I (knowingly) overpaid for this one on the 'bay recently. I figured between this one and the A386 I bought recently, I'm probably slightly ahead. I wanted this one because the dial and hands looked more or less flawless. The dial has a patina but is much less 'tobacco' coloured than my A386. The tritium has all aged fairly evenly and none of that black/brown stuff. It doesn't even really look like the hands of ever been pulled off there's no paint missing at all. I think this is a replacement crystal and obviously the crown is not right. I'm going to use this one as my guinea pig to send back to Zenith for service and see what I come back with before I send in the A386. I might actually pull this chrono seconds hand and swap it with the broken one in my A386 before sending it in. Now the case is another matter altogether. You'd think if one was going to over polish/kill a case, there wouldn't be any scratches/dents/dings left but this one has both been polished and looks like it went a rock tumbler. LouS was my inspiration for this one after looking at the one he got back from Abel. If I'm patient enough hopefully I can find a decent donor case at some point. Movement looks fine but the chrono bridge doesn't have Zenith anywhere on it. Is this a service bridge or are some not signed? Where do you find the serial number on these things or has that been polished off.
Congrats. It's a project, but a nice one. Sending this to Abel Court for case work = good idea. Sending to Zenith for service = too risky. You're going to want to control this process. From what I've gathered (admittedly not from personal experience), you're ceding too much control if you send it to the mother ship. It's one thing if you need authentic Zenith parts, like replacement hands for an A386... but even then an AD with a connection might be a better option. If you don't need impossible-to-find parts (you don't), why risk it? They might polish it, replace hands that don't need replacing, etc. Movement looks OK at first glance. There is no serial number on the movement. This watch should have only a case number.
I'd rather not send it to Zenith either. But I do need a chrono seconds hand and a signed crown. Are these parts that LVMH let out of the service centers? Could someone PM me Abel's contact info? Thanks.
The signed crown would be a case of patiently scouring eBay for one to come up because the correct style is not made any more. As for the hand, you would either have to use a Zenith service centre or find a watchmaker who has a special relationship with Zenith in Switzerland. If he can kiss enough ass there, they might just make one for him but it won't be cheap.
Anyone know a watchmaker with a special relationship with Zenith? They did make the same chrono seconds hand for the "new vintage" models they released in 2009. I'll take any signed crown. Both of the ones I have are unsigned and ill-fitting.
A very generous offer, but I need two so if I have to order one anyways, I might as well get two. Very much appreciate the offer though. Thanks.
Actually, maybe someone could help me out. I don't actually have an original crown to measure so I don't know which size to order. Could someone measure their crown or let me know which one of these is right: Tap 9 (Ø0.90mm) Crown Ø6.00mm Crown Depth 2.90mm Pendant Tube Ø2.50mm Stainless Steel Tap 9 (Ø0.90mm) Crown Ø5.00mm Crown Depth 2.70mm Pendant Tube Ø2.50mm Stainless Steel Tap 9 (Ø0.90mm) Crown Ø5.00mm Crown Depth 2.70mm Pendant Tube Ø2.50mm Stainless Steel
I just measured the two that I have, both are 5.8mm in diameter and 2.7mm deep, and my A386 service crown for comparison is 6.4mm in diameter and 2.9mm deep..not sure if this all helps or makes matters worse...
Not being a watchmaker, what is it about crowns that require them to be replaced so often? A crystal or a balance spring would make sense to me that over 40 years you may need a new one. But the crown is strange to me. I'd understand a seal or gasket but the crown itself is not intuitive to me.