I'm a little embarasssed to be posting this, but perhaps someone may help me. I purchased a SM 300 from Watchco in Australia, which I think I might be operating improperly. The movement is a 565 automatic with quick set date.

When I received the watch, I unscrewed the crown to set and wind it. When unscrewed, the crown is in winding position. One click out, it is in timesetting position. Out again, and the date advances. I set the date and time, and wound the watch about 40 times. I wore the watch for a day and it seemed fine. I put it on the winder overnight. In the morning it was a few minutes off, so I reset the time and wore the watch again. A few hours later it was slow, so I unscrewed the crown to reset the time, and tried to wind it. (They say there is no overwinding.) The first turn was fine, but the second turn slipped. Now the watch is losing a few minutes every hour. The crown slips frequently when trying to wind it. The sweep seconds hand stops intermittently, esp. when the watch is shifted from one position to another position. Did I do something wrong?

 

just report to watchco. they will warrant the purchase....... kind regards. achim

 

Is the crown fairly tight on the case tube, so the winding is stiff? If so, it's possible that the crown is drifting as you wind, and this is causing the clutch inside the crown to disengage winding. Try putting a slight tension on the crown as you wind it to see if that helps.

Cheers, Al

 

I had the same. After a few times uncrewing and winding I think the gasket loosened a bit and now it works smoothly.

 

In my case, my local watchmaker wasn't happy with the crown so we got replacements from WatchCo. Perhaps yours fits a little funny too.

Tom

 

It sounds as if the sweep second friction spring was not supported when the second hand was installed. I made this rookie mistake when I built my Watchco SM 300. The second hand on my watch stutters and slips due to nonuniform friction supplied by a friction spring that was deformed when not supported. I need to get some new springs and practice installing them properly. The case clamps that came with mine also do not seem sufficient. I hope you can sort all your problems out as it is a great watch!

 

As Giff2577 noted, a common issue with many Omega movements. The seconds are "indirect"ly driven, so that spring keeps tension on the pinion to take up slack in that train. If the spring isn't just right, you get that jumping around.

Tom

 

Thanks for all the great advice! Of course Watchco stands behind the watch, but I was/am worried that I am causing the problem in the way that I'm setting/winding it. I will try these suggestions and happily post a photo of the new watch when it's working right.

 

At £35 each, that could be expensive practice.

 

They are certainly not cheap!

Not only should the spring and seconds pinion be supported, it also needs to be supported in a proper way to prevent damage - I place an old piece of mainspring between the pinion and the friction spring, like this:



You then place the movement in a proper holder with a center support, raise the support so it touches the friction spring, and then press your seconds hand on. If you don't use that piece of old mainspring to protect the friction, spring, you will get this:





The area of the spring that rides on the pinion will be distorted by the pinion, and this can cause problems getting the tension adjusted. I see a lot come in this way, so I do have a lot of springs on hand as replacements...

Cheers, Al

 

Good tips @Archer . I will copy that with the mainspring . Having the same problem with an old Vostok russian movement .Now i understand why the second stuttered after servicing the movement . Do you oil under the friction spring ?

 

Just a side note, the sweep seconds on a caliber 861/1861 Speedmaster is also indirectly driven, and can have the same issues. Also why there is a little delay or jump forwards sometimes when you start the chronograph.

Tom

 

No - no oil is applied to the spring on these. If you have one that the pinion has a lower pivot and goes into a small bridge (Cal. 613 for example) you oil the pivot, but not he spring that provides tension. I can't think of any instance where the tension spring is oiled, at least on an Omega.

 

Good to now .Actually working on a 613 now .

 

Thank you very much Archer for the explanation and photos. Now where does one locate a "proper holder with a center support" for the Omega 55X movements, or do I have to custom make one? Thank you again for taking the time to share your wisdom!

 

It's a 12 1/2 ligne movement, so any holder of this size should work - the one I use is actually made for a Rolex 1575...

 

These are the ones that I use:
https://www.cousinsuk.com/product/by-size-swiss
I'm sure that Ofrei will sell them too.

 

I have a number like those, but this is the one I use for this specific movement:



I used to do a lot of woodworking (making furniture, etc.) and if you are a woodworker, you can never have enough clamps. If you are a watchmaker, you can never have enough movement holders...

Cheers, Al

 

Al and Stewart,
Thank you both again for taking the time to help a newer member. There is a fantastic wealth of information here and I am honored to learn from you!