Hello. I’m new here and hope this is the correct area to post my question. I am a hobbyist watch repairer with coming up to 10 years experience and have only worked on a few Omega watches to date.

I was recently contacted by a gentleman who lives near to me - he heard I was a hobbyist watch repairer and was looking for advice. Unfortunately his wife put his vintage omega 30T2 through the washing machine and he said despite drying it out on a radiator for a few days it wasn’t running. Concerned for the welfare of both the watch and his wife I said bring it over asap so I could properly strip /clean / inspect and reassemble. Upon arrival, the gent gave me a box of parts, and said he’d already stripped it. My heart sank.

I firstly checked nothing was missing. All parts and screws were present and the balance and cock had been refitted in the main plate for safe keeping. A good start.

However things took a turn for the worst when I inspected the balance. It would not run smoothly when air was applied to the rim via a puffer. I noted the breguet coil was distorted and the coils were not concentric. Upon removing the balance I found the dial side pivot very worn and worst of all the impulse jewel was missing. Once I removed the stud from the cock the hairspring went concentric and flat again, and the distortion of the breguet coil was much clearer.

Manipulation of the hairspring isn’t a problem, but I don’t feel competent enough to replace the impulse jewel, or replace the staff as my neatness isn’t up to a high standard yet.

So my question is what might be the best approach to take? If I try to source a balance complete, how do I find a compatible calibre? Is there a database available to me to find calibres with suitable donor balances?

Apologies for the lengthy post… Im usually more concise but wanted to set out the situation. I hope the photos are helpful

Thank you in advance, and should you need additional information to assist me, please let me know.

 

I'm not sure how much a balance complete for something of this age would go for these days, but given replacement of balance staffs was once a very routine task, given you can't really break it any more, why not give it a go? worst case you learn something?

At the very least, a replacement balance staff and a box of assorted roller jewels should be easier to source than a balance complete I would imagine.

 

From the look of the overcoil on the hairspring, my guess is that a rank amateur has tried fixing the watch! Time to call for help. The hairspring can be salvaged, and replacing a balance staff is a cake walk. If you locate a replacement balance complete, turn the job over to the same Neanderthal, and you’ll be even deeper into this mess! Sorry if truth hurts!

 

I’d LOVE to see the completed repair!

 

No pain felt. But you've misinterpreted the events. The watch was run through a washing machine by mistake. The owner believed he was doing the correct thing by disassembling it, drying it out, and then bringing it to me. It's more likely the breguet coil was damaged when the owner unwittingly tried to protect it by installing it back onto the main plate. Ordinarily, in safe hands, this would be a good idea. As for the impulse jewel, that was probably broken due to poor handling by the owner - but that part is supposition. I may have a beard and furrowed brows, but not Neanderthal man!

 

well since you will be taking off the roller table to replace the balance staff anyway, its a good time to put in a replacement roller jewel anyway.
It should be a slot cut all the way through the roller table.

I assume you dont have the original jewel anymore? as long as you find a replacement that fits the pallet fork it should be fine.

And with shellac its fine if it isnt straight the first time, just heat the tweezers so that they soften the shellac and straighten it.

 

You may not have noticed in my original post that I didn’t imply the you, the poster, was the one that was guilty of this travesty! But my eyebrows were raised when you seem to have indicated that the replacement of the balance staff may not be the best.

 

Exactly my thoughts. All I should need (I believe) is a spirit lamp, brass plate and chip off a shellac block. I have all of those. From what I see, the impulse jewel sits in a blind pocket? Or is it a hole all the way thru'?

My efforts at replacing the staff will be successful..... but I wouldn't want have them judged by a professional

Thanks for your input, much appreciated. Darren

 

If the owner is happy to have the repair carried out, I'll share the outcome. He may opt for a balance complete from donor movement. Do you know suitable calibre numbers please?

 

For your cut balance wheel you will have grave problems to find a cpl. balance at all. Regarding the staff, there are a few different ones. First of all you have to find the correct replacements. What I do not understand, why not give the whole mess to an experienced Watchmaker? The wife, who made the mistake, does not want to pay to rectify it ? Or you want to be the saviour , which is understandable if they see you as the competent specialist? Will you get paid for your time and the parts ? That complete balance, if you find one, will set you back a few hundred of $$$$ . And that is only the start .... A complete donor watch might be cheaper. Good luck !

 

Is the balance shock protected or not? That is your first step in determining what you need.

 

Hello thanks for your reply. No, there is no shock protection on this balance.
Kind regards, Darren

 

Thanks for your reply. I do appreciate that finding the parts will not be easy, but that's all part of the fun for me. I enjoy repairing vintage watches and I lost count years ago of how many times I was told "you'll be lucky... etc" What I have learned is to persevere and learn.

So, how do I ascertain the variant of balance which I have? Is that something you can help me with please? I can provide the serial number, if that helps?

You have asked a valid question regarding why not give it to an experienced watchmaker. I'll answer honestly. Two reasons: firstly I got into watch making as a result of my beloved watch being sent to an experienced watchmaker to have what I know to be a simple routine repair - my watch returned a botch, was unusable and I had no support from the so called experienced watchmaker. The bill was almost as much as my replacement watch. Secondly, the (valid) cost associated with repairing the watch via the experienced watchmaker route will ensure the omega is doomed and either binned or spends a lifetime in the back of a drawer as pieces in an envelope. Therefore, I would like to assist with the repair. As already pointed out here, what is there to loose, but everything to gain and a little more experience for me. No, I am not accredited Omega watchmaker, no I am not a professional but I am self taught and have achieved a good degree of competence over the last decade. Nobody ever progressed without trying. Whether his wife wants to pay, whether I want to assist, whether I am paid for my time does not step me closer to completion of repair.

 

Your best bet here is likely a donor movement of the same caliber. As you can see, this is a bi-metallic split balance, so the replacement should be the same. If this one is not shock protected, then the donor should be the same.

These movement evolved over time, so it's not as easy as just giving you calibers that you can pull from - you will have to find the same characteristics as well.

 

Thank you. I read (I think on here) that Omega approved balances of the solid rim design? These would look incorrect, but would functionally be ok and keep excellent time to-boot. Unfortunately I cannot find the thread again, have I mis-understood it?

 

If you aren't worried about originality, then you can just get a donor movement of the same series and use that...

 

Yes, that would be a perfect solution. The owner can preserve the original (damaged) balance for such a time as resale or passing on, but at least the watch is running again. Thanks!

 

This is turning into a major challenge when it is really a very simple repair!

 

It looks like you've already improved the hairspring to a reasonable shape before making adjustments when mounted. You can just replace the complete roller table with a new one, probably Omega calibre 100, part number #1324. These are available in UK. I haven't checked the part number as it's late evening here but I think this is correct.

It all depends on whether you feel you can remove the hairspring and table then corrode the staff out of the balance. As long as you have a staking set and can source a correct staff, then you may be able to repair this balance - even if you fail, it's a useful learning experience. There's a bit more to it than just staking in a new one as you need to check it is true (for example, with truing calipers) but I believe Al has a write up on here explaining the method. Generic staffs are available fairly cheaply for most calibers (not sure about the 30T2) but an Omega one will be a significant amount. Be careful that you get one that is not for an Incabloc.

Agreed though that the simple way forward is a replacement movement.

Good luck, Chris