A Smiths watch

[Neverenoughwatches]

They were drowning in a sea of Swiss watches. In an attempt to stay afloat,  their lifeboat the Smiths Empire still only to be shipwrecked. Tbf it was a piece of shite. Not inc. Dial hands and case , around 30 parts and only 9 screws in total, just look at that barrel its huge, yum. What more could you want from a watch ?   Okay at least some level of accuracy would be nice , oh and maybe a smidgen of reliability wouldnt go amiss as well,  bless it.

[mikepilk]

What's this bit, the click? It looks too good for the rest of the movement. 

What is the movement?

[watchweasol]

Yes that’s the click spring.  Aka  bfg 866. Stop a horse, smiths empire like the ingersol pocket watch were the farmers favourite, tough as old boots many’s the waistcoat pocket that had an ingersoll  and the empire on the wrist.  They only needed to tell milking time and dinner.

[Neverenoughwatches]

35 minutes ago, mikepilk said:

What's this bit, the click? It looks too good for the rest of the movement. 

What is the movement?

Yes its the click. Smith's own, not sure what calibre yet, the only number is 565.

21 minutes ago, watchweasol said:

Yes that’s the click spring.  Aka  bfg 866. Stop a horse, smiths empire like the ingersol pocket watch were the farmers favourite, tough as old boots many’s the waistcoat pocket that had an ingersoll  and the empire on the wrist.  They only needed to tell milking time and dinner.

The tolerances are even more loose than Russian watches.

[rehajm]

Looks like the Smiths RY- 13 ligne. Made in ‘Great Britain’ because England wouldn’t have them.  I wrote one up here a while ago. There seems to be millions of those springs out there but not a barrel to be had

I took a great deal of pride in propping it up…until it stopped again. Tension on that barrel wheel and no good method to adjust the height of the wheel what drives the seconds. They are indeed ‘economical’

On the upside- not many jewels to break and if you’re good at worrying half a dozen items under a single plate, the assembly goes quick…

Edited February 14, 2024 by rehajm

[Neverenoughwatches]

1 hour ago, rehajm said:

Looks like the Smiths RY- 13 ligne. Made in ‘Great Britain’ because England wouldn’t have them.  I wrote one up here a while ago. There seems to be millions of those springs out there but not a barrel to be had

I took a great deal of pride in propping it up…until it stopped again. Tension on that barrel wheel and no good method to adjust the height of the wheel what drives the seconds. They are indeed ‘economical’

On the upside- not many jewels to break and if you’re good at worrying half a dozen items under a single plate, the assembly goes quick…

Yes it is the RY, I've only worked on the smaller LY calibre which has a bit more about it. Looks like a very quick assembly, once out of the case it was stripped down in under 10 minutes .I'll try to find your write up .

[mikepilk]

Some info here https://17jewels.info/movements/s/smiths/smiths-ry-empire/

 

[Neverenoughwatches]

Broken pivot on the balance staff, i hoped i had a replacement,  the chance was high having over 3000 calibres but no of course i dont have that one . But i do have 2 brand new balance completes for the ry 144 Empire but i am a bit loathe to use them ( like putting a £300 new part in a £100 old car ). But found another in ok shape in another ry i have without a caseback. The donor cock doesn't fit the top plate very well as the fitting pins are slightly wider so rather than broach out plate holes we're swapping the donor balance over to the original cock. Fixed stud ( well pressed in ) so hairspring has to be unpinned and repinned, dont you just love that job ? Can you see the pin, its massive actually it is massive.

Edited February 19, 2024 by Neverenoughwatches

[RichardHarris123]

I the grand scheme of things, it really is massive.  Like the actress said to the vicar.  Hehe. 

[Neverenoughwatches]

2 hours ago, RichardHarris123 said:

I the grand scheme of things, it really is massive.  Like the actress said to the vicar.  Hehe. 

There you go you've found your vocation in life, clergyman. 

 

[RichardHarris123]

3 minutes ago, Neverenoughwatches said:

There you go you've found your vocation in life, clergyman.

I would probably self combust, if that's still a thing. 

[Neverenoughwatches]

9 minutes ago, RichardHarris123 said:

I would probably self combust, if that's still a thing. 

That would be the devil in you Rich, i wonder if it matches the devil in me

[djd]

Hello,

I have my grandfather’s smiths, the same as shown. Does anyone know where I can get a hairspring and balance staff for this watch. 

[Neverenoughwatches]

52 minutes ago, djd said:

Hello,

I have my grandfather’s smiths, the same as shown. Does anyone know where I can get a hairspring and balance staff for this watch. 

I would try ebay, nos parts for these do come up but not too often. There are loads of donors around but you will want to ask the seller if the watch runs to be more confident about getting those parts intact.

Please post a picture djd , Smiths are my thing, lets identify your watch before going any further.

[AndyGSi]

Hadn't seen this original post as I wasn't a member but the OPs is a AB234 from 1955/57 with an RY movement.

Edit

Just realised no sub seconds dial so not an AB234 but probably a Y322 from 1956/57

Edited September 18, 2024 by AndyGSi

[djd]

I did get a donor from eBay, but the balance spring (shown) was only slightly better. 
I also have my fathers Seiko 4006-6011 Bellmatic, that needs dial feet when I find out the size I need. 

[AndyGSi]

19 minutes ago, djd said:

I also have my fathers Seiko 4006-6011 Bellmatic, that needs dial feet when I find out the size I need.

You're probably as well just getting a set of sizes.

https://www.cousinsuk.com/product/watch-dial-feet-non-swiss

[Neverenoughwatches]

29 minutes ago, djd said:

I did get a donor from eBay, but the balance spring (shown) was only slightly better. 
I also have my fathers Seiko 4006-6011 Bellmatic, that needs dial feet when I find out the size I need. 

Only slightly better in what way, is it unusable? 

[Nucejoe]

On 2/20/2024 at 2:26 AM, Neverenoughwatches said:

That would be the devil in you Rich, i wonder if it matches the devil in me

 You guys need a third member to your club,  plenty of devil in me, just PM me. 

[djd]

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/203563030644?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=eQ0ovwPVQ8O&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=PsNgMi00Sxm&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY
 

would this work on the Smiths

[AndyGSi]

If yours is the RY movement then the size at 13" looks right.

[djd]

Thanks Andy

[nevenbekriev]

It seems to me that the hairspring is not from this balance. At least the stud is different, and the spring looks smaller compared to the ones shown above.

[AndyGSi]

24 minutes ago, nevenbekriev said:

It seems to me that the hairspring is not from this balance. At least the stud is different, and the spring looks smaller compared to the ones shown above.

Difficult to tell with the angle of @djd photos but the eBay spring does look a little smaller.

Did a quick measure on the screen of the eBay one and it's about 45% of the balance size.

[mikepilk]

I love that they bothered to put stripes on the bridges. Maybe you can polish a turd ?

And I still love the click spring. 

The balance looks like a steering wheels from the 70s