Tempus Fuggit!

I've tried focus stacking a few times and never with any success... 

I presumed I had a setting wrong, but couldn't find anything untoward in Sony's exhaustive menu system. I thought I'd have another go, and after reviewing a couple of video tutorials realised I'd simply expected too much. 

I'd assumed a decent coverage with half a dozen or even ten exposures, and each time I'd found no noticeable shift in focus point. Clearly I need to reassess the number, and this time I took forty and got the cover I needed, front to back. It was then I realised my other error...

When I got my grandfather's pocket watch out of its box, I automatically wound it up! Hence the rather over exuberance of the second hand!

Ah well, at least I've got to the bottom of it, just in time.