ESA 536.121 repairs

[speedypro1111]

Hello chaps ….who’s best to contact regarding a service/repairs on ESA 536.121 quartz movements
TIA

[twhp101]

Hello chaps ….who’s best to contact regarding a service/repairs on ESA 536.121 quartz movements
TIA

Blimey, good luck with that!

I have a 1980 fatboy so looked into that as a just in case. Still have a search set on ebay, but they rarely come up.

Olivier at ON Atelier (olli on here?) serviced mine, but parts are always going to be an issue I fear. It might be that you send it to someone to diagnose, and then wait for a donor watch to come up.

I considered selling mine for a while as parts are so tricky. Ended up keeping it, but will most likely store it without a battery. If it's a circuit you need, there is a similar part that will work, but obviously that compromises originality.

Sorry to be the bearer of not great news. Good luck with it

Olivier is definitely recommended too

[Sinnlover]

There is a substitute movement that can dropped in.
This is a problem with lots of older quartz MOD issued watches. I am dreading my Precista 89 giving up the ghost

[walkerwek1958]

There is a substitute movement that can dropped in.

Are you sure about this? When I looked into sourcing a replacement movement I found conflicting information and nothing that seemed like a reliable way forward. Folks read mistaken info on the internet and repeat it, if anyone has reliable evidence of an alternative movement being fitted successfully I`m happy to learn, despite the originality issues a replacement alternative movement is the sensible way forward......if it's possible. I`m told that an ETA 2824 will fit the fat boy case but until I see an example from a reliable source I'll class it as a 'maybe'.

One of the problems with the 536.121 is the use of plastic parts, one part is machined to take screws and invariably the threads collapse due to the aged plastic. They need reassembling very carefully and even then this can happen. As I said previously, I won't get involved with stuff like this, too much scope for problems. Those problems are compounded if the rest of the watch is a mess, I never recommend buying tatty watches in the hope of getting them fixed, far better to pay the money and buy a top notch example. Best to buy with your head not your heart and avoid looking for bargains.

I`ve restored several CWC G10s but they've all been the later post-85 slimmer cased ones that use the 955.112 or similar movement, all of which are interchangeable with new replacements still available at sensible money. I`m happy to work on these but definitely not the 536.121 version, the one in my drawer with a broken movement will be staying there a while longer!

[Carlton-Browne]

https://adventuresinamateurwatchfett...wc-g10-fatboy/

https://adventuresinamateurwatchfett...to-conversion/

[speedypro1111]

You beat me to it ,I was just about to post the above link
In my case I’m still not sure it’s possible due to crown position at 4

[Carlton-Browne]

As a matter of interest, what's the watch (or don't you want to alert people to other potential movement sources - wouldn't blame you)?

I have a couple of Bund Boccia watches and have found cheap spare movements by sourcing donors.

[speedypro1111]

As a matter of interest, what's the watch (or don't you want to alert people to other potential movement sources - wouldn't blame you)?

I have a couple of Bund Boccia watches and have found cheap spare movements by sourcing donors.

It’s a Heuer 980.023 Deep Dive
It’s too good to let it go to waste

[Carlton-Browne]

Indeed. It's unlikely somebody will be scrapping a Heuer for the movement (unless they already have a Heuer). We need to know if the 536.121 ever made it into a Timex or an Invicta (and I imagine that anybody who knows of this is keeping schtum).

[speedypro1111]

That’s the watch in the link

[Sinnlover]

Are you sure about this?

I think it’s the ISA1198-103

[speedypro1111]

https://heuerville.wordpress.com/201...e-1000m3300ft/

[ed335d]

I think it’s the ISA1198-103

The second hand fitting is slightly different to the 536.121 (.20 vs. .25)

[RLE]

I used to have a couple of cheap Hellas subs purely for the movements for my 980.023. Stupidly sold them with the Deep Dive.

They do appear from time to time. One recently appeared on SC. May be worth it for the donor though depending on how you value the Heuer.

https://forum.tz-uk.com/showthread.p...ghlight=Hellas

Were a lot cheaper when I got a couple from James

https://forum.tz-uk.com/showthread.p...-new-Arrival-)

[walkerwek1958]

I`ve a feeling I tried an 1198 and it didn`t fit, but that's several years ago and I could be mistaken, it may have been for another watch. Might be worth revisiting but it's way down my priority list at the moment. Retro-fitting a 2836 automatic looks straightforward, fitting an auto movement into a quartz watch seems wrong but it beats having a watch sitting in a drawer that's no use to anyone except as a donor for parts. Repairers tend to hoard stuff like this, I`m no exception, there's always a chance that parts will be found to make a watch a feasible restoration.