Few authors have devoted their lives to documenting, gesture by gesture, the restoration of antique watches. Archie B. Perkins is one of them — and his Antique Watch Restoration, published in three volumes by the AWCI (American Watchmakers-Clockmakers Institute), has become the world reference manual for any serious restorer of antique pocket watches and wristwatches. Volume III (2017, 256 pages, in English) closes out the series and concentrates on its own some of the most eagerly awaited chapters.
Who is Archie B. Perkins?
Archie Perkins is an American master watchmaker, a legendary instructor at the Joseph Bulova School of Watchmaking and later at the North Bennet Street School, and the author of several reference works published by the AWCI (The Modern Watchmakers Lathe and How to Use It, Antique Watch Restoration vols. I to III). His distinguishing trait: he writes for the bench watchmaker, the one who must make a part that no longer exists as a spare — an untraceable balance staff, a hairspring for a 19th-century calibre, a custom-made winding stem. Where many books describe the result, Perkins describes the process, with precise technical drawings and workshop photographs.
What Volume III covers
This third volume completes the first two (escapements, balances, plates, bridges, tool sharpening) by tackling the most delicate components to recreate:
- Hairspring making and shaping — the most eagerly awaited chapter: hardening, alloy selection, manual shaping of the terminal curve (Breguet, Phillips), pinning, matching with the balance. This is probably the best publicly available documentation on the artisanal making of a hairspring for an antique watch.
- Regulators — making and adjusting regulating devices (swan-neck, index regulators, patented 19th-century systems), with original templates and dimensions.
- Dials and hands — enamel restoration, chip repair, remaking hand-blued hands (spade, pear, Breguet), reshaping and repolishing.
- Winding stems and balance staffs — machining on the bench lathe, cutting squares, threading, fitting. An essential chapter for any watchmaker working on orphan calibres.
- Barrels — repairing hooks, remaking arbors, fitting covers, riveting.
- Flat springs and screws — click springs, setting-lever springs, blued screws, remaking non-standard threads.
Each chapter is treated with the same method: brief theory, required equipment, tolerances, detailed gestures, common pitfalls, final checks. The reader is treated as a future practitioner, not as a spectator.
Who is this book for?
The title is explicit: antique watch restoration. Perkins writes for those working on collectible pieces, often predating 1950, for which no spare part is commercially available. This includes:
- Independent restorers specialising in antique pocket watches and wristwatches;
- Watchmakers at “Heritage” manufactures who restore archive pieces;
- Advanced collectors who already master basic gestures and want to progress towards fabrication;
- CFC / CAP / WOSTEP graduates who wish to extend their practice into antique work.
The level is demanding: Perkins does not re-explain what he already covered in volumes I and II. Prior reading of the first two volumes is strongly recommended. The English, though highly technical, is clear and poses no major difficulty for a French-speaking watchmaker used to international vocabulary.
Why this book is irreplaceable
Damien Brugger, a watchmaking restorer and specialist bookseller, describes it as a first choice — and the expression is apt. Few books published since the 1970s document the artisanal making of a hairspring or a balance staff with such precision. Modern school manuals (Reymondin, Jendritzki) assume spare parts are available; Perkins assumes there are none and teaches how to make them. It is this difference that makes Antique Watch Restoration Vol. III a work without equivalent in a professional restorer's library.
Restoration presupposes solid fundamentals: acquire them with our online watchmaking course, or start with watchmaking for beginners if this is your first movement.
Frequently asked questions
Do you need to have read volumes I and II before volume III?
Yes, strongly recommended. Volumes I (escapements, balances) and II (plates, bridges, tooling) establish the vocabulary, tolerances and basic techniques that volume III builds on without re-explaining them. The three volumes form a coherent curriculum.
Where can I buy Antique Watch Restoration Vol. III?
Directly from the AWCI (American Watchmakers-Clockmakers Institute, Harrison, Ohio), its publisher, or from international specialist watchmaking booksellers (Watchprint, MisterChrono, Watkins). 2017 edition, English language only.
Is the book accessible to an amateur?
To an advanced amateur, yes — provided they already have a bench lathe, basic watchmaking tools, and several years of practice. Perkins writes for the practitioner: every page assumes a bench and trained hands. For a beginner, it is better to start with school manuals (Reymondin, Jendritzki, de Carle) before tackling Perkins.
Want to progress towards watch restoration? The Décalibre curriculum covers, in macro video, the fundamental gestures (disassembly, inspection, reassembly, adjustment) on which Perkins-style antique restoration is later built.