This Omega Speedmaster recently came across my workbench.



It was in quite a bad way and needed bushings installed for the upper and lower barrel and the upper and lower center wheel. It also had excessive wear on the minute wheel post and the intermediate minute wheel post. Unfortunately, jobs like this are usually neglected by watchmakers and cause poor performance of serviced watches.

Here are the minute wheel and intermediate wheel posts.



The mainplate is then mounted in the lathe so that I can find the center of the minute wheel posts. In some watches, these posts are a press-fit style, however, the Omega 321 has them milled out of the mainplate so they need to be drilled out first.



I can then drill out the posts with the drilling tailstock.



The posts have now been drilled out.



I know need to turn up new posts on the lathe. I use a brass rod that is cut to size.


I then start to turn the raw rod to size.



Getting closer to size.



Before parting off I check to make sure the wheel fits on the new post.



The posts are now ready to be installed.



This shows the two new posts mounted in the mainplate, as well as the new lower center wheel bushing.



Here is the new lower barrel bushing.



And here are the upper center wheel and barrel bushings.



Then the watch can be cleaned, assembled, lubricated and regulated.

 

Wow! And the case, dial, hands and bezel look so unused.

Roughly how much time did this work take?
Can I ask how much you charged for this work?

Thank you for resurrecting a 321!

 

Thanks! This took 11 hours to complete everything.

 

Hello, nice job here... A question from an absolute beginner in the Moonwatch World... maybe this post is the right place. .. I bought my first speedy recently, a 145.012, the tritium of the hands and index is in bad condition and had a poor colour. Is it possible to find professionals able to restore the tritium? (And not replaced it by a colored luminova...) ?
Thanks.
B.

 

Yes, hands can be restored. I know some watchmakers re-use old tritium, but that isn't something I do. I use superluminova that has been aged. I do this so that if the watch is to be on-sold there is no intentionally fooling people into thinking it is original when it isn't. It still looks age-appropriate, but the wool isn't being pulled over anyone's eyes.

Here is a before and after picture of a Tudor (sorry it's not Omega) dial and handset that I restored this way.

 

Total noob question but what difference of performance would one expect between the restored and unrestored movement? Or did the movement no longer run?

 

That is an absolute stunner. I love the hands on that Tudor.

Thanks for the images of the 321 - many of us will never experience the process for repairing or restoring a piece unless we are shown. Thanks for the write up.

 

Waou. Looks great...! The before and after is really impressive. I understand the hours of work... Nice Tudor! Ok, so both solutions should exist and must be considered: old tritium and luminova. I will try to look for people able to do this in France (or Europe...). Thanks again. B.

 

Great work, Great photos, Great write-up!

Thank you!

 

Great write up and pictures of intricate work. A good watchmaker is hard to find and becoming more rare. I respect the integrity of your not wanting to pull the wool over someone’s eyes too.

 

i always appreciate a master at work, no matter the field. thanks for sharing.

based on the condition of the rest of the watch, it lived an easy life... was the necessity to replace parts a function of internal service, or lack there of?

 

The reason a part like that would get worn is usually neglect of proper maintenance.

 

Nice work, but any particular reason you used brass and not something more wear resistant such as s/s?

 

Stainless steel is never used in a watch movement.

 

Any particular reason?

 

Stainless steel is much harder to work with than carbon steel. There is no need for stainless properties inside a watch movement as it is a sealed unit.

The reason that steel is not used as a bearing is that the pivots and arbors are made from steel. Same goes for the inner pinion of the minute wheel and the intermediate setting wheel. You can't have an axle and a bearing made of the same material as they don't work well together to reduce friction so brass is used as a bearing when a steel axle is used and they work very well together to reduce friction.

Even an area like a minute wheel post must have as little friction as possible as it is indirectly connected to the gear train. If there was too much friction it would bind and cause the watch to stop or have a large drop in amplitude.

 

Fascinating work and description, keep up the good work

 

wow! this is a-z expert knowledge on display.