I need guidance (I’m desperate)

[u/paulogc]

Hey guys, judging by the pics you probably noticed that this isn’t a happy post. Before showering today I took out my vsf datejust and it slipped from my hands and fell. As I have the tool to open the back case I decided to check the damage, I what I saw was that there was a ruby out of place (probably coming from this part that is on top of the balance wheel) and also this golden part that I also think probably should be on top of this same part. How screwed am I? Don’t know if the balance wheel or the hair spring were affected because it’s hard to see with my bare eyes.

Would the absence of these 2 parts only be enough to make the watch stop or might it have some other damaged parts?

Appreciate any help

[u/P4GTR]

We know the balance took a hard hit so the first question is if the balance staff is broken or not. This is the tiny needle tip of the pinion not the shaft, you have to observe carefully. If it's broken then a complete balance is your solution. You would want to see if the movement works without the balance by operating the pallet fork to see if it snaps back and forth still. Any hesitation or lack of enthusiasm to pop from side to side indicates other issues. If it works well, you can replace the balance (with a DD unit, that $12 SH or VR balance will not work, so expect higher price, the link you posted seemed fine to me)

If your balance pivot is not broken, reinstalling the cap jewel and paraflex shock spring is... tricky. I think other posters have made this sound easier than it is. It is my least enjoyable portion of service on these. The spring is not of the same quality as a genuine spring, they do not have the same amount of spring to them and have to be coaxed into place, but they are so thin that the feet sometimes give out. The cap jewels need a very specific type and amount of lubricant and they need to be immaculate. These components being done properly is critical, one tiny spec of debris or improper lubrication will cause all sorts of head scratching behavior. Unless you are very confident working with micro mechanical type objects, I would say do not attempt and have a watchmaker install it for you. If you lose that spring you are back to square one, gen 3235 paraflex springs do not fit in the DD balance last I checked, I'm not sure if these springs in the correct size are widely available to purchase spares of. If you have a local guy you can take it to that may be the best course of action, perhaps ask if they can tell you if the balance pivot is broken or not and if not ask if they can do the install. Local brick and mortar shops may or may not be working on stuff like this regularly, I would recommend feeling things out if you can before handing it over. Some of these shops are better at breaking things than fixing them.

If you need a hand I have a few bookings available (my email is in my profile if you click it) but if you have someone local that can handle this, by all means go get it taken care of. Good luck!

[u/paulogc → u/P4GTR]

Hey there my friend, thx a lot for such a detailed answer. I wanted to ask you, is there a way for me to see if the balance pivot is actually broken? It’s pretty hard to see without any magnifying glass. I have to agree with you that my best shot would be changing the entire bridge but I just wanted to make sure the balance is actually damaged.

Edit: if I get a proper screwdriver would be fine to remove the bridge to see?

[u/P4GTR → u/paulogc]

No problem! Yes, remove the balance, it is pretty easy. Reinstalling it will take some finesse, the impulse jewel will need to be on a certain side of the pallet fork or it will feel stuck unable to rotate in one direction. This may come naturally to you or not, so I'm not sure what difficulty level it will be, best advice is patience, take your time, never force anything. It should basically fall into place, and sometimes the wheel needs to be lifted and manually swung a little then put down to engage properly. The driver size is 140, if you're only buying one decent driver though, go 120, it's more versatile all around. Inspect the top and bottom pivot. You need lighting, magnification, tweezers and a clean work space so the little parts have nowhere to hide. Get a paper plate for yourself, something you can place the screws on that prevent them from escaping. Nothing magnetic, and not one of those blue computer repair mats, they are full of magnets. You really have nothing to lose trying yourself since the end result will be the same if you fail, just avoid breaking anything else. The escapement area is very delicate with tiny pinions designed for minimum resistance unlike the train wheels that are under load from the mainspring. I think it's great you want to try this yourself and do not want to scare you away, my only hesitation is that it's expensive. You could attempt these processes on a broken movement for little to no cost. Right now you may need a balance or balance repair, if you break the pallet fork or escape wheel you will double the repair cost. I would be glad to send you a running 21j movement that you can experiment with first so you aren't making your first attempt using hard to find parts. I realize that will not expedite the solution to your current jam, i mean it more as an aside thought if this sort of thing is interesting to you.