I've recently purchased a Constellation (cal 564 -previous thread) and I'm now looking to find someone to service the watch.
I sent out a couple of mails to BHI registered watch repairers (with Omega/vintage experience).
One thing I mentioned was that the watch runs well but manual winding is a bit stiff. (I suggested it might be the gasket to the crown?)
One response was -"With regard to the stiff winding this is more likely to be the auto reverser wheel which will need to be replaced"

Now, I have done some reading about the mechanics of Omega watch movements -but in all honesty I have no idea what 'goes on under the hood' of a watch -so is this advice likely to be correct?

 

If the reply was from a Member of the BHI I would see no reason to think it would be wrong.

 

I'm no Wizard so, it will be interesting to see if Al comments on this thread. I suppose your watchmaker is thinking this is the part and it is probably gummed up/seized. The good news is that it is available from Cousins in the UK but the price is a bit frightening:

This seems like a lot of money, especially when you add a further 20% VAT but, it is a seven piece assembly. On the other hand, you can strip, clean and oil these if it is just gummed up.

I will try and explain what it does and see if it helps you to understand why he thinks this.

When you turn the crown to wind the watch, the crown wheel (a) turns anticlockwise and meshes with the ratchet wheel (b) to turn it clockwise and wind the spring. This is permanently meshed with the automatic driving wheel (c) so, this turns anticlockwise but, this is just a byproduct and is not necessary to wind the watch. When the rotor turns, you do want (c) to turn anticlockwise and turn the ratchet wheel so that it winds the watch in the same way as when you wind by the crown.


So, taking off the auto winder bridge, turning over and removing the plate that supports this side of the mechanism, you can see (c). It was the little gear that was meshed with (b) and the big gear on (c) is meshed with (d), the reversing wheel (£109 +VAT!).



The small gear (e) is the one driven by the rotor and (f) is directly connected to it so always turns opposite to (e). This means whichever way the rotor turns, the unit will charge as they both connect to (d) and then (c). Essentially, if the reversing wheel is gummed up, when you turn the crown and (c) turns, it will try to spin the rotor. I suspect this is what your watchmaker thinks.

Looking at (d) from the other side you can see the gear that meshes with (c).


To be fair, the cost of this is not too bad when you look at how it's built up. Turning back over, here is the centre pivot (none of these parts have names so, here's my interpretation) with the little gear on:
Then this driving wheel goes on that and will be meshed with (f) at the end. The circular lines you see are wear on this so, this is not the best example.

The drive to the spindle is passed via this little star wheel. It is designed so that if you try and turn it one way, it freewheels but in the other direction it transmits the drive.

That star wheel goes into the centre plate which locks onto the spindle and has another star wheel on the top. It meshes with another driving wheel that will be turned over and go on top and mesh with (e).


Finally, with the last driving wheel on, there is a nut on the centre spindle to hold it all together.

I know this seems confusing but it might make the problem a little clearer or may just be too much information.... Let's see if Al has any thoughts (or corrections to the above).

Cheers, Chris

 

Thanks for the thorough explanation regardless of right or wrong of the diagnostic.

 

There might not be a need to replace any parts. The lack of lubricant might be the problem - or worse, old lubricant gumming up the works could be causing the trouble. Unless there's an obvious problem upon visual inspection, a watch should be serviced then checked for operation. Parts can be replaced at that point.

 

Hi Chris, my sincere compliments for the explanation. Clear, concise and well illustrated. However, as you know you cannot be sure of the problem without holding the watch in your hand.
Cheers, Maurice

 

It could be any number of things actually. It could be the crown gasket turning to goop and requiring a lot of force to turn the crown - try seeing if it is difficult to turn when setting the time. If so, that would be a point of confirmation to the crown seal theory.

The reversing wheel could be the problem, but it could also be worn bushings or pivots causing the wheel in the automatic winding to go off axis and bind when they have force on them. Diagnosing something as vague as this requires having the watch in front of you to be sure.

Just to add that if the reversing wheel is the issue, it would be rare it has to be replaced - they can be cleaned, oiled, and used again as has been shown here. I actually don't have to replace these very often, and if I do it's usually for pivot wear.

Cheers, Al

 

thank you all for your replies -much appreciated
great explanation Chris
the crown is a little stiff when setting the time but not like it is when trying to wind it.
I understand that to be sure you need the watch in front you.
when I eventually send the watch off for service I'll report back on the findings
thanks all once again

 

Absolutely Maurice and I should have made that clear. Spending the afternoon watching the last day of the 6 Nations on tv and (sorry) the Italy-Wales game was only partly holding my attention so I ended up with a long explanation. Half time in England-France now and I suspect many of the English are glued to the screen. Just need to win the second half by 14 clear points and we win the trophy.... A tall order!

Cheers, Chris.

 

More so now
IPad on lap, arse welded to the sofa all afternoon and now a glass of scotch to help with the nerves.

 

Bombay Sapphire at the moment..... Saving the scotch until I really need it.

 

Now would be a good time.

 

Yellow card (unscrews Laphroaig bottle top....)

Looks like HRH Harry is missing his hip flask - beginners mistake.

Terrible thread hijack, sorry.

 

Bad result but what an afternoon of rugby. If the World Cup is half as good, it's going to be an amazing year.

 

Heart still pounding and another few weeks off the life expectancy. Ah well, onto the World Cup. The Italians looked good for 40 minutes, Scotland were terrible, and the France-England game was the best I've seen for a long time.

Back to the OP and I hope your watchmaker finds it's just the crown seal or generally needs a clean and lubrication. Interesting that Al doesn't often replace these so, I suspect you'll be lucky.

Cheers, Chris