Swapping Omegamatic with Quartz

Since Omega's caliber 1400 (ETA 205.111) seems to have most of the disadvantages of a quartz movement with few of the advantages, my (dangerously) idle mind has begun to wonder about swapping that movement with a traditional quartz movement. For purposes of discussion, the ETA F06.115 seems like a good candidate. In addition to the items listed below, does anyone see other potential issues am I missing?

1. Movement Size

Both movements are 11.5 lignes with a case fitting diameter of 25.60 mm. The F06.115, at ≤ 3.22mm thick, is thinner than the 3.95mm 205.111 and thus should fit in the case.

2. Hand Size

The 205.111 takes 1.5/0.9/0.25 hands while the F06.115 uses the more common 1.2/0.7/0.2 hands. So swapping the movements will also require a new handset. Not ideal, but potentially acceptable.

3. Dial Feet

I assume the dial feet position are not compatible, so it would be time to break out the Dial Dots.

4. Date Position

The technical guides that I've found for the 205.111 don't specify the date indicator position, so I can't confirm that it's compatible with the F06.115. But overlaying photographs of the two movements—F06.115 at reduced opacity on top—suggests that they're really quite close. The F06.115 has slightly larger numerals, so if the dial cutout for the 205.111 is really tight, it might not work. But I think it looks good enough to try.



5. Stem Position

I can't find a specification for the distance from the stem to the dial on the 205.111, so I can't assess whether or not the stem position of the F06.115 will align with the case tube.

6. Crown Compatibility

The stem for the 205.111 looks like it's a Tap 9 stem. I can't find the specifications for the F06.115 stem, but I assume it's a Tap 10. So a replacement crown might be required as well.

Summary

I think item's 5 and 6 are the only problems that might not be easily resolvable. But I've probably missed something obvious, and I'm happy to be enlightened. Thanks.

I have been playing about with lasers. Both CO2 and fiber. These can be used to create movement rings and other adapters.

Hands and dial blanks could be created by such devices. Might even be possible to solder, spot weld dial feet.

I have a few (mechanical) movements which I am considering installing into some generic cases. Stem position is probably the most problematic.

This might affect one other thing not on your list which is cannon pinion, hour wheel, sweep height. These all need to clear the dial. Also need to fit under the crystal.

If you want a quartz watch, I’d suggest selling the watch and buying a quartz watch. They’re often not very expensive. The likelihood is small that it will be a simple swap and would destroy any value that the watch retains.

Sorry if my post was confusing, but (a) I don't own an Omegamatic, (b) I don't necessarily want a quartz watch though I do think a quartz movement would be an improvement over the caliber 1400, and (c) I'm not especially interested in value.

Can you elaborate on why you think the swap might not be simple? Is there something missing in my post, or is there a specific issue or issues mentioned for which the difficulty would be greater than described? Or is your comment based on the general idea that things are never as simple as they seem? 😀

I still don’t see the upside in buying an automatic watch with the intent of hypothetically replacing the movement with quartz. It is likely to be difficult and I don’t share the upside.

It is never a good idea to replace mechanical with quartz. vis https://omegaforums.net/threads/suggestions-for-restoring-a-late-60s-constellation.177091/

Of course playing with rusty ratwatches can be fun. There are a lot of fine movements where the cases were scrapped for metal value. Same for putting a mechanical movement into a smartwatch case.

Not much sense putting a smartwatch movement into a mechanical case though.

Ideally though I like to keep things consistent. Putting a 552 bridge on 562 plates just feels wrong. Same for mixing movements between cases. Who knows where these will wind up in the long term.

I come from an era were dial painting was the norm. So that does not bother me as much as it does others. Usually though the least amount of effort was done to make the watch usable/salable.

Perhaps given the car analogy there will be a time when one puts an electric motor into a frame intended for gas or diesel. And Hydrogen power plants are more like electronic (transistor ratchet) movements. H is also difficult to store.

With quartz and others one does have to consider the effects of the battery in the long term. Mercury cells are no longer sold. So will the power cells be available in the future? I have a Tissot hybrid (mechanical generator charges a super capacitor.) The supercap cell is already hard to find.

I agree that replacing a true automatic movement with a quartz movement is likely to be difficult and isn't something I'd consider. The Omegatic, however, is (more-or-less) a quartz movement. It just uses an automatic winding mechanism to charge a capacitor which, in turn, powers the actual quartz movement. So this query is more along the lines of replacing one quartz movement with a different one.

The problem with the 1400 is that the capacitor (aka the accumulator) wears out and needs replacement every couple of years. Even the later versions (based on the ETA 205.911), which have a battery instead of a capacitor, require servicing every few years. Replacing the battery requires disassembly of the automatic winding works to gain access, so it's not a task for the casual enthusiast.

So a stock 1400:

• is a quartz movement
• with an advertised power reserve of 100 hours
• that requires a new capacitor (or battery) as part of a professional service every 2-3 years

Replacing it with a F06.115 results in

• a quartz movement
• with an advertised power reserve of several years
• and a battery that can easily be changed at home
• and that is unlikely to require a professional service in decades, if at all

The upside seems pretty clear to me.

Ah so it is like my similar Tissot autoquartz.

I would never think of swapping that movement. This was the hot stuff when I visited the factory in the mid 1990s. I got the CD with all the marketing guff, and remember being impressed at the Basil show. Such a watch was high on my grail list. An omega variation would really be the bees knees.

I was able to pick up the Tissot for under 200USD. Sometime I may track down a replacement supercap. I think there are Seiko/Casio variations what fit.

I have also become obsessed with the 134x quartz. So many of these were presentation watches. Swapping to a different movement simply feels wrong. So many cases get scrapped, leaving way too many homeless movements.

Seems a real shame though to destroy such a watch. Granted these hybrids have about as much love as an APS camera, but they are unique examples of a solution looking for a problem. Which seems also what this thread is doing.

So much more practical just to get one of the NH35 or whatever bling trendy case watches than to destroy something interesting. What this creates is something even less than a replica homage. DIY watchclub would be a much better option in the long run, althoug such would not be omega. Then neither would the resulting marriage, which could never be a happy one.

I see no value to the listed upsides. These boxes can all be checked with a moonswatch or any other modern quartz watch pr microbrand. And be much more legit.