Is it worth spending more money on a "semi-professional" watch repair kit or should you save your money and go budget? Let's compare. $25 kit on eBay: ebay.to/30z5Cqo $70 kit from Long Island Watch: bit.ly/32H3lw4 Music: www.bensound.com
I purchased the 25$ kit, used press to help me close case on son’s watch. I struggled to snap case by hand, with the press I just measured the closest press dies and it closed watch case. Awesome.
In my limited experience of buying watch repair tools, they are all very similar and very cheap unless you go for the way expensive Swiss and German stuff. I think the cheap tools are fine for a hobbyist, and I've done many successful battery changes, bracelet adjustments and movement replacements with mine.
Great review thanks. One thing I love about the plethora of affordable Chinese watches is using them as learning tools, pulling them apart to see what makes them ‘tick’. Good to be able to service your own affordable collection. I would not consider pulling my Tissot or Longines apart.
I use the blue press for putting the back on watched. Works great for that. A crystal removal tool, from my experience, has claws that compress the diameter of a crystal so you can pop it in. I’m no expert, but my dad was a watch maker and showed me a thing or two. Thanks for the videos. I’m just an amateur guy like so many getting into it as a hobby.
Just to clarify, the tool you described is called a crystal lift, and it also comes with a setter which helps you grip the crystal at the correct hight for insertion. These are great for inserting or removing the crystal before you take the movement out, but there is a potential to break or mark the crystal because it has to squeeze from the sides. The press can be used to remove or insert the crystal, but it's not obvious until you've seen it done, and the back and movement have to be removed first. It doesn't help that these presses don't really come with a dedicated soft(er) cushion to put in the bottom. You place the smaller diameter cushion on the bottom part, then use a (very) slightly small die on the top. This slightly shrinks the outer diameter of the crystal and it can be inserted or removed from the case/bezel very easily. It's also easier to use a cover over the crystal to prevent the die marking it up. To be fair, you can buy this lever type press for about $12 on it's own, while the professional versions apply pressure with a large vertical screw, cost hundreds of dollars, but also come with the correct bottom die for crystal replacement. I've got the Chinese version on the way and will probably make a more correct bottom die, but I'm scouting for a good second hand press. I'm also looking for a staking tool, watch parts cleaner, bench mounted back remover, stem tube setter, and well, a few other things. Really, when you start buying tools, it's doesn't stop until you have all of them.
Are you referring to acrylic crystals? Mineral glass and sapphire crystals are quite hard and brittle. They are scratch resistant, yes. However, they do not deform or compress; intead they chip or crack.
@@hgr.7857 Weird story about my 16234 crystal. Back in 2008 I had “taken a tumble” and raked the crystal face on concrete. Thought for sure it was scratched or worse but it wiped clean. Fast forward to this year and noticed a chip.. time for a service. The horologist calls and said the dial is scratched and there’s debris. Apparently the sapphire had micro cracks the whole time and caused the damage, luckily the movement was remarkably clean. Moral of the story, don’t bring a rolex to a fist fight. 😅
Great review comparing both kits ! I'm looking to buy my first watch repair kit... Your information helped me make my choice... I'm going with the less expensive kit to start out... Thank you !
This is a fantastic overview! I only recently realized how cool watches are and how interested I am in doing amateur repair, and the price point on high end tools like bergeon that professionals recommend was scaring me off. Thank you for making this video :)
Thanks for this. I have the cheapo kit arriving today from Amazon. I feel a lot better about the purchase. The guy from Long Island Watch isn't going to be happy but I've heard him toss around the term 'Capitalist' so maybe this will get him to up his Free Market game. If I was sitting at the bench working on Rolex's all day I would want the good stuff but I don't see why this inexpensive kit won't do everything I want it to do.
I’m glad I waited before getting the watch repair kit sold at Long Island Watch. If the tools were of better quality it might be worth it. Thanks 🙏🏼 for your review!
@@the1010watchclub deleted my other comment, both pretty shoddy kits right. Some of the things like the vice and case opener do the job but the spring bar tool and the pin punches and screwdrivers are really poor quality.
Th@nks for saving me money , just changing batteries on my wife’s many not expensive watches. Where is best to get batteries. Or a headlamp and magnification headset
when i started working on watches i started with the cheap tools it didn't take me long to know cheap tools are bad the biggest things like screw drivers and spring bar tool. get the Swiss made ones you will be happy the cheap press works ok for me but not the other stuff so much
Great review, I've been looking for an affordable entry level kit with all the bells and whistles. I now have a good idea of what to get. Also, that's a great peice of art behind you, is it a Lauren Marx piece?
I would not expect anything less coming from long island watches , they sell their home brand shitter watches for a huge amount of money. I agree with you for a beginner the Chinese set will be ok and when you are serious then you get some tools that will last toy a lifetime like bergeon and horrotec
The irony is, most of the expensive tool/kit/gear or whatever we use daily is something they buy from China for dirt cheap price before they repackage it in nicer box with luxurious branding to fool people.
Most (Not all ofc) of the more expensive kits are actually the same tools, like literally SAME, and then they just slap their own brand on it and make some profit with higher margins.
Thank you for your review. It helps to decide which one to choose. I would surely choose the $25 kit because it seems more worth each penny and since the quality is the same. So, you are paying $45 for the box 😂
I came here to see reviews and only tool I wish was more stronger and last long is the(Blue Tool) pin press where use it to push the pin out, well seem the needle press not strong and it get bent /snap off . Does anyone know or suggest which brand that won’t have that issue? Thanks .
The "crystal" is the watch glass. Even though many are actually acrylic, they are still called crystals (they used to be actual crystal glass or saphire etc) There ARE tweezers in the kit that had the press, but they are just for small parts like the split bars and spring bars. You might be thinking of the "jewels" which are synthetic ruby/sapphire shock settings. Strangely enough, the cheap set is the one that might get you closer to doing that kind of work but still lacks a lot of things that would be essential.
Nice video, thanks. 7:23 not sure if I get you re the spring bar remover. It is a two-sided tool - the side in your left hand is too big for normal-sized watches, but the side in your right hand is fine.
STOP promoting these. You cannot tell tool steel(A11) from mild steel by looking. You will however find out the difference when you begin using the screwdrivers/pindrivers and find the mild steel chips at the edges, twists and bends when torqued or literally snaps in half.
