Before Apple and Casio made watches, repair was a craft. Here an illustrated handbook, ideal for the beginner that acts as a watch and clock encyclopedia

First published almost 75 years ago in London, D.W. Fletcher’s guide is still an indispensable guide to understanding the way that watches work. Beginning with the absolute basics of watch operation, Fletcher explains the different tools needed for repair, cleaning, and disassembling. He also adds a troubleshooting guide for common ailments and detailed solutions.

With dozens of detailed diagrams, Fletcher’s book is divided into five main sections:


How a watch works
Tools and how to use them
How to take down, clean, and reassemble a watch
Common ailments of a watch
More ailments


Watch Repairing as a Hobby takes a watch amateur from intrigued novice to skilled technician. With dozens of illustrations to lead you from analysis to repair, this classic manual is necessary for anyone curious about watches and how they tick.

“Have you ever thought of watch repairing as a hobby? You may feel that a watch is so tiny and your hands are so big. Just there lies the fascination of this hobby; watches are so tiny, and because they are so tiny they have to be much more perfectly made than other mechanisms. You may not believe it but you can, with practice, acquire such skill in handling the tiny parts of a watch that you will forget that they are tiny. You can start in quite a small way and you only need a few tools; as you grow in confidence and skill you will find more and more to interest you. It may even be that you will make some momentous discovery which will rock the horological world.”—From the Preface