George Nelson Clock Hand / Quartz Movement Replacement Guide

IMPORTANT!
Use caution, you can damage irreplaceable body parts of your clock. Work on a soft surface that will not scratch or damage your clock. Read and pay close attention to each step when disassembling because you will be re-assembling. ALL Vitra produced clocks use the same German quartz movement that we ship. A few models use a special longer minute hand shaft (Polygon, Wheel and Fan Clocks) that you can remove and reuse from your old movement.

STEP 1
Before any repair work, always remove the battery to stop your clock. It is easiest to press the battery in towards the spring / negative end and pull the positive end up at the angle shown.

STEP 2
Pry off the red second hand by grabbing the middle and lifting directly upward. It can be helpful using fingernails to get beneath it. If your clock does not have a second hand, skip this step.

STEP 3
Unscrew the nut that holds the minute hand in place. It unscrews counterclockwise. On clocks without a second hand, there is a closed nut that holds your minute hand in place; you will unscrew it counterclockwise.

NOTE: If the minute hand fell off or is loose, the nut may have come undone.

STEP 4
Lift the minute hand off by grabbing it near the shaft and pull upward. You may need to wiggle it gently side to side. It should come off easily. All minute hands attach the same way. Notice that the minute hand hole has two parallel sides and slides on the shaft in one position only.

IMPORTANT: If you see something stuck inside the minute hand as shown above, it is part of the old movement and the closed nut holding it in place. The minute hand is always a flat sheet of metal on Vitra produced clocks. Compare the old movement to the new one and you will see a metal tip on the new one that is absent on your old movement. This is what is stuck in your minute hand; it's not because we sent the wrong movement.  In most cases, once you loosen the closed nut, the metal cylinder will pop out. If it does not, with the bottom of the minute hand facing down, press firmly against a scratch resistant surface to pop out the metal cylinder or use pliers to dislodge.

STEP 5
Pry the hour hand off by grabbing it near the center and pull upward. You may need to wiggle it gently side to side. It will require more force than the minute hand. Note the bottom collar design on the hour hand in the photo of it removed. All hour hands insert into the movement the same way.

STEP 6
Remove the 2 screws holding the back cover plate with a Phillips screwdriver. Caution: if you are using a a poor quality screwdriver, it is easy to strip these screws. If this occurs, you'll need to drill them out. We have replacement screws should you need them. Set the plate and screws aside. Mark with a piece of tape or pencil where the bottom of the movement is oriented before removing it. This will help you align the new movement correctly so the battery compartment is accessible when you reattach the cover.

STEP 7
Carefully remove the fixing nut. The fixing nut attaches the movement to your clock. You may use a flathead screwdriver but use caution as it is easy to slip and damage the face of your clock. Shown is the fixing nut key we ship with our replacement movements designed specifically for this task. When removing the nut, press down into the slot and turn the nut counter-clockwise to loosen. As soon as it is loose enough, hand-loosen remainder until the movement comes off. You may need to hold the movement in place to keep it from spinning with the nut.

STEP 8
Remove the spacer washers from the old movement and place on the new movement. Unless there is damage to a washer, it is best to reuse them since they create the correct thickness padding. Only replace if necessary.

STEP 9
With the washers in place, slide the new movement into the clock. The battery opening must be positioned so that you can easily change the battery and access the green disc once the back place is reinstalled. Check by placing the back plate on, but do not reattach it yet.

STEP 10
Starting by hand-tightening clockwise, attach the movement to the clock with the fixing nut. Be mindful that the battery compartment remains in the correct position on the back as it may rotate with your turns. You may use one hand to tighten, and one hand to hold the movement in place from the back.

Use our fixing nut key to tighten the rest of the way until the movement is firmly in place; do not overtighten. Again, use caution not to slip and scratch the front of the clock.

STEP 11
Screw the rear plate back in place. Make sure you can still access the battery compartment and green dial. If not, loosen the fixing nut enough to rotate the movement accordingly, and re-tighten.

STEP 12
You will now synchronize the hour and minute hands. Carefully press the minute hand in place. Remember, the minute hand hole has two flat sides and only aligns and slides onto the movement shaft in one position. Once it drops in place, turn the green dial until the minute hand is pointing to 12. Remove the minute hand; be careful not to rotate the hand or dial from the 12 position.

TIP: It may be difficult to tell which is the 12 position from the front. Look at the back of your clock and find the wall mount hole. The 12 position clock segment aligns with this hole.

STEP 13
Carefully slide the hour hand onto the shaft pointing it to the 12 position. Remember the flat side faces up. Apply gentle downward pressure until the hour hand is completely inserted into the movment shaft. Do not press further once it is firmly in place.

STEP 14
Re-insert the minute hand onto the shaft the same as Step 12. Both the hour and minute hands should be pointing to the 12 position. If they are not, remove both hands and repeat steps 12-13.

STEP 15
Screw the open nut (or closed nut if no second hand) on clockwise to hold the minute hand in place. It needs to be on tight or else it may gradually work its way off and disappear. It also is possible to overtighten so the minute hand does not move freely enough. We recommend starting tight, and loosening it later if needed. If you find your clock running slow a minute or so per day (and the battery is new and the hands aren't touching), the nut may need to be tighter or loosened. Observe the minute hand around the 11 to 1 positions and 5 to 7 positions. If it is on too tightly, the minute hand may stick around 12 position; if this is the case, loosen the nut counterclockwise a quarter turn. If it is on too loose, the minute hand may slip momentarily around the 6 position; tighten it a clockwise a quarter turn.

STEP 16
For models with a second hand: re-install the second hand by pressing it down into the center of the shaft.

STEP 17
Rotate the green dial clockwise to make sure the hands are clearing each other at all points on your clock. Inspect this at an angle. You may need to slightly bend the minute hand slightly upwards on both ends to for it to clear the hour hand and the second hand slightly upwards to clear the minute hand. Both hands are bendable for this reason. If the hands touch at any point, it will cause your clock to run slow. ALWAYS use the green dial to set the time. Changing the time by rotating the minute hand is the leading cause of the minute hand becoming stripped.

STEP 18
Insert a new AA battery. We recommend Energizer Ultimate Lithium which are leakproof and should last x4 longer than alkaline (do not use a rechargeable version). We also like Duracell alkaline. Angle the battery in as shown, pressing into the negative end (left side), and then press the positive side down. If you find your clock is running slow a few days later, replace the battery and check Step 17. If it still runs slow, check Step 15.

FINISHED. CONGRATULATIONS!
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