I recently was able to receive training on the Omega 861(more on that later) and the Maurice Lacroix Masterpiece Calendrier Retrograde. I acquired this watch recently from the original owner, it is from 2002, and has never been serviced. The amplitude was around 290 degrees full wind, however on inspection the jewels were mostly dry. Fortunately the previous owner said they didn’t wear it very often, so my hope was nothing was torn up from running dry. It has the somewhat typical it seems hands miss alignment, about 4 minutes. The base movement is a highly embellished 6498 More to follow soon.
This movement is front loaded into the case, with casing screws holding it place from the underside. The date hand lives in a tricky spot to remove. It is also very tight, much like a chronograph seconds hand. I set the date to 15 and used my smallest pair of VOH Hand removers and a protective silicone sheet. The hand, and all the others came off without damage. All the hands are thermally blued. The red gasket will be replaced during assembly. Hands and dial off: The dial is made from silver and quite heavy. Located under these two plates are the mechanisms for the both the retrograde date and power reserve indicator.
When dealing with highly decorated movements(or really any movement) screwdrivers must be profiled to fit the slots correctly. Sometimes for the best fit you may have to add a small chamfer to the edge of the screwdriver to prevent it from contacting the bridge or part the screw is holding. All of these wheels are in the train that drives the power reserve indicator hand. The steel one is a planetary gear set. All are supported by jewels. The only part that receives lubrications is part of the planetary gear set.
If you don't mind me asking, what did you pay for the watch? I've got a similar model, but find it is too big for my wrist; love it otherwise.
Retrograde calendar plate off, exposing it’s workings. The whole works is driven off the hour wheel. The wheel driven right off the hour wheel rotates counter clockwise, it’s little tail pulls the gear with the “snail” one tooth per day. The snail has 31 little flats machined into it. all the parts lined up. retrograde calendar plate: The complete platform then comes off.
Tom used to be the service center for ML back in the day, so if you run into technical issue, or need parts, he may be able to assist. Cheers, Al
I was fortunate enough to receive some hands on training on that watch from him. He also graded and evaluated my work, including any marks on screws, bridges, etc, as well as oiling, timing and adjustment. It was nice to have a good barometer of how my watchmaking skills are progressing. Tom is a bit of a perfectionist, it was nice to have him approve of the worked I performed on that watch.