Right folks,

So I'm pretty confident I've sourced the right crown, and have the right tools to perform a crown replacement.

The question is do I have the skill to remove, replace and reinsert the crown on my Ed.....As I first timer - let's assume no.

This will be my first time even attempting it... so my question to the forum....

Is this Sensible or bonkers??? Is it 'easy to do', or well left to the professional watchmakers??

In other words, what's the potential damage to the watch if enthusiasm gets in the way of knowledge/experience??

Thanks
C.

 

It's pretty easy. Once the case is open, there's one screw to unscrew that releases the stem. Be conservative loosening this screw (half turn at a time, say, until the stem is released), as I've heard it's a bear to get back in if it comes out. Fortunately that hasn't happened to me yet.

The crown just unscrews from the stem. Use soft-jawed pliers to hold the stem while unscrewing the crown, and hope that the crown hasn't corrosion-welded itself to the stem. Good luck!

 

hold the stem with pliers or whatever you do, as close to the crown as possible. otherwise your stem might snap if the unscrewing is harder than expected...... kind regards,. achim

 

I suppose the answer is, Can you afford to make a 'bollocks' of your beautiful, vintage, Omega Speedmaster?

When the crown on my 1965 Speedmaster needed replacing I was told that "vintage, flat foot, 24 tooth crowns are expensive and getting hard to find."

Is it a major issue for you if something like this happens???

A vintage Ed White, Speedmaster seems like an unlikely item on which to begin practicing watchmaking skills. I wouldn't have thought that swapping a crown over would be a very expensive job for a skilled, experienced watchmaker.

 

as others have said use a pair of pliers to unscrew the crown

note i did this and the had to gently file down the end of the stem as it left a gap good luck

 

Very easy job for any professional watchmaker. For you, I have no idea because your level of skill and dexterity is completely unknown.

Some of the advice given here has been questionable, for example holding the stem with pliers - not the way it's supposed to be done by any means but this advice comes from people who likely don't have any proper tools (such as a pin vice).

The best case scenario is that you manage to get the stem out, the crown changed, and the stem back in without any issues. However there are a few things that could be problematic...such as...

1 - turning the detent screw too far out - this can potentially cause problems if another screw inside has been lost, and to rectify it would mean removing the movement from the case, removing the hands, and removing the dial to get the winding/setting mechanism back in place.

2 - you get the stem out, but replacement crown means the stem is either too short or too long - this would require trimming or a new stem.

3 - you dislodge parts of the winding/setting mechanism while trying to get the stem back in - see #1 for the solution (removing hands and dial).

4 - you leave a burr on the stem somewhere, and over time is chews up the main plate and barrel ridge - parts that are no longer available.

Even simple jobs can have consequences that should have you thinking twice about doing it yourself. I believe those in the UK call this penny wise and pound foolish...

But we can't determine how good you are at any of this, so maybe it will go fine...let us know how it turns out.

 

Thanks @Archer!

1,3 and 4 sound expensive.

I hear you on the penny wise side of things - but would like to increase my experience. One of the earlier comments suggested that perhaps a 003 is _not_ the place to start. That resonates with me.

May I ask how similar is the removal process on an 1861?

 

I would send it to a watch maker...bec it is an expensive ed white

 

It's very much the same. Do you have tools for removing hands? Or for installing hands? If so have you removed and installed hands on chronographs before?

If you are serious about learning more, I would suggest not starting on a chronograph, and in particular one where a small slip could remove thousands of dollars of value from the watch.

Cheers, Al

 

Haven't thought about going as far as hands - and don't have the tools to attempt. Have removed stems and movements from lower end watches - but they were push tabs to remove the stem, and I didn't replace the crown.

At this stage I'm thinking about trying to remove the crown and stem from an 1861 that needs a service anyway (should anything go wrong), and reinserting.

The two things I'm most nervous of - over loosening per #1 and snapping the stem in my pin vice when trying to remove the crown.

Let me sit on this for a few days - but I'm bought in on not doing this on my Ed.

The risk/reward isn't there until I'm more confident.

Thanks all!

 

When you loosen the detent screw, only loosen a little at a time, and when you try to pull the stem out, press down on the screw with your screwdriver a little. This will help the detent pin get out of the slot in the stem with the minimum amount of loosening of the screw. If it doesn't come out, loosen a bit more, press down, and gently pull on the crown - repeat until stem comes out.

Cheers, Al

 

Thanks Al - I'll ping the thread with an update when I attempt this on the 1861!

Cheers
Craig

 

Learning phase one complete... and successfull..

Was nervous the more I turned the detent screw but I was happy I had the right one as I saw it move when I brought the stem out.

Claiming this as a success!! Now to build the courage for the Ed!



Btw - wifey loves the glasses I bought for this. I look great in em!

 

Nicely done, congrats!!

 

If I am considering removing the crown/stem on my 145.012 to swap out a 32-tooth crown for a 24-tooth crown, the stem should be directly swappable between the two crowns, correct (1.0mm for both)?

And @BatDad do you have any other tips now for another first-timer?

 

No, there’s every chance the stem will need to be a different length because the two crowns might have slightly different dimensions.

 

Oh ok, so would I tell by measuring the height of the two crowns (meaning I can only tell upon removing the current crown/stem)? Or could this be determined in advance?

 

I tell you, how it is done : Don't speculate. Get a very cheap new stem and you are prepared for everything ....