Hello everyone. I have similar Omega wristwatch with a small button at 8 o clock ... I can not find anywhere similar watch. Can you give me some information about this watch? Please help me
Please show us a better lit, well focused, clear photo of the inside of the case back. Make certain it shows clearly any engraving inside the case back. The movement certainly looks like an Omega, but I (for one) wonder about the case.
An added hacking mechanism? Some weird shit was made during the war.... and its in the right place to act a a brake on the balance
There's no case like it that I can see in any reference book I have. A better photo may show how and with what that pusher engages.
Having that button directly act on the balance as a "brake" IMO" would be lunacy. One push too hard or bump into something would surely break a pivot, or crack a jewel. But that's just my couple pennies worth.
Stupid? Yes I tend to agree, but I've seen it done in industrial timers. It works if the force is indirect and therefore controlled. The history of engineering is full of stupid ideas that are made to work because it was the only one that could be made to work at that time (or because nobody with a better idea has come along yet). Sometimes stupid ideas are dragged on for years and made to work rather well through a ton of clever over engineering. The 356 & 911 line of sportscars is my favorite example... hang the engine way out back so its unbalanced and doesn't handle all that well at the limit and then spend 50 years overcoming the shortcomings of the basic design. (And then castrate the Caymen so its not as fast) Tell me this line of thinking won't piss off some 911 fans!
Most hack levers act directly on the balance. In fact in many modern watches they are called a "balance stop lever" because they act on the balance to stop it (hey not all watch terms are nonsensical!). As long as the penetration of said lever is limited by it's geometry (like a typical lever is), it poses no more risk to the balance pivots or jewels than any normal balance stop lever that is actuated through the sliding pinion via the winding/setting mechanism. It does however increase the risk of inadvertent actuation, so in that sense it is a less desirable design IMO... Cheers, Al
Indeed. The button, as we can see in the enlarged movement photo, presses on a strip of spring steel which is screwed or riveted to the movement body. This in turn presses on the balance wheel when the button is actuated, stopping the watch. So it is a hacking feature, perhaps added for military or scientific use?