I've been wearing watches for more decades than I care to think, and I can honestly say, other than the sort of usual light scratches to case and a few to crystals, I've never damaged one at all. Nothing certainly that would be considered more than the normal wabi-sabi of watch ownership, that makes a watch feel personal to me. ...

 

Through normal wear not really. Light scuffs and scratches only.

 

I'm pretty careful, but I did knock the bezel of my Datejust on a grinding wheel while wearing it working in a blacksmith's forge. I just got used to it as polishing would have ruined the engine turned bezel.

And then there was the time I dived into a swimming pool forgeting I was wearing a 1920s Longines.....no harm done, I took the front and back off immediately and put it in the sun to get it really dry and then got it serviced asap!

 

Think I've broken lots of swatches in the late 80's early 90's but does a plastic watch count?
Yesterday at work a really smacked some pallet racking while wearing my steeldive 1970....... Not a single mark on it !
I did once break a crystal while falling of a motorbike must have been doing about 20-30mph at the time, ended up head first in a hedge.
Nothing too bad I would say, I get more anyoyed when messing about inside watchs and a screw sheers off or silly things like that.

 

My Oyster perpetual was on my wrist constantly for way over 30 years, I worked in engineering and remember giving it a proper whack on the shop skip as I walked past one day. I remember looking at it but nothing seemed obvious, until I checked the time about an hour later and it had gained almost 10 minutes, the second hand was noticeably flying. Off to a little watchmakers in Durham and a week later I had it back, good as new.

 

A watch fixer in Durham ?? Care to share where. There used to be a fella in town but he shut up shop a bit back.

I have a watch that needs a replacement movement. It's a quartz and when I took it to get a new battery at the local cobblers, don't laugh he used to live in the same grove as me and was pretty switched on with watches as well as shoes 😂 he said it was goosed and I'd like to get it fixed.

 

Yes! - Like you Charlie I am very careful when I have a watch on my wrist, especially doing any type of manual labour etc
However, a couple of years ago I noticed a chunk out of one of the lugs on my beloved Houtman Pilbara watch 😢 - To this day I have no idea how I did this? - Anyway, having had some excellent case refurb & polishing work by Jon on here (@PC-Magician) I showed him a pic of the damage & asked his advice, before sending the watch to him for examination - Jon admitted that the damage was quite severe & although he could make it look better than it was, it was never going to tidy up as well as he would want? - I decided to speak to Jason, the owner at Houtman, who was so helpful when I bought my watch (they are based in Western Australia) - He told me he "might" have a spare Pilbara case & eventually sold one to me at a very reasonable price - When the replacement case arrived I sent it up to Jon & he swapped the cases over (again for a very reasonable price) - I take a lot more care of that watch than any other after all the money I spent on it, but learned my lesson to be more careful & look after my watches ...
PB

 

The occasional 'dink', and millions of light scratches.
I leave them alone -- my watches then take on the same "used look" as their wearer.

For that reason, I have never been too fussy about second hand purchases being in perfect condition. My Dornblüth came with a small (but worthwhile) dink -- doesn't upset me at all.

 

Many a time!

The worst was a 1970's Bucherer Chronometer. I was fitting a new crystal using a manual press, and it was tight. So tight I broke the plastic die and the 8mm steel thread of the press went smashing into the watch - even the case back was bent! I then bought a used Robur screw press, and that is far more controllable. One watch in the bin!

 

I've never "broken" a watch, or even broken or cracked a crystal in all my years as a watch wearer, however all of my watches that I wear regular have "users" marks/light scratches. I've spent the last 15-20yrs working as an engineer surveyor, inspecting all types of cranes and lifting equipment in all types of working environments and my daily wearers all show the scars that they've picked up in that time. Watches with bracelets are quite hardy but my Tudor Heritage Ranger, incidentally the most expensive watch I own or have ever owned came on a Tudor leather bund strap and this didn't fair very well at all. It got soaked with oil, grease dust and dirt and began to look quite shabby. I have since refurbished it but ended up having to replace it with a secondhand Tudor original bund. The watch itself has held out quite well and still looks presentable in plain sight.

 

LOL! Is this a trick question, Charlie? In 45+ years I have destroyed more watches than I own now. Granted, they weren't Rolexes or PP, or any such thing. But, yes, I've killed quite a few. In the last 15 years I've killed three Luminox Navy Seal watches. Countless Timex's over the years. I just stopped buying plastic watches all together. Now I have a few watches that I wear for work and stuff around the farm and I am more mindful of what I buy. I tend to buy durable watches that are not very expensive. I have a Casio Duro with really only a bezel scratch. I have a Aragon Caprice chrono that I dropped (jerked) off my wrist and marred up the bezel a bit. For years I tortured a Citizen Garrison eco-drive. It has come out relatively unscathed so it has been retired from abuse, now. ~ Mark.

 

Not broken one in normal use. Broken plenty trying to fix them.

 

Made an absolute hash working on one, but apart from that and wear and tear the worst one I’ve done was get weld splatter on a Breitling bracelet. I no longer weld with a watch on!

 

Irritatingly, I have disfigured a few quartz watches trying to get the caseback off when replacing a battery. I absolutely hate snap-on casebacks, and unfortunately, in the cheap watch world I inhabit, watches rather too frequently have this sort of back. I have tried the various tools available for lifting the backs of watches but quite a few watches have resisted their ministrations and have been scratched in the process. Mind you, even some screw-on casebacks can be impossible to shift, or are badly designed for removal by the usual means.

 

A few years ago I tripped up and fell onto my garage wall while wearing my Cartier Roadster. The top edge of the watch was badly scored/slightly dented and I thought I had ruined it.

Took it into a local jeweller and it came back looking like new for a very modest sum.

 

Guilty M’Lud…but only when tinkering. 😤

It’s how I, and suspect many others, have learnt.

C’est La Vie.

 

have you ever damaged a watch ?

Nope. Good point. G - Shock useless.

 

I weep every time I think of this. I bought two Calvin Klein automatic watches from TKmaxx the ones with the ETA 2824 movements as they were dirt cheap. I then decided to swap the movements/dials over as I thought they would look better/different. WARNING do not mess with the ETA 2824 movement without researching it first ! I damaged both movements😭 I sent them to a watchmaker (during lockdown) and they were signed for but the watchmaker denied receiving them. So if anyone wants a Calvin Klein bracelet and strap give me a nudge.

 

OK I admit it..........I was trying to get the back plate back on my 80's Omega Deville quartz watch after changing the battery.

After a lot of faffing about i squeezed the back plate and front of the watch as hard as i could.........stuck my thumb through the crystal and mullered the hands.

The cost of repairing the watch was more than it was worth so I binned it.

Shame because I really liked the watch.

Total stupidity!!

 

Several Seiko 5's, a swivel lug Vostok diver, a Bentima Star, a Roamer Super King, I think that's about it.

And that's the ones I've destroyed.

 

I was accessing work in a mates garage ,not looking where I was walking fell over a pile of racking and dinged a Sinn U1.

 

Only damaged one (so far) changing a battery and caught the coil, tried to change it myself but what with not having decent tools made a right pig's ear of it ! Luckily @Duncan U. came to my rescue and fixed it, also scratched up the caseback as it was stupidly tight, I don't spend any time looking at the back so that's no big deal.

 

Embarrassing own up time ….5 years ago - didnt feel the click on the crown on my B1 - thought it was stick so I pulled very hard and the crown left the body 😱😱😱😱😱😱

 

ive lost two overboard, and had retrieved one that had been torn from my wrist and was being washed down the gun whale. Being on the foredeck in a decent sea state is pretty rough and the one i retrieved had spring bar failure. I'm in two minds about drilled lugs and solid bars, the spring bar going probably saved my wrist from injury.

 

Mine get scratched to hell, that's why I always want a sapphire crystal. See my regular wear, as far as I can see the crystal is perfect.

Spot the welding spatter (who says you can't weld steel to titanium, that spatter will not come off) ..