Reply With Quotegood skills! really interesting face n this colet, loks great with the rubber too
Finished this one last week, I won't state the total cost but lets just say you would be buying a basic Seiko for the same amount :wink:
This was my first quartz chronograph service and also my first experience of changing a crown. The ETA 251.262 is one of the most complex quartz chronographs around so I undertook a big challenge and thankfully succeeded. Its nice to have something to show for all the hours work I have put in, my main aim is to use these projects to aid my learning process and get some practice working on whole watches rather than parts. Its definitely a plus to have something this nice to keep at the end though.
http://raulhorology.com/my-best-proj...5-eta-251-262/
A bit of a long read this one, due to the amount of work, but interesting all the same. IMO obviously :)
Anyway, now for the part your all really interested in, a selection of the pictures!
Luke
Last edited by RaulGonzalez; 4th March 2013 at 19:27.
good skills! really interesting face n this colet, loks great with the rubber too
very good work there watch looks excellent. can i ask what course you are doing?
Thanks :)
Originally Posted by PWatch
Thanks, I'm studying the WOSTEP 3000hr course at the BSoW in Manchester.
ah so full time then by the looks of it! ive often wondered if evening classes for things like this are available think i will have a scout around.Thanks, I'm studying the WOSTEP 3000hr course at the BSoW in Manchester.
3000 hours is a serious amount of training, good luck with the course
The WOSTEP course is full time only and the students are usually sponsored by one of the schools founding companies. There are a few private students but you need to have extremely deep pockets! I believe the BHI run some short courses at their Upton Hall headquarters in Newark. Not in the same league as the WOSTEP training in my opinion but good enough for someone who wants to do it as a hobby.
ah so full time then by the looks of it! ive often wondered if evening classes for things like this are available think i will have a scout around.Thanks, I'm studying the WOSTEP 3000hr course at the BSoW in Manchester.
Thanks. I'm half way through in two weeks time :D
Great skills, well done. I wish I had a steady hand :(
Great result. 8)
Getting that train wheel bridge back on is a real treat isn't it. :| There's fun to be had with the stators on that calibre too, if you happen to get them mixed up, the watch runs/ticks backwards. :shock: .... quartz watches eh. :mrgreen:
Rich.
Thanks :D
Yeah the train bridge can be :evil: at times. Good fun though :)
Looks good. I would love to be able to do it.
I'm always impressed when I watch a watchmaker in action, it just looks soooooo complicated!
Wow, I had no idea a quartz could be broken down into so many components and service like that, I though they were a bit more 'disposable'... impressive stuff, please keep posting!
Most of the Swiss quartz movements can be serviced, its just that the time taken to service them normally outweighs the cost of fitting a new one so they are usually just exchanged. I guess this is why most people presume that they are disposable.
The quartz movements found in the average joe's Sekonda or fashion watch are normally completely disposable and made up of plastic parts. These movements made by companies like Hattori (Division of Seiko) usually cost a couple of quid.
Don't worry, plenty more posts to come although I am in need of some new projects :)
Well done Luke, I think you can justifiably be rather proud of yourself :salute:
An excellent result and a very interesting and informative article as usual, keep up the good work and all the best with your course.
Cheers,
Gary
Thanks for the comments once again Gary :)
I'm looking forward to your update on the Rolex case repair and seeing how good your watchmaker gets at using the lapping machine. I'm thinking of trying to make a smaller version myself as the starburst grain is my favourite finish and I'd love to refinish my Speedmaster MKII case myself. Those lapping machines also get nice crisp edges that you just can't achieve with a polishing wheel.
Thanks Luke, as I think I mentioned on my thread my watchmaker is having some training at Rolex on how to lap the crown side of the case, unfortunately this won't be until November though. He currently refinishes this side by hand and although the results are very impressive the process is pretty long winded and time consuming for him. He's hoping the lapping machine will speed the process up considerably.
He did show me an Omega Speedmaster 4.5 (176.0012) that he relapped (for a friend of mine and forum member) and the results were good. Getting a consistent graining in terms of both depth and radial angle is proving quite a challenge but he's developed quite a few techniques by trial and error on old cases.
Cheers,
Gary
Sounds like he's getting on well with it then. November will be here before you know it judging by how quick this year has gone, I'll keep an eye on the thread.
Is that my one Gary?
He hasn't let me know that it's done yet, I've been waiting patiently.........
Sounds like I need to give him a call.
BTW to the OP - great job.
This is the 251.262 chronograph movement I think, and I recall that the same watchmaker that Gary refers to told me that it was a toss up as to whether to service this movement, or buy a new one. He reckoned a new one was probably cheaper.
I perfectly undersand that the service is the thing that you are training up on, so replacement was never an option for you, but I wanted to ask what your comments on the movement were. Does it seem to be a movement designed to be serviced over a considerable lifetime, or does it seem to be one that would be better replaced?
I mean in terms of ease of stripping and re-assembling, and so forth.
Dave
thank you- this was a really cool read, overall- it looked a bit daunting to put it all together. how much would work like this cost if you paid for it to be professionally done please?
Yes Dave, sorry I assumed that he'd been in touch but I know he's very busy at the mo. I saw it on Saturday and Rocco said he was going to give you a call, probably just slipped his mind.
Cheers,
Gary
Yes it does look like its designed to be serviced. The layout and assembly is pretty good, to be honest the hardest part of servicing it is fitting the train bridge, the rest is pretty straightforward. I would imagine the cost of the time taken to service it is very close to the cost of a replacement movement. So if I was servicing it for a customer so to speak, I would probably lean towards a movement exchange. When the time comes that movements are no longer available, this is a calibre that can definately be serviced so it's longevity is good in my opinion.
Is that my one Gary?
He hasn't let me know that it's done yet, I've been waiting patiently.........
Sounds like I need to give him a call.
BTW to the OP - great job.
This is the 251.262 chronograph movement I think, and I recall that the same watchmaker that Gary refers to told me that it was a toss up as to whether to service this movement, or buy a new one. He reckoned a new one was probably cheaper.
I perfectly undersand that the service is the thing that you are training up on, so replacement was never an option for you, but I wanted to ask what your comments on the movement were. Does it seem to be a movement designed to be serviced over a considerable lifetime, or does it seem to be one that would be better replaced?
I mean in terms of ease of stripping and re-assembling, and so forth.
Dave
Breitling would charge about £300 for the service I believe which would include hands and a new crown. The glass on this model is mineral so I'd guess at about £50-60 for that. Not cheap that's for sure!
A good independent would probably charge a bit less. As mentioned previously, the movement would probably be exchanged rather than serviced due to cost.
Hope this helps :)
Another great read Luke, sad as it may sound I get quite excited when I see these threads posted by you (told you it sounded sad!). I think you've done yourself proud here, I'd love to possess a skill like this where I could effectively bring items; especially Swiss watches, back from the dead, good on ya' mate :wink:
Good work another enjoyable post, loving watching your work.
Craig
Thanks. I'll try not to keep you waiting too long for the next one :wink:
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