Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1883-09-20
REPAIRING A rrMEPrEoE.
Trying to Find Out Why a Watch
Stopped-HOw the Experts Showed
What Thev Knew and How the Owner
was Finally Surprised.

Trying to Find Out why Watch
stopped-HOw the Experts Showed
WhatThev Knew and How the Owner
was Finally Surprised.
Neso York Times.
"Here is your watch,'' said the ieweler,
| as he tore off a small white tag from the
ring of a well-wOrn silver watch and
handed the time-piece to a reporter one
| day last week. ''Ifi it breaks inside of a
! year you can bring it back and l will fix
4 it for nothing. | don't think 1t will
trouble you, though, for it was very thor
| oughly repaired by one Of our best work
men," Il hope not" replied the re-
| porter, as he paid the jeweler SO
and left the store with the
watch ticking loudly in his pocket. For
nearly week the watch was a model of
regularity, recording the time even to the
minute with the great yellow faced clock
! in the city hall tower. One morning,
| however, when it was drawn from under
! his pillow, the reporter discovered to his
| dismay that the hands were pointing to
the hour of O'Clock, 1t couldn't be af-
! ternoOn so early in the day. He rubbed
! his eyes and looked at the dial again.
! Surely there must be some mistake about
| it. He examined the hands. They
were stationary. He placed it
| to his ear 1t was as
| silent as clam. The watch had stopped
| inside Of the first week, and in spite Of the
/ three-dOllar charge and the years guar
| antee. He shook it. A few feeble ticks
/ responded to the jar. The stubby second
hand moved slowly about quarter around
| IN its short circuit and then stopped as
before. He pounded it on the bed and
| made some uncOmplimentary remarks
about the matchmaker This evoked
another seml-revOlutiOn, which was again
| succeeded by the same silence
TO. hr.ra l. -,
stepped INTO the nearest watchmaker's a
seven-by-nine shop. in upper Broadway,
ana asked the proprietor what was the
matter with the watch. The jeweler took
the timePiece, pried open the inside cover
with small can opener, and peered into
the works. After cursory examination
/ ne handed 1t back to the owner. sit needs
cleaning" he said.
: "Cleanlng" calculated the reporter, in
astonishmenk ''why paid So only last
week for having it thoroughly cleaned"
II can't help that" replied the ieweler
/ you were very foolish to take such
watch to secOnd-class workman. The
/ reason it don't run is because it's dirty.
| The piniOns are covered with dust and
! the oil is all gum. Leave it here and |
] Will fix 1t for you in good shape. Call
/ again on Saturday and it will be ready.
/ 1t Will only cost you 81 30 and YOU will
/ then have watch you can be proud off,
Thoroughly Disguised with the watch
! and the man who had warranted it, the
! reporter declined the offer, pocketed his
| tmeplece, and left the shop. A few
! doors below, on the same thoroughfare.
/ a brazen watch with pair of black
| hands pointing tiXedly to 1920 swings
! from rusty iron bar. The reporter
| passed under this sign and entered anoth-
| er Jeweiry store. \ fleshy person who
| was seated at workbench facing the
! window reached for the watch and pro-
/ ceeded to open it as one would open an
/ oyster. Placing an eyeglass which re-
/ sembles very short telescope to
/ his eye, he critically examined
| the movements. After taking ObserYa-
! lions from every position a watch can
/ be held in, he Yentured an opinion that
the jewel which covers the escapement
4 plnl0n was broken. "Yes," said he, after
/ sundry punches in the vital regions of the
works with small steel instrument, such
as dentists use, "the jewel is broken
Any man can see that with half an eve.
l wonder the watch run at all. Have
| you dropped it anywhere? No: Well,
that's strange. | can't be mistaken. The
jewel is certainly broken. Leave it with
me and | will put in new one. 1t will
cost you only So, and call around some
day next week. What name, pleaseY'
The name was not given and the watch
was returned.
In the block below a tall street clock
indicates the presence of another ipwelry
establishment, While large show cases
filled with costly trinkets and brilliant
assortment of diamonds and watches in
the front windows attested its claims as a
fashionable emporium. The reporter
went in there. A languid young man,
with dropping mOustache the color of
barley straw, took the watch, and after
working his way into the movement.
/ placed a small lOrgnette to his eve
and glanced over the assortment
of wheels and piniOns and springs
which were so numerously and di-
yersely disordered. He remarked: "Your
watch is very badly out of repair. The
escapement does not seem to be doing It's
! work. The handspring is too long. 1t
/ has too much play. l will cut it off and
shorten it," Here he reached for a small
! instrument to sever the spring, but the
reporter interposed. NO" he exclaimed,
as he rescued the time piece, don't cut
the spring. | guess that is not what ails
the thing, for paid $3 for having it re-
paired and cleaned only last week, and it
ran very nicely until this morning, when
it stopped"
''Oh yes,1 interrupted the young man,
81 see; you dropped it and the spring was
spread out by the jar. l will undertake
to repair it thoroughly for 81, so that YOU
Z
antee, and if it breaks"
The reporter did not remain to hear the
rest OF the sentence. The watch had all
the guarantees it could stand. He had
heard by this time so many different
! opinions upon the condition of the watch
/ that he was determined to learn, if pOssI-
/ BILE, what did all it. A few blocks down
| the street another jeweler was found
After several shakes he applied the
| watch to his left ear and listened
! attentively: 81 think" said he, with
a shade of doubt in his voice,
/ THAT the handspring is broken" He
! then opened the inside case and scru-
| tinized the works carefully. eyes," he
! continued, ''the handspring Is evidently
! broken. You must have been very care
! less with the watch, and let it fall. No?
| Well, you have wound it up too tight.
! That often is as bad as a fall. ! will put
! you in a new one for 81" The offer was
not accepted, and the reporter walked
! out of the shop with his dilapidated chro-
| nOmeter in his pocket, to the great dis
/ gust of the jeweler. At the next
/ store small, nervous man was
! examining a double row of fy-speck-
/ ed watches, suspended from a small
| iron rack in the window, and baking
in the sun, which filtered through
the dusty window panes. He took the
| timepiece, and reaching into
| ceeded to tie it to the ring. ''What
name?' he asked. 'No name" replied
the owner; ''please tell me what is the
matter with the watch" With an air of
| annoyance, the nervous man exposed the
works and prObed around the balance
! wheel with what appeared to the owner to
! be almost willful malice. cone of the
/ pinlons is bent, the escapement is out of
/ balance, and it needs cleaning, SO, call
next Saturday." The owner protested,
and the watch was returned.
| Having had sufficient experience in
| Broadway he now visited the Bowerv. A
! large gilt sign over a doorway and several
/ suspended clocks and watches, also in
| gilt, DetOkened a ''jewelry palace" and
! into it the reporter walked. ''What is the
matter with this watch% Z" he asked. The
| proprietor, an elderly man, took the time
! piece, shook it, listened, opened it, gazed
into it and shook his head. 'sHiram!'' he
called to curly-headed young man, who
was working at the rear end of the store,
cleaning jewelry with a long brush and
| some white powder. The young man
stepped to the counter. "Vat is de mad
der nit dat vatchr' asked the prOprie-
tor. Hiram looked at the watch as one
would regard a very sore thumb and
shook his head withoutreplying. "Mosesr
called the old gentleman to a second
fhan Iirar, -bD