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Archer
··Omega Qualified WatchmakerI'll address the two watchmaking questions here...
Yes, but it would need to be worn carefully. It will most likely not have any water resistance if you keep it all original, and if the specific watch is from an era when the balance jewels didn't have shock protection, it won't take much of a hit to break a balance staff.
This dent in a lug is from a watch that had a broken staff - the owner didn't remember hitting it on anything, so clearly it wasn't a huge shock - likely from clipping a door frame on the way through:
Later versions of the movement had shock protection on the balance jewels, and would be less susceptible to broken staffs.
Many people equate a simple movement with simple servicing - this is not always the case.
The 30T2 is not more difficult to service than any other simple manual wind movement, if you are lucky enough to get one that has either been properly maintained over the years, or has had little use, then it's quite easy to service.
If you get one that is worn out, it may need substantial repairs to resolve severe wear issues such as main plates and bridges, where worn out holes need to be bored out and bushings installed. Often other parts such as train wheels are worn out, and many of the parts for this whole series of calibers are discontinued, so they require hunting to find the parts on the open market. That takes time and usually the parts are not cheap when you find them - I've paid as much as $150 for a single train wheel for these calibers that was hard to find.
I service a lot of these and any given watch can require bushing of worn holes, balance staff replacement (doing that right now on one), burnishing pivots on a Jacot tool, etc. The complexity depends more on condition than the actual movement. You can use 90% of the watchmaking skills you will ever need fixing a simple movement like this.
Cheers, Al
1. Is this the sort of watch that could be worn everyday even though it is 80 years old? Would I have to avoid rain, warm climate, ...clapping?
Yes, but it would need to be worn carefully. It will most likely not have any water resistance if you keep it all original, and if the specific watch is from an era when the balance jewels didn't have shock protection, it won't take much of a hit to break a balance staff.
This dent in a lug is from a watch that had a broken staff - the owner didn't remember hitting it on anything, so clearly it wasn't a huge shock - likely from clipping a door frame on the way through:
Later versions of the movement had shock protection on the balance jewels, and would be less susceptible to broken staffs.
2. Is the 30T2 SC a relatively easy to service movement with easy to find parts? Would I have to pay a lot or wait a long time for parts if something were to go wrong?
Many people equate a simple movement with simple servicing - this is not always the case.
The 30T2 is not more difficult to service than any other simple manual wind movement, if you are lucky enough to get one that has either been properly maintained over the years, or has had little use, then it's quite easy to service.
If you get one that is worn out, it may need substantial repairs to resolve severe wear issues such as main plates and bridges, where worn out holes need to be bored out and bushings installed. Often other parts such as train wheels are worn out, and many of the parts for this whole series of calibers are discontinued, so they require hunting to find the parts on the open market. That takes time and usually the parts are not cheap when you find them - I've paid as much as $150 for a single train wheel for these calibers that was hard to find.
I service a lot of these and any given watch can require bushing of worn holes, balance staff replacement (doing that right now on one), burnishing pivots on a Jacot tool, etc. The complexity depends more on condition than the actual movement. You can use 90% of the watchmaking skills you will ever need fixing a simple movement like this.
Cheers, Al
