On the left is a 100 year old K&D watchmaker staking tool that was very unique for its time and remains unique today. It allows very fine micrometric adjustment as you apply pressure to a watch part. While the tool is frequently used for jeweling, here it’s being used for custom height adjustment of a watch roller table as part of adjusting the escapement of the watch in response to replacement parts requiring adaptation. A powerful characteristic of this tool is the ability to use standard staking punches and stumps. This K&D tool was only made for a short time — it was perhaps ahead of its time as watchmakers back then were more accustomed to other jeweling and adjustment approaches and also bezel set jewels in pocket watches often had fixed endshake adjustments built into the watch plate, reducing the requirement for custom adjustment that we frequently require today for modern friction fit jewels. On the right is a modern micrometric jeweling tool from Horia. Here it is used for adjusting jewel height, the watch shown will be fully disassembled and cleaned again once the point of final adjustment is reached. Micrometric adjustment is typically preferred over pushing and feeling your way through the adjustment. The Hansen tool is surprisingly precise given its age. The Horia’s spindle provides a strong feel for the work and is very easy to read. Both tools provide overwhelming value when solving difficult watchmaking problems.
