / cutter set up are you using for making the wheels??

Great work Craig, looking forward to when you get to mine:)

Roff - actually I did not cut wheel gears - I do not have that kind of equipment. I used the old one (wheel OD 5.25mm - broken upper post) and a new one (wheel OD 5.50mm), removed the hearts (the smaller one was riveted on and the larger one was screwed on), used a staking tool to drive out both of the arbors, staked the newer arbor into the older wheel, install the older heart with the staking tool (added a touch of red LockTite) and it was done. Fortunately the parts fit perfectly. I searched for a 5.25mm hour wheel for nearly a month and could not find one ANYWHERE!? All that I did find were the same as my 5.50mm OD. I was told by one supplier that there were 3 sizes used for this wheel. Apparently there was also a 5.10mm OD size. All three are not interchangeable on the movement and I have not further info on why Venus had 3 sizes. Craig

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S. Craig Bergsma

, Craig !
(none of those is my pink box of goodies ?)

Thanks Craig!

I know of a watchmaker who actually uses his staking set to 'stretch' wheels when needed - basically flattening them against an anvil to increase the diameter, but no idea how he would ensure that they remain round.

Roff - that might work on some gears where the spacing is adjustable to allow for the change in the teeth size but not this one.
Fred - there is probably every other V178 part in the pink box accept an hour wheel!

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S. Craig Bergsma

The owner of the the Breitling that went through the washer and dryer sent me this email. He said I could pass in on to others:

"I will definitely wear the Brietling now that it is fixed, especially next time I see my dad. Like I have said before, he gave me the Breitling after I solo'd his J-3 Cub. He bought the Cub way back in 1963 when he was 20 years old (the cub is two years older than he is). He has had the Cub longer than he has known my mom and always joked with her she would go before the Cub would. He was shipped over to Vietnam shortly after buying the Cub, and even though he has never talked much about it, he either bought the Brietling when he was overseas or right after he got back.

I solo'd the Cub in high school and he gave me the watch the same day. He was my instructor, so we always had a great time together flying. He said the watch was just something he picked up back in his Air Force days, but never really said much more about it. I cringe now, but I wore it as a daily watch because it was a "cool aviator style watch". I didn't really have an appreciation for its value, neither monetary nor sentimental. I would always put it in my pants pockets when I dressed out for track practice and sure enough, I forgot to take it out of my pants one day and that's when it went through the washer and dryer. My mom found it and knew it was broke and gave it to me and told me to make sure my dad never knew what happened. Man did I ever feel guilty and ashamed.

I put it in a box and left it there for years, always feeling guilty about what I did. It wasn't until recently when my wife was cleaning out some boxes that she found it and asked if I still wanted it. That's when started searching the web and I tracked you down. The funny thing is, my dad recently lost his medical certificate and couldn't fly the Cub anymore, so he sold it to me for $1.00. When we were moving it from St. Louis Missouri out to Johnson City Tennessee where I live now, he actually asked if I still had the Breitling he gave me. I told him I still had it, but probably needed to get it serviced since I hadn't worn it "in a while". I told him the Cub and the Breitling were the two things he never had to worry about me getting rid of.

So needless to say, having you getting the watch back into working condition meant a lot more to me than just fixing a valuable watch. In some ways it is like you have erased a lot of the guilt I have had over it for the last 20 years. For that, I can't thank you enough. This summer I plan on flying the Cub back to St. Louis to fly it again with my dad, and you can bet I will have the Breitling on my wrist when I do!"

Hope you enjoy in as much as I did. Craig

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S. Craig Bergsma

Awesome letter Craig and am sure is a big part of what keeps you ticking in your vintage watch repair profession, good in you on putting a smile on the gentlemans face!

Love watches with a story. I can relate to this one a bit. Here's my high school graduation present Bulova my parents gave me and I took to Vietnam with me. Found it again after many years in a box and had a Bulova specialist get it going again. My son will get this one.

Awesome Paul! great pic and thank you for your service

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"I don't got the bright watch I got the right watch" -Jay Z

Congrats, another awesome story and a beautiful watch to be treasured, great pics!

Beautiful work Craig. It's really amazing what you can do with a watch (I've visited your website). And the story attached to this one makes it very special. Must be a great feeling for you to be able to help people regain such cherished heirlooms.

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David
Je suis désole pour mon mauvais français.

Zenith Pilot Big Date; IWC Vintage Collection Aquatimer; IWC Portuguese 7-day

2 Super great stories. Thanks for sharing!!!!!

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"A man with one watch knows what time it is; a man with two watches is never quite sure."

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