Manual welding
Rolex fixed by welding
5 March 2019
A Norwegian Rolex owner saved a fine sum of money when the wristband of his valuable timepiece was fixed by welding. The owner tried to take the watch to various watchmakers in Oslo to have it repaired. Several attempts were made to fix the wristband by, for instance gluing, but they all failed. One of these craftsmen suggested welding to fix the wristband but did not want to try it himself, in case the heat was to cause even more damage.
Welding Value
The new wristband for the valuable watch would have cost 1 500 euros. A less expensive option was to find a professional with sufficiently high-quality welding equipment. The watch owner contacted Øivind Myhre at Svinndal Gjerde & Sveiseverksted, who was attracted by the unusual challenge. He asked to have pictures of the wristband and set out to look for practical solutions for repairing it. After doing some research on the subject, Myhre discovered that the Kemppi MasterTig MLS ACDC and its MicroTack function in combination with the ACS control panel offered a solution for fixing the Rolex wristband.
Perfect connection
The wristband and its fastener were dismantled and the components cleaned of old glue and dirt. Myhre also practiced with his colleagues in advance by performing welding tests on stainless steel wire with a diameter of 1 mm.
"In the first welding test we used sunglasses and a lamp equipped with a magnifying glass," explained Myhre. "After a few spot welds, we understood that the materials of the wristband and lock behaved slightly differently from those that you normally handle by tack welding. By increasing the welding current to 135 amperes and adjusting the distance to the welding piece to 0.5 mm, the desired result was attained. The pieces were perfectly connected."
Myhre finds the result astonishing and sees limitless possibilities for performing similar special tasks with an array of Kemppi’s machines. Understandably, the happy Rolex owner praises the professional skill and flexibility he encountered at Svinndal Gjerde & Sveiseverksted.
Originally published in Kemppi ProNews 2011
Welding Value
Welding Value is a corporate blog hosted by Kemppi Oy. Its main purpose is to evoke discussion on the transformation of modern welding, and bring you the latest stories from within the global welding industry told by true experts in their respective fields.
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