This Hafis ladies watch arrived as part of another bulk lot I picked up from a local auction house. When I first looked through the auction photos, one watch immediately caught my attention—not because of the brand, but because of the unusual blue cabochon crown. It’s not something I’ve come across very often, especially on a smaller vintage ladies watch, so I was curious to see what it was.

To be honest, I didn’t know much about Hafis. I’ve seen the name appear quite often in vintage watch listings here in New Zealand, but I’d never actually owned or worked on one. Since it was already running, I thought it would be a good opportunity to learn a bit more about the brand, service the movement, and hopefully give it a new lease on life before finding it a new owner.

First Look

Once it arrived, I was pleasantly surprised.

The watch is a petite ladies’ dress watch measuring around 23mm excluding the crown. It features a gold-plated case, an attractive champagne sunburst dial, and of course the blue cabochon crown that first caught my eye. One detail I particularly like is the absence of a seconds hand, giving the dial a clean, uncluttered look that’s typical of many elegant ladies’ dress watches from the era.

Overall, it was in decent condition for its age. The case had held up well, although there were a few tiny flecks on the dial and the mineral crystal showed the usual scratches you’d expect from decades of wear.

Identifying the Movement

Opening the case back revealed a small 17-jewel manual-wind movement.

Initially, I wasn’t sure exactly what calibre it was. The movement is stamped ST 96 and 96N, which sent me down another research rabbit hole. After comparing bridge layouts and markings, I discovered it is an FHF 96N, made by Fabrique d’Horlogerie de Fontainemelon (FHF).

This is actually the second FHF movement I’ve worked on, the first being the movement inside an Ernest Borel. It’s nice starting to recognise the similarities between movement families instead of every service feeling completely new.

One thing I really like about the FHF 96N is the bridge design. It uses a large three-quarter train bridge, where most of the wheel train sits beneath a single bridge rather than several smaller ones. It gives the movement a clean, balanced appearance and makes it surprisingly straightforward to assemble once everything is lined up.

Time for a Service

Although the watch was running, I had no idea when it was last serviced, so a full overhaul was the obvious choice.

The biggest challenge was simply its size. Ladies movements are tiny, and getting them to sit securely in my movement holder always takes a bit more patience than larger men’s movements.

Fortunately, the service itself was uneventful. Everything came apart as expected, cleaned up nicely, and went back together without any broken pivots or unpleasant surprises. Those are always the best kinds of services.

One small thing that made me smile was the mainspring. I use an inexpensive Chinese mainspring winder, and more often than not I end up having to wind the mainspring back into the barrel by hand because it simply doesn’t fit the winder. This one, however, fitted perfectly, making the job much easier and reminding me why I keep the tool on the bench in the first place.

Cleaning Things Up

I also spent a bit of time working on the dial.

There were a few small flecks that came away with careful cleaning, but some had become permanently embedded over the years. Rather than risk damaging the original finish, I decided it was best to leave them alone. I’d much rather preserve an original dial with a few imperfections than accidentally create new ones.

The mineral crystal was polished as well, which noticeably reduced the appearance of the scratches. It isn’t perfect, but it’s a significant improvement and suits the honest condition of the watch.

Final Thoughts

I probably wouldn’t have gone looking specifically for a Hafis, but I’m glad this one came along.

Every restoration teaches me something new, and this one introduced me to another quality Swiss movement while giving me a bit more confidence working on these tiny ladies calibres.

Will it make me rich? Definitely not.

But after a full service, a careful clean, and a bit of research into the brand and movement, it’s another vintage watch that’s ready to be worn again instead of sitting forgotten in a drawer. If it finds a new owner and helps fund the next restoration project, that’s a win in my book.