Amateur Hour Watch Restoration

Where it’s from

I bought this movement at the Alameda flea market, for I think around $20.

Upon opening, this movement is a UTC 29C, from around 1966. Apparently this company was known for using Seiko movements for mass production, under a variety of names.

What it looked like

This movement caught my eye because of the prominent red arrow on the second hand. The dial and case have that classy minimal vintage look that I enjoy:

The case, crystal, and band are all pretty worn and scratched. I’m able to wind it with some difficulty, due to the low profile of the crown. I suspect it may be maxed out on the wind due to not running. When I give it a little twist, it runs for a few seconds.

The watch can be set, and the date clicks over at ~10 minutes prior to midnight. It looks like the date is a little high in the date window though. Also, the movement appears to be somewhat loose in the case, especially noticeable when setting the time.

The timegrapher app can’t seem to get a reading on it:

I’m hoping a simple cleaning will bring it back.

How I restored it

Feb 15, 2026 3:25 PM

After opening this up, it’s got a super cool movement, from a company I’ve not heard of before: UTC-Unitime. Apparently they coordinated with Seiko to use their movements in more mass-produced/cheaper watches, under a variety of brand names. What’s interesting here is that the dial says “Dorset”, but the ratchet wheel says “Montgomery Ward”.

One other thing that’s clear: this movement is incredibly dirty. I am betting after a thorough cleaning, I’ll be able to get it running again.

Some other notes:

• There are two sets of shock jewels, one on the balance like normal, and another set on the escape wheel. Fancy.
• The mainspring actually looks in great shape, and is one of the new style S-curve ones.
• I see some fingerprints on the main plate and some of the bridges, so I think this movement was worked on at some point, even though I don’t see any watchmaker marks on the case back.
• For some reason, the click was very very dirty, like basically covered in dried up grease.

Feb 16, 2026 3:54 PM

I’ve disassembled, and started manual cleaning:

Note here: the springs on the escape wheel shock crystals are really really finicky, and prone to pinging away. It is a minor miracle that I was able to find them. One other very interesting thing I discovered during manual cleaning though, is that there’s a tiny tiny washer on the fourth wheel:

I’m gonna leave that washer off during cleaning, otherwise it would be looooong gone, ha. Another thing I decided to do: the caseback says “water resistant”, but the case doesn’t have a tube, and the crown isn’t gasketed. So, I’m going to try and install a tube along with replacing it with a gasketed crown.

Feb 20, 2026 7:36 PM

Just finished cleaning the movement, and it was dirty enough that some pieces still need some manual cleaning. I’m going to start reassembly now.

Feb 20, 2026 9:06 PM

Well let me tell you what, reinstalling diashock springs is a pain in the ass. That spring is super super squirrely, and you gotta tweezer in the cap jewel after oiling. I managed to do one tonight, I gotta take a breather after that:

Looking at that picture, it’s pretty clear I didn’t even get the oil right, but I ain’t gonna open it up again, no way.

Feb 23, 2026 7:17 PM

Redemption! While I may have over-oiled the main-plate capped jewel for the escape wheel, check out how I did on the bridge side:

Absolutely nailed it! (Nevermind the tiny schmutz). Plus, getting that shock setting in is no joke! Not for the faint-hearted! Just doing that took the better part of an hour, but afterwards, I was able to pretty easily reassemble the train, barrel, ratchet, and crown:

Next up is the winding works, then the pallet, and finally the balance, and hopefully we’ll have this movement working OK. It definitely looks a lot cleaner!

Feb 27, 2026 4:55 PM

Success! I put in the pallet and balance, and voila!

Feb 28, 2026 5:41 PM

I finally got the rest of the calendar works in, with a few hiccups. The spring for the date wheel was incredibly difficult to install, since it kept pushing out the date wheel before I could put the plate on top. I ended up needing to just hold the date wheel down with my fingers after putting the spring in, saying a small prayer that it wouldn’t go flying out (it definitely did a couple of times), and then kind of shimmy the plate on around my fingers.

However, once I got to the last of three screws for the plate, the screw ended up shearing off half of the head! Fortunately, I could still unscrew it with some careful angling of the screwdriver. I ended up scavenging a screw from the PUW 360, from the escape wheel cap jewel plate:

Unfortunately, the case tubes I got don’t quite work. They are either too small of a diameter, or not long enough. Back to Esslinger we go!

Feb 28, 2026 7:01 PM

Alas! It seems the cannon pinion is too loose. I was almost done with the movement, and when setting the hands, I could slide the minute hand willy-nilly. So, I’ll need to open it back up and tighten the cannon pinion. It’s a risky operation, especially without the correct tool. I’ve done it before though.

Thinking back to putting the cannon pinion on though, I don’t recall it feeling excessively loose. Maybe I just wasn’t paying attention.

Mar 1, 2026 6:47 AM

Either I’m really lucky, or I’m actually good at pinching cannon pinions with a plier without crushing them! It fits much better now, but it looks like the second hand is slightly bent downwards, causing it to interfere with the minute hand in some spots. I gotta run 17 miles now though, so I’ll get back to it later!

Mar 7, 2026 3:24 PM

And we’re done! I struggled mightily with the new case tubes that I got, and after finally managing to press one in… it was too big for the crown! D’oh! So, I went back to the original set I got, and ended up using one that was just kinda short. It means the crown gasket is just barely engaging with the tube, but it’ll have to do.

After doing that, I gently bent the second hand upwards a bit, and fit it on the dial. Everything fit beautifully, and after putting on the band, here’s where we ended up:

Mar 17, 2026

I decided to give this watch to a friend for his birthday. Bon voyage! May you keep ticking for another 60 years!