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How to Remove the Stem From the ISA 1198/12

An ISA 1198/12 is a common watch movement made by Cas-Ker, an American and Swiss watchmaking company. The watch movement in the internal engine gives a watch its time keeping property. A movement stem is what's used to set the time on a watch. Removing the stem from the 1198/12 is straightforward, but extracting the movement for the watch case presents a slight challenge. However, with a few watch maker tools you can remove a damaged stem from a watch movement with relative ease.

Things You'll Need

Case opener
Small watch maker's screwdriver
Movement pad or small piece of linoleum

Instructions

- 1
  Open the back of the watch case by fitting the case opener tool onto the back of the watch and turning it counterclockwise. Remove the back case and set it aside.
- 2
  Locate the setting lever screw, characterized by its red head. Fit the small watch maker's screwdriver onto the setting lever screw and spin the screwdriver only one and half revolutions counterclockwise.
- 3
  Unscrew the three case clamp screws found around the perimeter of the watch movement with a small watch maker's screwdriver.
- 4
  Cover the back of the watch with a movement pad or a small piece of linoleum. Hold the pad against the back of the watch firmly and flip the watch. Gently lift the case up to separate it from the watch movement.
- 5
  Flip the movement onto its backside and turn the step so it's pointing to the right. Locate a screw with a large diameter head on the side of the stem closet to you. Follow the screw to the "F" shaped spring it's holding in place.
- 6
  Fit the tip of the small watch maker's screwdriver between the forks of the "F" shaped spring. Gently depress the spring by applying a slight pushing force on the screwdriver. Pull the stem away from the watch movement while the spring is depressed.

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