Tidy-up and home-made bezel fix - Fortis Chrono

[notenoughwrists]

Got this earlier in the week - I missed it on SC a few weeks ago but contacted the new buyer in case he ever wanted to move it on, and a week later he did!

Fortis Cosmonaut Chrono with Lemania 5100 movement. Nice discreet 38-ish mm, súper comfy for me, and I love the Lemania movement. (Nice brief write-up on woundforlife.com in their Hall of Fame section, if you want)

Outstanding condition for its age (mid 90’s? Need to dive deeper to find out - but Trit lume and hollow end links), barely a mark anywhere - although quite mucky!

So, stripped it down as far as possible and gave it a bath, brush and re-assembled....



It was sold with an issue in that the bezel spins freely, no clicks. So I removed it and found the culprit:



The 3 notches on the inner part of the ring should have 3 bends of metal sticking up, basically what was cut out and left connected at one side, but these had all sheared off and were just floating around loose under the bezel.
I was hoping for a Rolex-style spring that I could fashion myself but seems I’ll need to source the original part if I can....
I’ve temporarily made it into a friction bezel, which does the job, just packed out the inside of the bezel a little with a home-made plastic insert - but would like to restore it to former glory if possible.




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[JasonM]

Looks great, you would have to measure up, but some of these may either fit or be adaptable.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/HL2100-TA...hut9:rk:8:pf:0
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/0581-Ratc...KMK:rk:35:pf:0

[notenoughwrists]

Thanks. ^^

The lume is Tritium and quite bright green now. It’s also coming off a touch. Not sure if I leave and let it age gracefully or sharpen it up with a relume.... the 5 and 7 have suffered a touch



Also, the lume on the hands is snowdrift deep!!




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[bobbee]

You could try filing/sawing half way into the old fitting next to the broken off bits, and bending the tabs up.
You won't be out of pocket, and it's at least worth a try.

[notenoughwrists]

That's a bloody good idea.... ^^