Hi Everybody.
First post on the forum so here goes.
Always wanted an Omega but price was always a problem. Anyway, looking through the ebay listings saw an automatic Seamaster 1020 caliber day/date tv screen crystal for a reasonable price, and after some communication with the seller bought it. It had not been used for a while but the seller stated it had worked for a while when he wound it. Got it delivered, and it wouldn't work, until I shook it and held it so the crown was facing the sky, and off it went. Lay it flat, stops, quick shake, back to the crown facing the sky, sweeps away lovely. Now I'm hoping that a service would cure it. Does anybody out there think I'm being a bit optimistic? After trawling through millions of posts, I'm hoping a service because it's dry, and perhaps a new mainspring might cure it. Hopefully the knowledgable posters on here might be of assistance. Thanks in anticipation.

 

Bish

Try winding the watch from the crown about 20 winds and see what the watch does then. Obviously the watch should run in all positions. Can you set the time from the crown?

 

Hi John. Thanks for the reply. The seller had wound it so it wouldn't wind any more, so I'm letting it run down at the moment. You can set the time and the date, but not the day from the crown.

 

Any competent watchmaker should be able to service this watch for you, expect to pay £120 -150 plus parts. The Cousins website shows me that almost all parts for the 1020 movement are available and in stock, so parts should not be a problem.

 

Thanks John. Now the tricky part. I'm an engineer, but not on things as small as this. However, I'm thinking, if I invested in the proper tools etc. could I do this? Have also been on the Cousins site, and have some tools already in my basket. Just getting the guts to hit the purchase button. I paid £170 for the watch, so although not a small sum, at least it's not 000's. I would definitely be an idiot then.

 

Bish

If you really want to learn how to service a watch, be prepared to spend rather more on decent tools than you paid for this Omega. And then purchase a couple of non-running beaters very cheaply (Rotary or something) to practice on before you even dream of chancing your skills on something decent like the 1020. And I think that any beginner certainly needs a kindly mentor in the form of an experienced watchmaker as a guide and wise counsel.

There are indeed some brave souls on this very Forum who do their own repairs and servicing - Chris N and Stewart H for example. They will be much better placed to advise you than I am. And we have our very own Al (Archer) who is an A+ grade qualified Omega Watchmaker.

I am trained as an engineer (cars and motorcycles). And I also dabble in boats, guitars and valve amplifiers. But I have found that very few of those skills are transferrable to wristwatch horology, because everything is so terrifyingly small. It's like trying to assemble grains of sand with screw threads on them One sneeze and you're finished . . . which of course, doesn't stop me from messing about - but usually only on my old parts movements which are non-runners I purchased for spares. As far as I am concerned, paying a pro watchmaker £120 to service my precious Omega collection is money well-spent

However, I hate to be a wet blanket and pour cold water on someone else's passion. If you are really fired up for it, why not have a go - but take it one small step at a time. First, you have to open the case . . .

 

Hello Bish,

The watch has a few problems - you state it won't wind anymore - it's an automatic so the crown should wind forever, so something is wrong there.

If the watch stops when placed horizontally, it could be a broken balance staff.

The Cal. 1020 is not a movement you want to learn to service a watch on. The dial side components are quite flimsy when compared to other watches, due to Omega's desire to make the movement very thin. It's a movement that can give some watchmakers trouble. I am also an engineer (mechanical) and I went to watchmaking school to learn to work on watches. This is not something you learn in a weekend, and although an engineering background can help you understand theory, the practical side of watchmaking is unlike any sort of work you have likely done before.

Replacing a balance staff (if that is one of the problems) is certainly not a task for beginners. Some may argue what's needed to do this, but I was taught (and agree) that cutting out the old staff on a watchmaker's lathe is the correct way to do this. So you would need a lathe (with collets/carbide gravers), staking set, poising tool, truing calipers, etc. and each of these tools would cost more than a service would.

Even if the staff is not broken, the oils and greases alone that you would have to buy to do a professional job would cost more than having someone service it.

I would advise returning it as non-functioning if you can, or at least ask for a contribution towards the cost of a service.

Cheers, Al

 

I hear you. Had in the back of my mind about practising on some cheaper and less iconic watches. I've done electronic builds down to SMD sizes. My biggest question is that stripping down is not the problem, but putting everything back in the right places is. More for the screws I think. I'll be buying the tools still, but getting some non runners which have available parts to play with. Got the big desktop illuminated magnifier as a starting point which I used to use on electronic boards. Have been looking for courses on the subject, but they don't exist at night schools by the looks of it. I've never minded buying the proper tools to do jobs, as it saves a lot of heartache. Just need to find someone local to do the service now.

 

Thanks Al
You posted while I was replying to John.
Take your point and I won't be attempting this. I belong to the caveat emptor fraternity so I took the risk in buying it as the seller answered everything I asked. Once i've found someone who can service it and give a view on any repairs that need doing I'll decide what to do. Cheers Paul