Loose crown on 166.036 Cosmic

Posts

242

Likes

407

Puma_135o

·Jun 21, 2021

Hi all,

I need your expert help.
I've received today a wonderful 166.036 Seamaster Cosmic. It seems to be in a very good condition. I've set the time and date respecting the instructions (always go forward, select the day and then the date) and so on.
I've noticed that the crown is a little bit loose, and I wanted to know if this is normal or not, I've to confirm that everything is ok.

In the meanwhile, here is the first picture I took of the watch:

Thanks to all!

Edited: Jun 21, 2021

 

Posts

3,410

Likes

13,209

MtV

·Jun 21, 2021

What do you mean by „loose“? Does it come out easily with the part of the stem attached to it, does it have some play and you can move it up and down instead of merely pulling it out?

Either way, doesn’t sound perfectly healthy.

 

Posts

5,636

Likes

5,811

SkunkPrince

·Jun 21, 2021

There's no way we can know whether your crown has an issue, only a watchmaker can. Most can tell you right away and most won't charge you for it.

 

Posts

242

Likes

407

Puma_135o

·Jun 21, 2021

MtV

What do you mean by „loose“? Does it come out easily with the part of the stem attached to it, does it have some play and you can move it up and down instead of merely pulling it out?

Either way, doesn’t sound perfectly healthy.

Hi,

it moves slightly when you touch it, it’s not firm when it’s in not extracted position…

 

Posts

242

Likes

407

Puma_135o

·Jun 21, 2021

SkunkPrince

There's no way we can know whether your crown has an issue, only a watchmaker can. Most can tell you right away and most won't charge you for it.

Thanks, tomorrow I’ll bring the watch to my watchmaker for a check.

 

Posts

2,171

Likes

1,355

DON

·Jun 22, 2021

Could be the wrong crown.

Most watches either had a 2 mm or 2,5 mm case tube. Could just be the incorrect crown (if signed) and too much space inside and not fitting up against the tube

DON

 

Posts

242

Likes

407

Puma_135o

·Jun 22, 2021

DON

Could be the wrong crown.
Most watches either had a 2 mm or 2,5 mm case tube. Could just be the incorrect crown (if signed) and too much space inside and not fitting up against the tube
DON

Great info, @DON, appreciated. I'll tell the watchmaker later this afternoon.

EDIT: yes, the crown is marked.

 

Posts

242

Likes

407

Puma_135o

·Jun 22, 2021

Info added: From the images I see around on the web, it seems that the problem that @DON is supposing could be true. All the crowns I see on this particular model seem to be larger than mine. Thanks.

 

Posts

29,760

Likes

77,047

Archer

·Jun 22, 2021·Omega Qualified Watchmaker

Puma_135o

Info added: From the images I see around on the web, it seems that the problem that @DON is supposing could be true. All the crowns I see on this particular model seem to be larger than mine. Thanks.

The correct crown for this is 069ST42527. It is approx. 4.4 mm in diameter, and about 2.7 mm long. Yours looks to be the right crown from the photo, but measurements would be needed to confirm. They are fairly small looking in comparison to the case size.

The crown seal could be hardened or gone, and that would certainly make the crown feel very loose.

This is a front loading case, and the stem is a split stem that comes in 2 parts so it can be pulled apart. These tend to feel less solid on the case tube than a normal stem does, so there's a chance that nothing at all is wrong with the crown, but that depends on how much movement there actually is, and we can't judge that from photos.

Cheers, Al

 

Posts

242

Likes

407

Puma_135o

·Jun 22, 2021

Thanks @Archer for your contribution. The caliper I have here in the office says 3.90 mm in diameter, this for sure. The other measure is harder to me to do now, without pulling the crown all out (I'm @work now and I can't do it), but it seems to be around 3 mm, it could be those 2.7 you're talking about. So 3.90 seems to confirm my sensation.

 

Posts

242

Likes

407

Puma_135o

·Jun 22, 2021

Hi all, the watchmaker confirmed that the crown seems to be too small, and that it shouldn’t move this way. So I asked him to find the part that @Archer reported. So thank you all, but @Archer in particular. I’ll be glad to show you the result.

 

Posts

242

Likes

407

Puma_135o

·Sep 10, 2021

Here we have the result. In the meanwhile I was able to find a correct bracelet 1068 and the correct endlinks 523. My wallet is lighter, but now all the pieces have found their place and the watch is complete. Thanks again to @Archer.

 

Posts

242

Likes

407

Puma_135o

·Jun 1, 2023

Hi all, I have a small update, 2 years later.
When I wrote "all the pieces have found their place and the watch is complete", well, that was not right.
As soon as I discovered that the glass was not original, I asked my Omega certified lab to find one, and here is the result.

Now the watch is really complete.