I asked if a hairspring and collet from a later 30 mm movement could be used on an earlier model with a non shock protected design or are the collets different to prevent this. Omega's reply we are not allowed to give you the requested information, as per our OMEGA policy. Then they tell me to ask the Canadian repair center. Does the Canadian company have different rules? Is Omega sitting on a storehouse of vintage balance springs or balances complete? Curious what would happen if someone asked about a repair and mentioned missing balance and if it could be replaced Sent them another email asking for an explanation of their odd response DON
They told you to ask the repair center where a Omega watchmaker will be. Then he will say you have to have it serviced by Omega and send it to Omega and charge you heaps and change parts you dont want changed and charge you heaps more and take 3 months doing it. What was the odd bit ?
I did ask here, but no one knew. Little more searching on balance staffs and it seems there is no change to the diameter to the staff the collett sits on. Seems the only change is to height. Question is. Are the hairsprings the same? DON
Now you might be understanding why this is actually not the simple question you have indicated it is... I don't believe you are a watchmaker, and so would not have any relationship with Swatch/Omega, so the answer you received makes sense in that light - they don't typically give out technical information to anyone who asks. Distribution of technical information is controlled and limited to those who have parts accounts. The person directing you to the local service center is likely some customer service person who knows nothing about watches, just directs emails as the company dictates they should, and I expect the default answer is "contact your local service center." Also, since these movements have been out of production for decades, no one is going to know these answers off the top of their heads. If you asked the question as written above, I would say it's basically unanswerable, as you need to be more specific, so using exact caliber numbers would help, although it may not be enough. Aside from physical dimensions to make the collet fit, there are considerations for the stud, pinning point, number of coils, dimensions of the terminal curve, CGS number of the balance springs, mass of the respective balance wheels, respective locations of regulating pins, and on and on and on... If you call the office in Toronto, and ask for Moc, he is the technical manager and has been around for a long time. Not sure you will get an answer, but it's worth a phone call. Let us know how you make out. Cheers, Al
Some 30mm movements share the same hairspring/collet, some don't. You can figure it out if you know what the donor movement is.
A check of balance staffs shows the diameter is the same for a 30T2 or 283. Difference is height. Info from balancestaffs.com However someone did point out that the cut bi-metallic balance from a 30T2 may be heavier than the uncut glucydur balance from the 283 and hairspring might be thicker with a different strength. I would assume Omega would have this information on file in their records and if all the records are being transferred to digital files. Should be easy to look up. I had no direct line to Omega. Had to go through their "Contact Us" link and customer service, but asked that the question be relayed to someone that could answer it. Maybe someone couldn't be bothered and just replied on their own. DON