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Letting Down the Mainspring / Watchmaker tool

Now that you have opened the back and accessed the movement (or the guts) of the watch, the first step is called "letting down" the Mainspring.  The mainspring is a long piece of steel ribbon that is rolled up and held tightly inside a cylinder called the "Mainspring Barrel". In this state, the mainspring is under constant pressure because it is a fairly rigid material that wishes to lay flat, and not be rolled up.  When a watch is wound, this mainspring is rolled up even tighter which stores the energy needed to run the watch.  The task at hand is to make sure the watch is not wound at all. This is done by "Letting Down"  or unwinding the watch.

Taking a wound watch apart could not only damage your watch, but will most definitely send pieces zinging all around your workshop.  The proper way to let down the mainspring is a bit tricky.  Wind the watch a bit so you can observe the moving parts and locate the "click".  A "click" is a tiny metal stopper that clicks every time it passes over a gear. (it is marked on the labeled picture).  Its purpose is to let the "Mainspring Ratchet Wheel" (that's the big gear) turn in only one direction (i.e. the wind direction) and stops the mechanism from going in the opposite direction (i.e. the unwind direction). Get a wooden skewer or large toothpick handy (watchmakers use a sharpened bit of pegwood that you can order from a jewelry supplier). Hold the watch in one hand with your thumb and index finger on the "crown".  A "Crown" is the term for the button that you turn to wind and set a watch.  Turn the crown in the wind direction slightly to release pressure on the "click". The click will move out of the way a bit of the "mainspring ratchet wheel". When you see this, use the point of the toothpick or skewer to push the click further out of the way in such a way that it disengages completely from the gears.  Now hold it carefully this way and VERY SLOWLY release your grip on the Crown.  If you have done it right you will notice that the crown will begin turning in the unwind direction between your fingers.  Slowly let the watch unwind completely.

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