Greetings All, I am looking to replace my broken winding stem on the caliber 321 movement in my ref.14364 Seamaster Chronograph: My question here: Are there different lengths of the winding stems for cal.321's in different models due to different case sizes? For example, will the winding stem for a Speedmaster 2915 be the same as the one for the Seamaster 14364?
Maybe yes, maybe no. Regardless of the caliber, stems are 99.9% of the time, sold full length. Then they are cut to fit the case/movement combination. I cannot imagine the headaches the watch material suppliers would have if they had to stock the same stem in multiple lengths!
Well, the watch material suppliers won't have those headaches, since Omega doesn't sell parts to them anymore... Omega does make stems cut to specific lengths for some modern watches, but not for the 321. The stem for that is 72203201106, it is 13.5 mm long and would be cut to length at time of fitting. Sometimes they offer more than one length for stems, so longer stems are sometimes available if the movement has been used in a very large case, but the one above is the only one listed for the Cal. 321. To illustrate what Omega's fixed length stems look like, here is one for a modern Speedmaster (Cal. 1861) that I am about to fit a new crown to: Since you don't file the end of the stem and I can't put a proper shape on it, I do use Loctite on these, where I don't tend to use it on stems that I cut to length. In this instance the stem is no longer a movement part, but it becomes a case part since it specific to a particular case due to being sized specifically for that case. Omega started using these a few years ago... Cheers, Al
Thank you Archer & Canuck... This issue has been sort of hounding me as I've been searching for this part for a while, and no search related to "winding stem for ref.14364" was useful, only a search by caliber produced these listings: - http://www.ebay.com/itm/Omega-320-3...903920&hash=item282d30ff7f:g:otUAAOSw~AVYt2a7Purchases made through these links may earn this site a commission from the eBay Partner Network - http://www.ebay.ca/itm/Omega-cal-32...hash=item2ee45e182f:m:mY0upWLy_9hFOnrqFySkAVwPurchases made through these links may earn this site a commission from the eBay Partner Network - http://www.ebay.ca/itm/Omega-cal-32...hash=item2ed902456b:m:mlzLSCUe_OeuHSFgzPmNAZwPurchases made through these links may earn this site a commission from the eBay Partner Network Would any of these work? I was hoping I would be able to do this myself, however, since there may be cutting, filing and gluing... I better leave it to the specialists! Thanks again guys
Other than being grossly overpriced, they appear to be correct. I was going to say just by 2 in case you cut one too short, but for the price of one of those I can buy 5 or 6 from Omega...holy crap they are charging a lot for a simple stem. Anyway, if you already have a watchmaker lined up, they are likely going to be able to get the stem much cheaper than you are, and you will only pay for the one they cut to the correct length, not those they may cut too short...I would let a watchmaker handle this. Cheers, Al
Al, when you cut them yourself, what is the correct shape you put on the end of the stem that eliminates the need for thread-locker? Thanks.
These are so sophisticated yet lively looking Seamasters, aren't they! Unique choice of strap though, @rennfahrer. I prefer them on metal, but your combination looks quite eccentric.... I like it!