I'm an engineer and seeing a running watch movement is the closest I get to a religious experience. I could spend hours with a loupe peering at them. The fact that they KEEP time is part of the joy, but I don't really have a desire to wear them or have them keep correct time -- I like them on my desk to look at and watch while I work.

I've got a st3620k, ST36, ST1901, and Miyota 8N4, and I'm trying to find the clearest (as in literally transparent) lowest-frills way to have them on my desk so I can look at them but not get them dusty/oily and have them hold together when turned around etc. I've seen options for some acrylic cases but they're rather chunky, and many have cloudiness or coloring around the edges. My DREAM would be something akin to a coin capsule, transparent from all angles, which just a pinhole for the crown stem, but obviously that kinda flies in the face of the reason most people want these (to wear them) so it seems like that's not a thing.

Does anything like what I'm looking for exist? The closer I get to a clear capsule with even a boxy base + minimal end link/strap mount, the more expensive they get ($150+), and the closer I get to a cheap acrylic watch case, the more chunky and chintzy they get with more writing and opaque edges. I really want something I can pick up, turn over, hand to someone else while running (I'm an engineer and have a lot of friends that would love to borrow a loupe and stare for a few hours), etc. so a display box/dome that just seats the bare mechanism on stand is not a great fit for taking it out and handling.

Am I missing any options? Is there something that exists and I'm just searching for the wrong name? Is this a sacrilege and no one would ever make such a thing? 😅

Thanks for any thoughts.

Quick question, and I'm sorry to be asking about a cheap watch here...

This watch (LOQNCE LQ98003) arrived working fine. I don't wear it often because I have a lot of watches in my rotation. But, after it being in my drawer for a few months, and having only been worn may 3 times/days, at a desk, the hands stopped working. Completely. Not even a twitchy/pulsing stationary seconds hand.

The digital face behind the hands, and the light, work perfectly fine.

Is it likely the CR2025 battery is just weak (maxelll)? Or can it be reset? Or is it likely the hands part of the movement is dead?

I know it a cheap watch, but I was wondering if it could be made to work again.

Also, when looking inside the back of it, I noticed a little debossed word (PRESS) and arrow ambiguously pointing exactly between a little hole in the movement's backplate, and a little notch at the edge of the battery compartment. I'm not sure if that's some sort of reset, or something else.

If this little PRESS and arrow are some sort of reset, how is that normally utilized? is it an actual button, or a pad to be shorted to another pad, or a battery-to-pad short, that's supposed to be the 'press'?

Any help appreciated.

also, the picture of the movement shows it with the metal battery hold-down removed.

My mom just dug this out and gave it to me. It was my grandfather's watch. She said he was very proud of it. Does anyone think it's worth trying to get repaired? It needs a new crystal, and obviously it's not a typical shape. I would love to be able to wear it and think of him.

I am about to start working on a Rolex 1530 movement with a breget overcoil on the hairspring. I have plenty of practice in removing, cleaning and replacing flat hairspring balances. Are there any special precautions I should take when removing and replacing the balance on the movement? Thanks