Okay, so this Mitchell watches project kicked off when I spotted a busted old Mitchell wristwatch tucked away in my uncle’s garage junk drawer. Had zero clue about watch repair, but figured – how hard could it be? Grabbed it home like some treasure hunter.
First thing was popping that case open. Holy hell the back was screwed on tighter than Fort Knox. Broke two cheap screwdrivers before dragging my butt to the hardware store for a heavy-duty set. Finally pried it open like opening a stubborn pickle jar. Inside? Just dust bunnies and this sad little rusty movement.
Dumped all the tiny gears and springs onto my desk. Felt like assembling IKEA furniture without instructions – tiny nightmare. Googled “Mitchell watch parts diagram” for two hours straight but found zip. Finally took phone pics after yanking every piece out.
Cleaning involved soaking parts in lighter fluid – sounds nuts but watch nerds swear by it. Used an old toothbrush to scrub each cog over newspaper. Let ’em dry overnight while I stress-ate pizza. Put every piece back using tweezers and that cheap Amazon repair kit. Sweat dripping down my nose while fighting springs that kept pinging off toward the cat.
Last step was refilling the dried-up oil spots. Dabbed synthetic oil on pivot points using a needle – hands shakin’ like I’d chugged espresso. Wound it up… nada. Dead silent. Screamed into a pillow.
Took apart the whole mess again next morning. Turned out I’d flipped one gear upside-down like a rookie. Fixed it, reassembled, held my breath. Click… tick… tick-tick-TICK! Actually worked! Stared at that little second hand moving like I’d cured cancer.
Why bother? Reminded me of my first beater car – Grandpa’s rusted Ford that wouldn’t start for anything. Spent weekends soaked in grease fixing it with YouTube tutorials while Dad yelled “Scrap it already!” When that engine finally roared? Felt like king of the world. Same damn rush here – making dead things live again just hits different. Still can’t believe this cheap flea-market ticker actually runs.
