Quote Originally Posted by thebigspendur View Post

As far as the pocketwatch situation you should never take any mechanical timepiece to a watch repairer unless you know he or she is competent. Most experienced people are getting to an age where their skill is deteriorating and anyone who learned the trade after the mid 80s shouldn't be let near any mechanical timepiece. There are precious few competent people around who can do any repair jobs on mechanical timepieces. If you have one near you your the luckiest person in the world and should run out and buy a lottery ticket.
Amen, I have an old Illinois key wind that my jeweler used to keep going for me, but since he died 15 yrs ago, I rarely use the watch. The new guys havent the skill and I have heard horror stories about movements being stolen and replaced with junk.