Hi guys,

I have a '76 (I think) Quartz Comstellation that was my grandfathers. I noticed recently it had stopped ticking. It had been a couple of years since the last battery was put in to though it might be that.

My wife took it to a local watchmaker today, who put a new battery in. Apparently it's 'trying' to tick, but something is preventing it from doing so. He lubricated some parts but still no joy. I'm guessing he has ruled out the hands being loose or something like that. His recommendation was to send it to Omega.

Trouble is, I wanted to wear it for my grandmothers funeral next week (as I say it was my grandfathers watch and as such has a lot of sentimental value), and in two weeks I move to the US!

If anyone has any great ideas as to what the issue could be (I know it's difficult with limited Indians no pics) I'm all ears!

Similarly, if the answer is to send it to Omega (or someone else), does anyone have any recommendations in Nevada? I'm moving to Vegas! How serviceable are these old Quartz movements? Here's a pic!

 

The list of potential problems is long...debris in the movement, dried oils, bad coil, bad circuit, etc...

No idea what movement is in this one so not sure what parts are available or how serviceable it is. I'm assuming if the watchmaker replaced the battery and then gave up, he doesn't know how to diagnose quartz movement problems, or does not have the equipment to do so, or both. You need to find a real watchmaker who can perform a proper diagnosis, then determine next steps based on that and what parts may be available.

Chances of getting this done in a week are slim I would say.

Cheers, Al

 

assuming its an f300 movement it might be worth giving this guy a call and explaining the situation.http://electric-watches.co.uk/service-and-repair/

if not, or if he cant help, just wear it as a non functioning but still meaningful reminder next week and worry about sorting it later.

 

With its day+date window it looks like it could be a 1346 Quartz movement and if it's "trying" to tick it's likely fixable. There's a great in Bulgaria (Ludmil, google will certainly find him for you) who can sort old quartz watches for a reasonable price but with your move to Vegas it's probably not the best option...I think there's a knowledgeable watchmaker based in the Western US here who might be able to help ;-)

 

I think it's a ST 196.0060 with a 1310 movement. there should be a couple of recessed pushers on the crown-side of the case. No pictures on the Omega database, but see here http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Omega-Co...657843?hash=item1eb41a8d33:g:rbIAAOSw9etXQJZIPurchases made through these links may earn this site a commission from the eBay Partner Network

Handsome watch - very Gerald Genta-ish

 

Indeed, good detective work : http://www.kaplans.se/en/auktioner/2651/vara/1004106



The seconds mechanism is know to be a bit fiddly on the 1310s (not a proper stepper motor)...Ludmil fixed one of my 1310s with such a problem a couple of years ago ;-)

Also found

 

Thanks for all the advice chaps! Yes that looks like the model - it does have the recessed pushers for the Day/Date.

I think I will go with the suggestion of wearing it anyway, as a sentimental item, and will look at getting it fixed post-move.

According to my wife, the watchmaker sounded like he knew what he was doing, but I'm more sceptical. The fact he said that the watch was probably just at the end of its life didn't help...incidentally, I don't even know what the movement looks like in one of these as I've never had the back off myself.

I just wondered how difficult it might be to diagnose and service one of these. I shall be looking again at reputable watchmakers in the Western US in a few weeks, it would be a shame to not get this working again!

 

http://electric-watches.co.uk/makers/omega/omega-megaquartz/ shows what the movement looks like.

Now you know a bit more, you can give prospective repairers more information to help them decide if they are competent to do the work. Good luck

 

Pretty sure this is not a tuning fork watch. Maybe vintage quartz.