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  1. dootcho May 8, 2019

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    Dear forum members,

    I just opened the package with my recent addition to the collection, a "minor" Speedie but a Speedie nonetheless, the model 186.0004 with quartz Cal. 1620.

    I read a few posts about this model and noted some love for this model, i find the combination of an easy quartz display within the classic lyre lug case well delivered, making for a likely daily wearer since i tend to keep the shiny models in the safe most of the time.

    When held in hand, i noted how misleading my judgement can be based only on pictures, the case is much much thinner and lighter than its brothers cal.861 and cal.321 and even the bracelet has an almost flimsy feeling vs other speedie bracelets. Nevertheless i really like this piece and once i found one in honest conditions with its original bracelet i couldn't let it go.

    Now, i read somewhere that a few watchmakers are able to service and repair the 1620 module, the watch was listed on the bay as not working, i looked at the manual in this useful site and it turned out it was just a matter of touching the corrector button a few times, however the watch definitely needs servicing and a good cleaning since when i push the buttons they tend to get stuck instead of returning to the original position, can anyone suggest someone who could clean and also check that the quartz module has no issues? My preference would be Italy but i am happy to either travel to most european countries or ship (if you trust him i'll trust him too).

    Thanks a lot to all for your help and below a few pics of the actual watch, any comment positive and negative is welcome, i am not able to show the movement as i don't trust myself with any tool, apologies for this inconvenience!

    Dootcho

    image1.jpeg image2.jpeg image3.jpeg image4.jpeg image5.jpeg
     
  2. JACK G May 9, 2019

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    Hello Dootcho and nice LCD Speedie.

    I have owned and repaired many, many LCD watches including Omega cal.1620.

    Check out my post on another forum. ........

    https://forum.tz-uk.com/showthread....Braun-DW20-and-Braun-DW30-LCD-digital-watches

    The cleaning and sorting out the sticking pushers is straightforward but the marks on the crystal are difficult to polish out.

    The only thing to check on the cal.1620 is that the battery contacts are clean and don't have any corrosion. If it's working OK then it is OK.

    I don't usually work on other peoples watches but may be able to help if you cannot find anyone in Italy - I am in the UK.

    Jack
     
    Mark020 and Dash1 like this.
  3. Dash1 May 9, 2019

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    Jack is a good guy and you should seriously consider his offer. If you find you need new pushers and or glass then Omega still have them, I recently sent one of these to Omega Bienne and they replaced those parts as well as the seals and ‘serviced’ the movement whatever that involves.
     
  4. dootcho May 9, 2019

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    Thanks a lot Jack for your assistance, much appreciated!
    I’ll send you a PM shortly so we can see if we can work it out.

    Dash thanks a lot for the reference and also the tip on Bienne, I thought they wouldn’t have spares
    anymore..

    Cheers
    Dootcho
     
  5. dootcho Sep 17, 2019

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    Just wanted to update on this thread,

    First of all thanks a lot to Jack who was really helpful and took some time to discuss what I was looking for, he was kind enough to offer his services but in the end suggested liaising with STS since they had access to Omega’s spare parts for this watch which were probably required.

    So after getting in touch with STS I sent the watch and asked they did the most conservative job they could. After looking into the watch the recommended service was to polish the glass (as the underlying mask was in good condition), replacing pushers which are still available at Omega and ordering a new battery clamp as the one on the movement was a handmade one (seems like Jack already knew about it).

    It took some time (I think in part because STS has to wait for the parts to come from Omega and also the summer break in the middle didn’t help), but finally it’s back in my possession and I’m really happy with the result! I hope my iPhone 7 camera and the British sun are able to capture the beauty in this unconventional speedy.

    0658F7B0-422F-42C1-981E-DB0BE0879B04.jpeg
     
  6. LoMat Oct 10, 2019

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    Very nice result, can you please indicate the cost at the end?
    Many thanks.
     
  7. DotOverNine Oct 10, 2019

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    Looking very good! So in the end, there was nothing wrong with the module itself?
    I'm curious coz i have a Speedmaster LCD myself, but with supposedly broken module...

    IMG_4313.jpg
     
  8. bbozic Oct 11, 2019

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    Have you opened up the backcase and looked what may have caused this issue with your module? I had problem with a dead module in my 186.0004 last year. What caused the issue was that it suffered a battery leakage and i really thought it was beyond saving at that point. Against all odds i still hoped for a small chance to revive it. I searched on the web and various forums for a while to see if i could find someone who specializes in this kind of problem. I eventually found an expert in repairing digital watches/ lcd modules in Germany and i contacted him. After some communication between us he gave me a price suggestion and i decided to give it a go. What could i loose? I sent him the module alone wrapped in aluminum foil and bubblewrap which he instructed me to do. He contacted me a few days later letting me know he had received the module and would soon start working on it. A week or two after this i got the good news that he was able to repair it and he even fixed the non working light which i specially asked for. The watch has been working ever since and is going strong like nothing ever happened to it. I recommend this gentleman and i can add that he only charges for successfull repairs. Interested?
     
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  9. Dash1 Oct 14, 2019

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    Yes I would be interested to get his contact details. Thanks
     
  10. DotOverNine Oct 15, 2019

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    Yes me too @bbozic !
     
  11. dootcho Oct 15, 2019

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    Hi LoMat,

    In the end cost for service + parts was in the 200GBP range, i asked for the least intrusive of interventions and i was happy with the result.

    They send you a cost estimate after assessing the watch and based on the input you provide, so max you can lose if you're not happy with their proposal is the shipping cost if you don't live close to their office

    best regards
     
  12. dootcho Oct 15, 2019

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    In this case there was no concern on the module, watch was working when i bought it and keeping good time, the only issue with it was related to the battery clamp but that was an easy fix.

    With regards to what bbozic mentioned i think the repair done by his contact sounds super good, i did some research before coming to the forum and deciding for STS and i found that repairing the light is something that not all watchmakers who can work on vintage pieces are able to do
     
  13. fil_coelho Tues. 5:37pm

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    hello. I have the same problem on my 186.0004 (the battery broke in the circuit, the light works, but the LCD doesn't). I would like to know the contact details of the German man who carried out the repair.