The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1908-01-14
CURING A WET WATCH
What to Do if Your Timepiece
Falls In the Water.
POP IT IN A CUP OF ALCOHOL

Then Take the Cup, just as It Is, to
the Repairer and Let Him Do the
Rest-Some Things an lnquisitive
Customer Learned From Jeweler.
my wife set her watch on a slippery
glass shelf" said the customer as he
laid a small Swiss timepiece in the
watch repairer's hand minus its crys-
tai. sThe gold chain pulled it off the
shelf, and it landed In the bathtub
and smashed the works all up. so my
wife says"
Amy water IN the tub?" asked the
watch man quickly.
mo"
"Good!'
The repairer adjusted his eyepiece
and looked inside the watch. Then he
took a tiny screwdriver, set it on one
of the bearings and twirled it between
his fingers delicately. Presently he
held up a tiny cogwheel with hair
spring curling its microscopic threads
around an axis and springing up and
down with the insta bility of quicksil-
yer as the man gently shook it.
EYES," he said, replacing the delicate
mechanism, Its all broken up on the
inside, handspring and pinion and
everything. The new parts will have
to be made. You can't buy them in
this country. 1t will cost about So, but
your watch will be as good as new"
perhaps If there had been some wa
ter in the tub 1t would have broken the
fall and the works wouldn't have been
broken up SO muchY
The repairer shrugged his shoulders.
Watches that have rusted are those
which most outrage the jewelers. sense
of all that is proper and sane. The
man who opens his watch In moist or
dusty weather is his pet object of
scorn. A rusted watch has to be taken
apart and cleaned thoroughly. Even
then it may not run, and If it does 1t
usually doesn't run accurately.
The repairer told the above in as
many words or more to the owner OF
the watch.
..Yes, know" said the owner. II
know 1t makes you watchmakers shud
der to get watches that have been
soaked had a relative once who
used to be matchmaker in his early
days. He had fine gold chronometer
that had descended to him from his
grandfather, who In his time was
great race track man.
1--WE went out motor boating one day
with our families and sailed around
little chain of fresh water lakes. This
fellow had left that chronometer at
home as many as fifty times on vari-
GUS occasions for fear Of getting into
the water with 1t, but on this trip he
took the chances or forgot.
HE was standing out on the after
decking, pulling in trolling line that
we had had out for a bite, when the
boat ran on a submerged pile and sud
denly tried to duck one gunwale under
the water and then as we all jumped
for the other side as quickly tried to
get that gunwale under. Instructive
sense of equilibrium made US all lie
down In the bottom of the boat, but
just then she righted herself and lay
on an even keel again.
I'VE were sorting out the children
and recovering from our fright when
we saw a sight which made US burst
out laughing. About thirty feet astern
of US stood the owner of the $500
watch up to his breast in water and
rubbing 1t out of his eyes and ears
while he mumbled something heartily
and long which did not sound the least
bit like the Lords Prayer.
"'Oh-oh, Henry Help himr shrek
ed his wife.
"'He's all right. He's got his feet
on dry land | said. And my say-so
seemed to satisfy the woman perfect
ly, for she began to laugh in her turn.
swell. we picked him up in the
launch and headed for home. 1t was
four miles and raw October weather,
but that fellows thoughts were not on
pneumonia. The one thought he had
was to get to watchmaker's inside of
two hours. He said that if he couldn't
get that chronometer into a lumber of
alcohol inside of two hours it would
never be any good any more. Well,
he did"
Eyes, alcohol is very good" said the
repairer as he gave the customer a
ticket to sign and hung the little Swiss
timepiece on a hook along with hun
dred other watches. Alcohol is good
1t absorbs the water "a
And makes them dry quickly" sug-