Omega 861 Calibre Revival Project - Speedmaster Professional

Hi All,

I thought I would create a thread for those of you who have expressed interest in the Speedmaster Project that I (with help) am trying to undertake for 2014...

First, a bit of background;

I recently bought myself an '89 Speedmaster Professional with the 861 calibre movement - a watch I've always wanted due to its timeless design and history. I've got a couple of watches that I've bought brand new, but recently I found that I don't get the same "buzz" from wearing them as I do from my "new" Speedy, even though they have their own story from different parts of my life.

I love the idea of old things, mechanical watches being at the forefront of this. I've always had a fascination with old-world craftsmanship but at the same time I'm a sucker for new "showroom" design/aesthetics.

As I grew fond of my Speedmaster Professional, I found myself learning more and more about their various (few) movements over the last 50+ years, and the ease at which parts can be found/inter-changed... I realised that the Speedmaster Professional could be the perfect platform to bring together the old and new!

So I set about trying to find an old watch, or old movement that I could bring back to life. I found a number of new, shiny movements for a (semi) decent price, but it was still missing that buzz… I didn’t want to build a “Frankenwatch” for the sake of it – I wanted to see something ticking on my wrist that used to be dead – sitting at the bottom of someone’s drawer for the last 20 years that needed some TLC.

Then I found it - the worst looking, most beat-up 861 I’ve ever seen…. and she arrived this week.


It's going to take a lot of money, and a lot of work, but hopefully sometime next year I'm going to finish up with a beautiful watch with a great story.


Ain’t she beautiful...? Hehehehe

I admire your courage to undertake the project.......😲

Thanks all for your messages 😀 Yes it's a bold project but I'm hoping for the best!

Thanks Al for the tip! I've given the movement to a watchmaker here in Sydney now to get it ticking again; I'm an amateur enthusiast learning watchmaking and this movement is in pretty bad shape - it needs a professional!

I basically had to convince the watchmaker to take up the work, I'll hopefully hear back from him soon!

Ash

Well I've heard back from my watchmaker Joao Santos (www.joaosantos.com.au) and the movement is repairable! 😎 Joao has been described as "a watchmaker's watchmaker" and is an Omega specialist; he sells a lot of spare Omega parts too so I know it's in good hands! Let the anticipation begin!

The cost of the repair is going to be 1 x arm, 1 x leg and a small part of my soul (I wasn't using it anyway) as there are a lot of parts that are in need of replacement (or missing); the driving wheel for chronograph, hour recorder yoke, various other parts on the dial side etc. etc. The hairspring on the balance wheel is completely monged-up (this is the technical term) so the balance needs replacement as well...

Anyway, the exciting part is that I've given him the go-ahead and now it's time to sort out the cosmetic stuff! I've got plenty of time up my sleeve as I won't have the movement back until February, and I'm keen to hear all my fellow enthusiast's thoughts about design choices! I'll post some of my thoughts later as well.

Firstly... DIALS! 😀

I've short-listed these three designs... But I'm leaning towards the black & white "Panda" dial, and putting a nice combination of hands with it.

On that note... I have seen a version of the "Panda" dial, that has "July 20 1969" written in red just under the "Speedmaster Professional" writing. I quite like it, but I'm not sure if it would be suitable for this watch.

Thoughts, fellow Omegaphiles? 😀

Bear in mind that I already have a Speedmaster "Moon Watch" design (i.e. black face, white hands, black bezel). I'm looking to do something a little different/special with this one to signify the uniqueness of this watch.

😜

Glad to hear your movement is repairable, and don't worry about the soul matter, who use it nowadays... 😀
Fortunately after repaired and serviced, you'll have a strong movement for many years to come.
I would choose the panda dial.
Let us know, wich one you choose.

+1 for Panda dial

Thanks guys - think I'll go with the Panda dial. I assume everyone has good things to say about www.ofrei.com? I've never used them.

Ivan have you taken delivery of your Speedmaster yet? Hope you're enjoying it!

I live about 50 miles from O Frei. The few times I get there I'm happy to come away with product in hand, even if they're pricey (which, from a user standpoint, I don't always find is true). I like the staff, even the ones with little personality...they're always helpful. They put up with my ignorance all the time, let me use a variety of tools, etc.

I've also used on-line. For me it was a good experience.

Thanks for the input guys - interesting note about the panda dial being in plentiful supply! I've actually had cheaper/equivalent quotes for the deployment clasps and rubber straps from the Omega Boutique here in Sydney, but I thought other parts might be reasonable.

If any other forum members can help with sourcing parts that I need, please don't hesitate to get in touch! All assistance is appreciated! 😀

I think you found my thread last night 😉
Yes, I'm really enjoying it, thanks!

About the panda dial, just go ahead with Archer offer. He can source you this, and many other omega parts.

If you want to source any other parts by your own, you can also try cousinsuk.com instead of ofrei.

Great project. Thinking about undertaking a (much) less ambitious Omega project myself in 2014, so I'll be watching. Thanks for sharing!

Thanks Deldog, don't forget to keep us posted on yours!

Tritium, I want to use a similar style "straight" chronograph second hand to your watch - I really like it!

I'm thinking of going for a similar design with the hands to this: http://heuerville.wordpress.com/2012/12/07/omega-speedmaster-mitsukoshi-domino-dial-project/, but with a couple of changes:

- All large hands to be matching silver (not a white chronograph second sweep), to make it less cluttered.
- Using the aforementioned straight chronograph second sweep hand...



...(rather than the traditional second sweep hand);



I think that will give it a really clean, beautiful, modern look. I really like the contrast of the white register hands on the black background.

Keen to hear others' opinions! 😀

Merry Christmas all!