I've been very busy lately with the BHI and have not had time to post anything very interesting so, thought this might appeal to those who like a rebuild story (like me). I still have little time but will post some pics along the way - might just take a while. I've been looking for a blue dial/blue bezel SM60 for some time and there are no bargains out there that I can see. I bought this one from a retired gentleman who is not a collector and was just having a tidy out. Very poor photos available but he seemed a nice guy and so, I picked it up. No bargain here as I did not get this for €500 or even €1000 although I'm not unhappy with the price and it was more than fair for him. I quite like bringing these old watches back to life and nice to start with one that hasn't been mucked about, just used as it should be. Probably developed a fault and got dropped in a drawer for many years. I think it'll be a nice watch when done but I won't be making money on it if I sell one day as becomes clear when I start stripping things.... This is what arrived yesterday. It is a blue bezel but somewhat darker than the dial. Crystal is scrap as is the second hand but both are available. Crown has failed internally and stem is heavily corroded but again both on order. Case back is fine - everything is very dirty, although this is nothing compared to what's under the bezel. Cleaned off the rear of the case before removing it but hardly worth it as the seal has turned to mush... Obvious corrosion on the ratchet wheel (more to come) and the rest looks a mess but should clean up well. New ratchet wheel but, I have these in stock. Clear rotor rubbing so, it'll need a rotor bush at least - have these in as well. Hey, at least the screws look good. Getting expensive now so looking for some good news! Auto bridge off, removed from the case, hands removed and the good news is that the dial is very very nice. But, looking at the centre of the picture, you can see rust on the cannon pinion and second wheel. I think the hour wheel will clean but, another two parts needed. It is stripped but will do it in 30 minute blocks each day so it'll take some time to finish. More tomorrow. Cheers, Chris
You're right Jim and you know how these 550 series suffer with this fault, amongst others. I'm enjoying this, thanks guys, as it's a no pressure job. No Wi-Fi today in our village so thought I'd just post some pics of the case. Bezel removed. Both turned over and the inside of the bezel is very grimy and greasy. Rear of the case has that liquefied seal. Bezel spring removed and all this dirt (plus more) comes out of the bezel with a piece of peg wood.... Not nice. I clean all cases by hand now as you risk less damage this way. After cleaning and looking good. A small area to be buffed on the back of the bezel and the front has some scars. Impossible to buy these bakelite (? that's what I read) bezels so will not do anything with that. I'm not refinishing the case and will let the watch wear it's battle scars. Nice and clean now. Cheers, Chris
I've just looked up that other thread. €1100 for that SM60 on a bracelet! That was a hell of a deal @WhatYourWatchSay. I've really struggled to find anything that looked half decent. Found a Bordeaux one and a Blue one in Spain but both at least twice the price of yours and needing attention. Still tempted by the Bordeaux one though.... First the blue as I think it's a keeper. Cheers, Chris
Little bit more done today, cleaned the case and case back. Tiny amounts of surface corrosion but, they'll be no problems with this case sealing. The case (pendant) tube is fine. A couple of pictures to show how dirty the jewels are - it's not been opened for a long time. With the dial off, I've removed the cannon pinion and here it is. That'll be replaced along with the 2nd wheel it's mounted on. Here that is on the dial side. This is how dirty the jewel is after the 2nd wheel is out. And on the top side before 2nd wheel removal. Above, you can see the 3rd wheel teeth that will drive the centre seconds pinion. It's the lower one of the two here. Tried cleaning this off but, in the end, it also gets replaced... Well, the train on these calibres goes: Barrel 2nd wheel 3rd wheel 4th wheel Escape wheel Pallet fork Balance The barrel and arbor were fine and I'd already decided on a new 2nd wheel so, here's the third wheel and you can see the corrosion and wear of the pivot therefore, a new one of these as well. Then the 4th wheel and you can see how this pivot is also worn away so, another new part... Then I hit a lucky streak and the escape wheel, pallet fork and balance are all fine when checking pre-cleaning. Here's one of the incablocs from the balance (the upper, or the one on the cock). I like to separate these before running through the cleaner and it has a hardened ring on the end jewel so, I take that off with peg wood before cleaning. At this stage, I haven't cleaned anything just dipped some parts. These calibres often need some parts but, this one is exceptionally bad and that's unlucky. Everything else on the main plate is fine but, the auto mechanism is not and this is not unusual either. Here's a couple of group shots of some replaced parts (old on the left and new parts on the right). To be fair to the seller, he is not a collector and I have no problem with what he sold me. There are a few parts that, with a movement shot, you might be able to immediately see need replacement but the majority of these only become apparent after the movement is stripped. Tomorrow, the saga of the auto mechanism and then I can get all usable parts in the cleaner (including the new ones) and hopefully start to reassemble, which is a bit more interesting. Cheers, Chris
And just finishing off the teardown, the auto mechanism parts are not too bad. Needs a rotor bush as noted above and also an axle. Here the worn one is on the left. And one "driving gear for ratchet wheel" which I clean up and buff to review after it's been through the cleaner. After cleaning, here is that Centre (2nd) wheel jewel from the previous post. Looking good. Now to reassemble which is the fun part. Cheers, Chris
Have been without internet at home for over a week now (thanks Orange Spain!) and so still on my phone data. More little pictures. Put this back together after resetting some end shakes to suit my new wheels. All the train looked fine. Was not hopeful of the amplitude as the balance pivots are flatted. Suspect it's been run for a long time without oil. Ah well, one more thing to fix. Assembled the basic movement and 245 degrees amplitude in dial down with a little more in dial up. These are not known for terrific amplitude but by the time I've added the centre seconds pinion and spring, this'll be under 240 so not acceptable. I'm not sure if you can see the flattened pivot end here but best photo I can get. I'll have to re-staff this balance but as I have to be in the mood for lathe work, fitted a spare good balance. Here's a new staff to compare to the above. You're looking for a curvature at the end of the pivot where it will contact the cap jewel. Nowadays, it's usual to buy a complete balance (including hairspring) as there is a bit of work in replacing these. Anyway, I'll fix this one and will then have a spare balance in good condition for the next time. Afterwards and just the raw movement here gives me a good result after a days running. So, basic movement was running fine and within about 15 seconds per day variation over all six positions, well within the Omega spec (25 sec/day over 3 positions). Happy with that so start adding the rest of the movement. Bit more later, Chris
Man, I love these in-detail breakdowns from our more horologically inclined members. Dial looks beautiful, going to be a real looker once you're finished I'd guess.
Pleased you're enjoying it. It's not been the smoothest but it's coming together. Without going into part by part addition, here is the movement running with everything except the auto mechanism on this side. Looks a lot nicer but I can't do anything about some of the marks due to the worn rotor bush/axle and some old mishandling/neglect. I actually have a much nicer 565 on my bench for a project (not an SM300) but this is original to this watch. Here's the dial side. All working very nicely. And with the dial and two hands added (still waiting on my order with the second hand). Need the crystal, hand, stem and crown to move on and the post is very slow at the moment... Cheers, Chris
Really looking forward to updates on this and it is interesting for me to learn from what is a riveting read. Much appreciated. Best wishes.
Nice work on cleaning the movement Chris, it really makes that beautiful swan neck stand out. I'm having a dumb moment, what do CH/CB mean?
Hi Jim It'll be nice in the end but the plates were very dirty and scratched around the edges, from the rotor and some heavy handedness at the case clamps. I think they are from the French but my French is not brilliant…. DU (Dial up) = CH (“Cristal Haute”) or Crystal high in English. DD (Dial down) = CB (“Cristal en Bas”) or Crystal down in English. They also use FH which is equal to CB. This is “something haute” but I’m not sure what the “F” stands for. I suspect it’s something to do with “Fermeture” which would be “closing” in English so, it would mean closing piece high? We need Francois! Cheers, Chris
How I wish I had the skills necessary to do this kind of work. Unfortunately, previous attempts have resulted in disaster and only confirmed that I am a clumsy oaf !! It's lucky that I've found a great local watchmaker. Great job on a lovely watch.
