Workshop Hints
Repair marks

 

This Hints sheet ONLY applies to BHI members.

All members who repair any timepiece use their own individual repair scribe mark to identify their work. The Art and Antiques squad at Scotland Yard have suggested that if such marks could be standardised on a nationwide basis, it would enable the police to restore valuable timepieces to their owner.

It has now been agreed by the Institute, in association with Scotland Yard, that each member use the last 3 digits of his or her membership number as their repair scribe mark. This change is effective from 1st July 1996.

Those members who only use a mark to show they worked on it and a date are asked to replace their mark with the 3 digit code and a date.

For example repairer THS, whose last 3 digits are 123, repaired the item on 2/4/96 could mark the item

123
2/4/96

Those members who also put on some form of serial number should add their code to either the front or back of their serial number.

For example clock repair number 96-2845 repaired by repairer with their last 3 digits as 123 could mark the clock as

123
96-2845

The membership database will be retained at Upton Hall and the police will phone on a regular basis to check the relevant repair numbers. They will then hopefully be able to return the stolen item more readily.

As a consequence of this standardisation it will be essential that repair records are kept longer than the statutory minimum of 6 years required by the VAT office.

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