So, Christmas is coming. I can tell this by the many ads on the TV in early November. Hmmm.

I'm building a watch as one Christmas present for my wife. It's an Omega but in the Watchco style, from parts. She has small wrists and you don't see many of this model from the 60s. It will be a slow reveal and might be interesting as it's not a normal Ladies dress watch. Don't have all the parts in hand yet but, am hoping for later this month (with a little help from a friend).

NOS dial from Watchco (partial reveal as don't want to give it away too soon) and we can see it has a date.

It houses a tiny ('tiny' and variations thereof are words I will use a lot), 18 mm diameter, 684 movement although it should really be a 681. I think the main difference is the 684 is an improved version of the 681 running at 3Hz (21600 A/h) rather than 2.75 Hz (19800 A/h). Quite impressive to get an automatic winder, central seconds, date ring and high beat in this miniature movement.

First is to tear down this very dirty/gummed up movement. It's a lot like a 56x in style and functionality but on a 2/3 scale. You can see that by comparing to the pictures in my other thread
http://omegaforums.net/threads/cal-561-a-simple-summary.17131/

so, I put the equivalent figure numbers in [ ]. As before, no attempted discussion of oiling techniques etc.

1. Movement from behind [56]. Not as attractive as a 56x. First thing I realised is I don't have a proper holder of this size for the rebuild so, on to Cousins website...


2. Auto bridge and mechanism removed [36] from which I realise there is no seconds pinion and spring [35] so back to Cousinsuk again. Lucky I got this movement for virtually nothing.


3. Let the movement down and removed the balance assembly [33] and it's shown next to a spare 565 balance to emphasise its tininess.


4. Movement without click and balance [40]. Am not looking forward to oiling the minute fork pallet stones.


5. Fork bridge, fork and train bridge removed [28]. Shows 2nd, 3rd, 4th and escape wheels Nothing unusual here.


6. The train wheels removed [15]. Note the little plate with 684 on has a slotted hole at the top.


7. That plate removed and the reason for the slot is clear. When the crown is turned the big wheel keeps on turning (paraphrased from Lynyrd Skynyrd) as do the next two. When the crown rotates clockwise, the tiny upper gear is driven across the slot to the right and meshes with the ratchet wheel that will turn the spring arbor and wind the spring. When the crown turns anticlockwise, it stays to the left of the slot (as shown) and just freewheels. This is done in a different and more robust way in the 56x series [14].


8. Those three gears removed and equivalent slot shown in the barrel bridge.


9. Ratchet wheel removed and then click spring [12]. There is another wire spring at the top that presses on the little gear from above and keeps it to the left of it's slot as a default position.


10. Barrel bridge removed [6].


11. Barrel with cover removed [3] to see the spring. Next to a spare 565 barrel to show how tiny it is. After writing tiny again, one Frank Zappa song is now on repeat in my head.


12. Barrel removed and just second/centre wheel left on this side. The two screws under the barrel are not in the mainplate, it is just cut away to allow a space for the heads.


More movement, then dial, hands, case, bracelet to come.

Cheers, Chris

 

Chris, I think you are a very brave man. That is all so tiny it is ridiculous - whatever you do don't lose the little springs ! Thanks for this very interesting and well-illustrated post

 

You're right John, far too small really being about two sizes down for all screwdrivers but it should make a terrific watch. Little reveal of the case back to see it's a proper watch, not that there's anything wrong with the Ladies dress styles.


Chris

 

Saw that dial on Watchco quite some time ago and thought "that'll never sell".

How wrong you can be.

I have a spare 684 (minus rotor) so if you need any unusual parts let me know.

Cheers

Jim

 

For all the criticism Watchco gets, making parts and kits available for the intrepid enthusiast is downright admirable. Thanks for sharing your Christmas secret with us, and the slow reveal.

 

Thanks Guys.
Spiki, we'll see!
Jim, thanks for the offer. All the parts I need are available from Cousins but will bear it in mind. Got the dial and bracelet/end links for $110 so, I also have no problem with Watchco, Red. I was lucky that a case was also on eBay in Spain at the same time so, grabbed the lot.

Bit more movement stripdown and shenanigans:

13. Dial side showing date ring [41]. The date ring is in a sub assembly (quite neat) and comes off after removing two screws which are not well placed as you would like them across the plate and not both on one side but, there is just no room.


14. The date sub assembly from this side.


15. And turned over. The mechanism is similar to a 56x but that is partially mounted on the mainplate [37-41].


16. What's left on the dial side of the plate [17-26]. The setting lever spring seems to double as the setting lever pressure spring but, the leg has broken off. There should be a leg going across horizontally. Strangely, this is not in the movement! Anyway back to cousins UK for the most expensive piece of stamped steel I have ever seen.


17. Spring removed and quite similar to a 56x in operation. Very dirty around the cannon pinion. On the left at about 8 O'clock, you can see the large Incabloc shock jewel for the balance. It is held in by the lyre shaped spring that pivots at the upper and the two legs clip in at the lower.


Now, usually this spring is retained at the hinge side. When removing this jewel, you close each leg a little and the spring pivots up. Not in this case, when I moved the second leg, the spring makes a break for freedom and leaps out. Twenty minutes of fruitless searching bench, floor, hair etc I reach for the phone at the other end of the desk to go back to my, fast becoming best friends, at Cousinsuk and sitting on the screen is the little golden spring, undamaged. These should not come out and you should remove the housing to replace them but, it goes back in so the housing may be too high in the mainplate or it is just a different style. Will need to check the balance end shake to see if the housing is properly seated and on this tiny movement that may not be easy. Have to take it out again anyway as there is bad staining at one of the upper holes near the edge. That's the dial foot hole and the screw is rusted in. This movement has clearly taken a bit of a hammering. The mainplate is now in an acidic solution to rust the screw out. When it's out, I can finally check the dial fits.

Cheers, Chris

 

I feel for you Chris. There is no more frustrating a way to spend time than replacing an Incabloc spring and there's a reason they sell them in packs of five.

I know it's a bit late but a tip I picked up from Christian's web site is to use a small piece of Rodico behind the spring when you release the spring's legs to prevent the flying spring nightmare.

 

Good tip, thanks Stewart. I've only had to replace one and that was just about hanging on when I got the watch. For that one, I removed the holder to fit the new (pack of 5, just in case) spring which was a bit of a pain. This one, the spring goes back in so, not too bad. Anyway, will add a pack of 5 for this type to a Cousins order as they are different to a 565.
Chris.

 

Whenever I tangle with those horrible little Incabloc springs, I put the movement in a big ziplock bag and poke small holes through for tweezers and pegwood.

I learnt the hard way, there's about three of them out there "somewhere", althoughI did find a Seiko one a few weeks ago when the light just happenned to catch a glint in the carpet.

 

Chris, this is a true labour of love for your wife. A big thumbs up!

 

Thanks for the tips on the Incabloc springs. I will certainly be more careful from now on as this one surprised me.

Just finishing off the mechanism pictures. This is the auto winder mechanism which works exactly the same as a 56x [45-55].

18. One missing screw in this view.


19. Not much of a finish on this rotor.


20. Rotor removed and no scraping. The rotor fit on the shaft feels fine.


21. Exactly the same arrangement as a 56x but in miniature.


The finish of most parts is not brilliant as the movement seems to have been neglected so, I may make a light hand polish of bridges and so on which I have not tried before.

There is a bit of a delay now while I wait for the Cousinsuk order to arrive and I suspect it will be next week so, this weekend am going to look at the bracelet end link fit. I have the wrong end links so will need to adjust them. I also have a crown problem to resolve plus I need to have a look at the correct oils for this seven and three quarter ligne mechanism. It's turning into a bigger job than I wanted so am hoping for more than a pair of socks in return this Christmas

Chris.

 

Lovely miniature project Chris, thanks for sharing your work.
I hope everything's ready for christmas.

 

Chris! You sir are a badass.
Thank you for sharing all the amazing pictures. It must take a lot of patience to document the process so carefully. Props.

 

I know what a magnet is, what's this "vacuum cleaner" you speak of?

(bloke joke)

 

Fascinating project, I am sure it will be a gift to remember.

 

Thanks Guys.

Am stalled on the movement waiting for the Cousins order so spent a little time on the bracelet. I got this from Watchco as a NOS item and it included end links but not for my watch. Anyway for about $90 I can't complain. When I started working on the end links, I found they are mismatched but not noticeably so, I am hoping it is not visible.

Trial fit. Oh dear, completely the wrong profile. Width is good.


I used Rodico to make an impression of the lug profile and made a little wooden former to that shape. A little adjustment later.


I may have another go at this as I didn't allow enough in the former for springback so they are not perfect. There is a lot of magnification here though. Here's a picture with a Euro (same size as a pound coin or 1mm bigger than a US 5 nickel) which completely covers the case except the lugs.


And here the bracelet next to my 3570.50 Speedmaster bracelet. It really is a nice design and will go well on the watch. Luckily on full adjustment, I can just get the watch on my 6 3/4" wrist. This will let me wear it to work for a few days to try it out without my wife seeing it.
You can just about make out the mismatch of the end links.


I definitely have a crown problem. I ordered the correct Omega crown from Cousins a few months ago and it does not fit. Thinking they sent the wrong one, I ordered another and it is exactly the same. I notice they are now on back order so I seem to have cornered the European supply of these! It doesn't fit the pendant tube on my case which is 2.0 mm outside diameter so, also have a generic divers crown coming from Cousins. Will see if I can get a new pendant tube. The work escalates again....

Cheers, Chris

 

A Seiko one a few weeks back!!!!!!!!!!!

 

I understand that a "vacuum cleaner" is also an acceptable Christmas present for the wife but not for the girlfriend. Will need to investigate further...

No movement on the movement, as I said except it is cleaned. The finish is really very nice and with a little extra work, the rotor and bridges have come up as below. I jumped the gun on my comment about the finish and I think it will make a stunning baby movement when completed.

Of course no-one sees this but it will be nice to know and brings to mind a comment from a good friend who restores cars. He is an ace bodywork guy and his work is something to behold in the metal but, once it's painted all he ever hears is how fantastic the paintwork is. Ah well.