Restoration of a Radioactive WW2 Military Watch - German Wehrmacht - Helma AS1130
This time I´m restoring an old military watch from the 2nd world war.
It´s a Helma with an AS 1130 movement (also known as "Wehrmachts-Uhrwerk").
Based on its engraving on the caseback it´s an official military service watch worn by the german armed forces (Wehrmacht) during the war.
The missing "H" (Heer / Army) after the serial number indicates that it could have been a watch of the german air-force.
The watch is in a really bad condition. The chrome-plating of the case is heavy damaged, the glass is scratched the movement is full of dirt and broken.
I need to get rid of the old chrome-plating, this time i´m using a sandblaster for the job. After sanding and polishing the case, it´s ready for a new chrome-plating. But i need to add a layer of nickel before.
I´m using the nickel and chrome electrolyte of @TifooTech
The products are available at:
www.tifoo.de/
(Note: The nickel electrolyte is only available to commercial customers)
The glass will be polished and the movement cleaned.
I also need to remove the old radium of the hands and re-lume them with super-luminova. I will add some coffee to it to make it more "vintage-looking".
After everything is cleaned, polished and re-plated, I can re-assemble the movement with some fresh oil. After that, this watch is in a good beat (+0 seconds per day) again.
I hope you liked this restoration, if so, like, comment and subscribe ;)
Subscribe to my channel:
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Music:
"Waiting" by Andrew Langdon
"Kurt" by Cheel
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When someone is at the top of their game, it's like watching an artist paint or a singer with perfect pitch sing your favorite song. Absolutely brilliant again. Well done, bravo!
Well said 😍👌
It's enjoyable to watch a master at his craft. Not only in restoration, but also in videography and editing. This is not only how a watch should be restored but also how a video should be produced. No annoying music, talking or redundancy. Thank you for sharing.
This is an teaching example of how this type of video should be produced. Excellent photography skills and a good sense of what needs a little explanation. Tedious and/or repetitive steps are nicely sped up for the viewer. I was wondering if you can explain the volume and severity of the scratch marks on the movement. This seemed unusual. Your patience and attention to detail astounds me. These must truly be "labors of love", as there seems to be no way for you to be compensated for this much time and materials. Thank you so much for sharing!
Thanks 😊 About the scratches on the movement: I think that watch was in many watchmakers-hands in the past. Some are patient and some not 😉
@@RedDeadRestoration Do you ever sell the restorations or are they done for people who send items for you to restore?
I love the absence of music too.
This is a very extraordinary skill that requires patience and thoroughness, because the components are very small. Moreover, the parts are original and original, if one component is lost, it is very difficult to find
Add to all of these a great musical taste :)
Trade offs made for engineering sake but leaving the dial was a beautiful testimony to the painter. Bravo Zulu
You are not the watch restorer but a watch maker yourself. The kind of skills and machinery you possess, you should not limit yourself to restoring watches. Truly love your videos 👍🏼
Ich finde kaum etwas Entspannenderes als Dir zuzuschauen. Dann noch dieser Aufwand und diese Professionalität, um so ein altes Schätzchen wieder zum Leben zu erwecken. Einfach nur schön
Reading about the “Radium Girls” brought me to tears. I had cobalt radiation treatments for cancer in my head in the late 70s and I was ill with radiation sickness for months. Dying of it is just too much to think about. So sad.
It's so mesmerizing seeing someone so top of the line on his craftsmanship. Impeccable work, thank you for sharing these videos!
What a great video! Superb footage of the actual restoration, no nonsense. I love seeing craftsmen working their skills and seeing the smart special tools they have for their trade. Also love the sounds when some parts snap into their position during the reassembly. Thanks for sharing this video.
A machine from ELMA cleans the watch named HELMA. Stunning, amazing and entertaining. Could watch for hours. Thank you for these great and well made videos with all the stunning close ups.
Stunning! Not just the end result but the whole process I enjoyed immensely. Thank you
Actually, it is not the radium glowing in the dark, it is the phosphorous that emits photons when stimulated with either light (your flashlight) or radiation emitted by the radium (mainly composed of alpha particles but throw in some beta and gamma too). That’s a testament to the incabloc protection; balance good, escape wheel broken pinion. Must have been quite a jolt to the watch to snap the escape wheel pinion. A suggestion on the hands, using 1500 to 2000 grit sandpaper, polish them by rubbing the upper sided across the fine sandpaper and oil with your finger, gently of course. Then blue them with heat. I use a sand base and copper filings mixed in a crucible over a Bunsen burner. Remove the hands when correct shade of blue and immerse in oil. Clean them off. I use a water based luminous powder and white glue mixed with a tint to match the dial numeral lume. Nice job, especially love the replating that you do. Best regards, Geoff.
Nice tip, thanks I will try that 👍🏻
I was thinking something very similar... agree 100% with you opinion on the hand restoration... but it was the lume that brought me to the comment section... it was my understanding (which could be off) that the old radium dials and hands had a paint applied that was "charged" by radioactivity and it was that reaction that caused the lume.. further that the paint (possibly after 10 to 20 years or so) would eventually burn out and that is the reason why these old radium watches no longer have luminance at night... even though they are still radioactive. And that "charging" them with a flashlight as shown in the beginning of this video would have no effect on these old radium dials as it was not light exposure that caused the lume but rather elements in the paint interacting with radioactivity. All this is to say my suspicion when I saw this video was that at some point in this watches history that the hands had been relumed with a more modern material that works off of light exposure similar to the product used in the restoration. Very long winded comment I know and I apologize for that but I wanted to end by saying that this was an amazing job showing fantastic skills.
@@justafanmarvel9669 hi there! The radium powder is mixed with phosphorus powder and then a liquid medium (shellac old school, varnish, nail polish). The radium is the radioactivity source and provides the ionizing radiation which stimulated the phosphorous atom to release a photon thus emitting light. Radium 226 half life is 1600 years so that is not really the result of the fading luminescence as it would take 1600 years to convert one half of the radium on the hands/dial lume to radon. Mostly, it is the aging of the medium that carries the concoction and cements it to the hands. It oxidizes (burns) due to the radiation emitted by the radium, not the light emitted by the phosphorous. This is why you can see the dial lacquer or paint ‘burnt’ by a radium set of hands that have sat in the same position (non working) for many years while the watch was in storage. This tends to mask the glow as it browns and provides a denser material for the photons to escape from. The radium ionizing radiation is not harmful to the user as the watch case/crystal offer protection. It is however harmful if the crystal is removed and the powdered aged lume becomes airborne and is inhaled. Radium was replaced with Tritium, Promethium which have half lives of 12.3 years and 17.7 years respectively. So many vintage watches circa 1955 and newer with H3 and Pm have approximately 1/32 of the stimulating ionizing radiation available as only 1/32 of the radioactive element remains. However, H3, Pm and Ra painted dials and hands can still be stimulated by light radiation which is not ionizing. However the glow is almost over very quickly as indicated in the video. Luminova is a highly concentrated phosphorous paste that is stimulated by UV and white light. I don’t know much about the chemical composition of luminova and like products outside of the phosphorous concentrations being very high. As a science experiment, (gross and stinky, maybe but still interesting) urinate into a pot with fine sand in the bottom of it and boil away the urine. Repeat many many times. Once the many many times of urinating / boiling / urinating / boiling has been completed. You are left with a sandy dry solution of phosphorous which is an end product of cell metabolism and carried out of the body in urine. Shine a light on the sandy mixture and watch it glow! No radiation involved other then light radiation which is a non ionizing portion of the electromagnetic radiation spectrum Cheers, Geoff
@@geoffquickfall I follow and agree with most of what you wrote... however that further illustrates the point... the dial is still radioactive as you stated the half life being over a millennium, hence the component that reacts with the radiation is what no longer functions... tritium as you mentioned doesn't require exposure to light to charge but rather is constantly glowing until its reaction depletes over the course of time( decades) however it is not radioactive... which is why it is used in firearm night sights as the exposure of a firearm to light to charge as needed would be impractical. I own a ww1 Era radiolite watch and even though the hands and dial are still painted original they no longer lume at night even though the watch is still radioactive. I own newer watches that do lume at night but respond to and require light exposure to charge the effect, these watches are not radioactive... basically as I see it we are discussing 3 different technologies each working differently to create a lume... and since each is different the reactions to light exposure as a catalyst is not effective across the different methods which is why I was puzzled initially when I so the watch in the video being charged with a flashlight and its reaction in a positive to that exposure because the original factory lume wouldn't react that way so my thinking was that the dial and hands had been updated with newer tech in the past as part of an older restoration OR that this watch was somehow newer then I thought and hence was factory made with newer tech.
@@justafanmarvel9669 i think it is terminology here that may be the problem. It isn’t Radium or Tritium that glow; it is their affect on phosphorous. Tritium is radioactive, but much less so then radium by a long shot, but still radioactive. The affect tritium has on the phosphorous will decay over decades. However, as you noted, there is a timed affect on very high ionizing radiation on the phosphorous component and the carrier of the solution. It does burn, the phosphorous depletes as it forms oxidizing components which prevent the glow of the phosphorous and the carrier also oxidizes blocking the glow over time. And yes, the reaction of the lume in the original hands may have been replaced with a weak phosphorous only plus carrier (carrier being what ever the original paste was made of to adhere the paste to the hands). To your point on tritium being non radioactive, that is incorrect as it has a half life of 12.5 years. It’s just that its form of radioactivity cannot penetrate skin let alone the crystal in a watch or on your gun sight. So yes, something in the carrier and the phosphorous on a radium watch has aged (oxidized) to the point where the phosphorous compound no longer emits photons when excepted by the left over radium or the weakened tritium. Cheers, Geoff.
Some of the best videos on youtube right here. My face always lights up when i see a new RDR video in the feed
Thanks 😊
@@RedDeadRestoration Absolutely! Keep em coming!!
I would’ve kept the original crown. Great job, though.
When it comes to these sorts there are compromises but in this I agree with you. The new one does not work aesthetically.
I came to say the same thing.
Everyone beat me to it about the original crown.
I agree with you, excellent job but the original crown could have been kept.
...agree Humberto had the same thought....
I clicked on one of these videos because I couldn’t sleep now I’m down the rabbit hole and enjoying every minute of it, everything is perfect no annoying music, explaining everything and even learning a bit of watch history
I find watching these videos so relaxing and interesting, thank you for showing us a true art form.
Beautifully done sir! Another perfect video that brings me peace and harmony in uncertain times 🙏🏽💪🏽
The nickel and chrome plating came out spectacular... The complexity of those old instruments is just insane ...well done on bringing it back to life👍👍👩🔧
Quality content right here that is hard to find on youtube. Precise craftsmanship, attention to detail and no stupid background music which makes it all the more relaxing to watch, keep up the good work mate!
Around 1964, I received a luminous dial watch for Christmas. Just on a whim in physics class, I put the watch under a geiger counter. Wow, was I shocked when the counter reacted strongly. Being a teenager, I thought that was neat and put the watch back on. Now, they would probably evacuate the school and call hazmat disposal.😢
The thing is it's not problematic if worn; the problems arise when scraping these and producing radium dust. Proper disposal is necessary for this.
Você fez uma teste de radiação?
I collect military radio gear and was given a working geiger counter. one day I ran it across the military radio instrument gauges and the counter meter went off the scales- found out that the military used a heck of a lot of radium on their equipment too.
@@jurematoh we r talking about Plutonium 239? 240? Come on!
@@leonardosena6338 how's about you give the radium girls a ring and ask how they're doing. Oh, right, you can't.
Great history about the watch and always a very connected timeline that is interesting to follow through the project. Great one 👌
Wow, that watch really looked like it's been in a war! Amazing skills in every way, lovely video! So relaxing to see you working your magic! :)
Beautiful restoration, video was a joy to watch. I really could have watched the slo mo of the rinse in the elma for ages!
Incredible as a watch that has had such a bad life, it marches with 0 seconds a day, excellent work.
Oh man, I'm in love with this process. Love watching & really like it when we get two in a month. I can sleep now.....pleasingly. thank you, kind sir.
There is a 1987 documentary called Radium City that was shown on a Nova episode. It's heartbreaking to watch, knowing the girls were told nothing about the dangers, and how so many died.
At the time nobody knew the dangers of radiation not even the watch company theres really nobody to blane as far as they knew it was harmless, this was back when radiation was thought to be able to be used to cure ailments as an over the counter pharmaceutical
Fascinating, wonderful work and steady hands. Thank you for sharing.
You must have the patience of a saint - it is so therapeutic watching your videos - thanks so much and I’m now hooked
would have liked to see a radioactivity test in the end, great video
There is still a lot of radium paint on the dial so there wouldn't be much of a difference
came to see a comment about this, something i would have loved to see too.
The care taken here to prevent contamination seems quite commendable; still in all, there seem to be places during this restoration that radium residue could have escaped to the work bench. This is an extremely interesting problem that watchmakers face. I’d like to learn more about techniques and process for this kind of restoration. That is a very nice modern and compact Geiger counter I wonder where one might find one.
@@marwenyahyaoui3799 ooh so thats why he didin't clean/polished the dial
Das ist so Großartig, es macht echt spaß dir dabei zuzugucken. Und das Endergebnis ist immer fantastisch!! weiter so :D
So glad to see you treating the radium with respect.
all the detail showed are fantastic. thank you !
Love the vintage machines you use for cleaning. They're probably 80 years old, but hey, still works perfectly.
They dont look that vintage to me just well used
Am digging the slo-mo shots, especially of the balance wheel and the isopropyl alcohol.
Toll! Macht immer Spaß, einem Meister bei seiner Arbeit zuzusehen!
I love your videos 📹 Because you actually show everything what you doing! You are very precise, care,and handling! Teach for amazing skills! Well look at your job in the end of all the broken timepieces, comes back a live and historic watches, some people even higher watchmaker can't bring back of the new state of the watch like you! Masterclass! Well done mate! Keep up!
18:03 And that's where this watch shows it's true value, in the German engineering. After everything it went through, it manages to perfectly keep the time, almost as accurate as a simple quarts watch.
This is actually Swiss engineering.
@@carlosamaral6917 Yes! AS was in Grenchen, Switzerland! So honour to whom honour belongs! Or: Switzerland supported Hitler!
@@jurivlk5433 Helma was a business and they've done business with those who paid first. Nothing to do with supporting any side of the war!
@@carlosamaral6917 Of course it has a lot to do with supporting the war!!! If You don't believe it, try to make business with Iran, Cuba, North Korea...Uncle Sam will explain it! The Swiss were very friendly with the Nazis and collaborated with them.
@@jurivlk5433 Juri, in business we can't see things in such a straight way. The Swiss were also selling watches to the allies. All the countries were using Swiss watches no matter if they were from the axis or allies. The only exception were the Japanese that used to be supplied by Seiko. Back in the time, the Japanese watches didn't have the indestructible and high quality reputation they have today, so buying Swiss was the only way to go. Some Italian military had a few Panerai, but at same time, they were supplied by Swiss too. You're talking about Iran... As far as I know Americans and Europeans make business with Iran. Don't they use Apple, Microsoft, Google, VW, Audi, BMW, Jeep, Ford, Opel, etc? Cuba and North Korea are just enclosed countries living on a communist bubble, but they end up buying some western products as well. The Swiss were neutrals and being neutral means dealing with both sides. Same has happened with my country, Portugal.
Your work is so profesional. The pasión and love that you put to your work will be rewarded ❤
Fantastic video very intriguing and fun to watch bringing a vintage watch like that back from the DEAD is amazing
Ahhhh the perfect Friday. Thanks for the great video and what an amazing looking watch my friend!
Sehr schöne Arbeit, tolle klassische schlichte Uhr, gefällt mir sehr gut. Das einzige was ein wenig wie ein Fremdkörper wirkt ist die neue Krone.
I wish they would put its retail value in the description! I love watching these and marveling at the craftsmanship!
I don't know why this was so satisfying to WATCH. Excellent work
Excellent video! Amazing results! I appreciate the effort you put forth and your willingness to share. Thank you👍🏻😊
The change you've made is incredible. Additionally the details about radioactivity are amazing... However, I would still like to see you restore the crown in a narrower and wider as similar to the original.
Well done, I love these simple hand wound movement's, try using nail lacquer to preserve the marking while polishing.
I love the precision of your entire work it is so satisfying
There are craftsmen and there are artists, you are an artist-craftsman, you make a symphony, thank you.
The best in restoring old clocks, requires high precision and patience👍👍 success and always healthy 🙏
Stunning to "watch" and a true example of craftsmanship at its best.
honestly i feel like i should be paying just to watch lol this is beautiful. every part of it
I was mesmerized. Loved the video and Love the vintage watch.
Incredible job! It turned out just beautiful.
I’m pretty sure I could compete with your socks, but the absolute perfection you bring to the world is so exciting and satisfying Warm regards from Moscow!
Deine Videos sind und bleiben einfach Top!! Bitte mach so weiter und setzte Qualität weit, weit vor Quantität, so wie du es jetzt machst. Diese Qualität vom Video und vor allem deiner Arbeit ist Klasse 👍🏻
Danke ich werde es versuchen 😉
Simply stunning you're blowing me away dude!!!
Your videos bring my brain peace. Truly you are a master craftsman. I cannot fathom how you are able to remember reassembly steps.
Yellow socks adorned with cherries, made me laugh....you can't beat a bit of dry humour. Great videos, thank you for taking the time to educate us all.
Such a wonderful video as always. I laughed so hard when you put the face and hands into the radioactive tub. We'll done sir, brilliant!
how was it possible for you to comment 3 days ago, when he just uploaded the video? Did you get the link when it was private?
@@TheSmokeRecords YES! I am a Patreon of RDR and we get the videos early and also get other behind the scenes stuff. It's really worthwhile. I have even purchased a restored item. I highly recommend becoming a Patreon.
Hi @@lucashipkins from where did you purchase a restored item? Hey s there a shop dedicated to the restored items of this great channel?
@@behnamkakavand You need to join his Patreon. It is well worth the monthly payment. I highly recommend it.
@@lucashipkins that’s true and already joined just few minutes ago
I like learning about watches from these videos. Because of these videos I value my watches even more!
Another excellent video, thank you for sharing your time, efforts and skills with us....👏👏
What a great video. As an amateur watchmaker i learned a lot from your videos.
Great video, thank you for sharing. The decomposed Radium lume is more dangerous than the radiation itself, the dust is nocive and therefore wearing a safety mask while disassembling and cleaning the watch is a good advice for anyone who likes to restore those watches.
And from what I've been learning, first uncasing the watch is probably releasing some radon gas that should be addressed with good ventilation...don't want to be breathing that either.
@@tybertimus Radon have a half life of 3,8 days... The magic behind these watches, is the radium. Nowadays everything is "Awn this that bla bla ..." Snow flakes.
Attention to detail is outstanding
After a hard week, I sit down and watch(get it), one of these vids. Very calming.
I've just discovered this channel 2 days ago and i've been obssessed with these videos it's so relaxing to watch amazing handy work ❤
Thanks 😊
Ain't it grand. I fell for the job right off.
You haven't restored a watch. You've written a poem! Congratulations!
What a beautiful watch. Thanks for sharing.
You are at a whole different level of restoration my friend. Excellent
Восхищаюсь вашим отношением к реставрации часов! Отличная работа!
Циферблат со стрелками вечь усратый , корпус как был весь в царапинах так и остался. У нее реально проблемы со зрением и головой!!!
@@user-eb9df3qv9l да и барашек можно было оригинальный оставить
@@user-eb9df3qv9l ваш уровень оценки качества совпадает полностью с моим -))) Вы бы гармонично вписались в мою команду -)
Потрясающая у Вас работа😲👍
Absolutely stunning!
Your job is excellent. Its delicate,precisely and professional
Magnífico trabalho. Parabéns
Great work, sad to hear of the radium girls 👍🏾
This is so compelling that I just watched it again!
Fantastic job, restored a piece of history 👍
Отличная работа! Респект 👍
Even the “Escape Wheel” could not escape that terrible regime without breaking.
My grandfather was a watch repairman at his shop at Fort Meade. Years of working on watches for servicemen that had radium dials ultimately gave him bone cancer. We lost him in 1986.
Brilliant restoration, loved the final touch with a British forces G10 watch strap.
The poisoning issue reminded me about the old Timex factory in Dundee. The employees were predominantly female who apparently would keep a little of the coating aside & then use it as a cosmetic by coating their teeth with it before heading off to impress their male Jockanese counterparts at the local strobe lit disco! Even a quick snog back then could have had serious consequences...... The serious point here is that by then we were already well aware of hazardous material lsuch as phosphorus. The Trades Union movement used to cite the case of Annie Beasant at the Bryant & May match factory in East London. Again a predominantly female workforce had to eat their food at the workbench & the inevitable contamination would lead to Phossy Jaw-a condition where the phosphorus would eat into the jawbone. Works canteens were introduced as a direct result of this.
any way we can a watch for restoration. l have a similar Omega watch ?
Another great video as always! I would like to ask though, given that radium was used in quite a few watches, how or where would the radioactive material be disposed of? I have seen the little canister you scraped the material off in be used a number of times but is it part of a disposal service that you use or does it need to be dropped off at a specific center?
In germany there are special centers that will take care of that stuff
Beautiful. Nice work. Thanks for the beautiful video. 🙏🏻👍🏻
Awesome,work ,pure skill..its also vey therapeutic watching you work.
великолепная работа!
Absolutely fantastic video and I love all your attention to detail and safety precautions. That being said however, I was disappointed that since you went through all the trouble of showing us the radioactivity of the watch at the beginning of the process, why didn't you show us the expected reduction in radioactivity after the restauration?
Excellent job, very satisfying. Cheers
awesome job there! big fan of your work! keep posting!
Спасибо за материал 👍 Очень качественно снято видео, информативно и познавательно 🤗 Сколько эти часы теперь стоят?
Not a huge fan of watches, but a WW2 era military watches will always pique my interest
Amazing the before and after shots.
idk why but the sounds of things snapping into the places are so ridiculously satisfying...
I'm sorry, who disliked this video? This is amazing.
Probably from the overhype of the radiation. 1.2 or 2.8 mSv isn't really anything strong, you need 100+ over a matter of minutes to even increase your chances of cancer or to initiate the break down of any cell in your body. There are mostly warnings for short dosages of 500+ mSv. Or they're jerks.
Did you manually polish the glass for 1 hour? Waw, that’s awesome 😎
Yes, but it doesn't feel awesome on my thumb 😅
Absolutely amazing job!
Excelent work, please keep doing so great as so far
How in the hell did they make those tiny gears/parts back in those days……. So cool. 👍🏻👍🏻
Is that a transparent box from Ferrero Rocher? 😜 Great video, as usual!! Love your work. Cheers from Italy!! ☺️
Yes it is 😅
@@RedDeadRestoration you are a master!! 😃
Tolle Handwerkskunst. Sehr schön restauriert. Gern mehr
A true craftsman and excellent work.