Hello OF,

I've been on the look out for a good condition Wittnauer 4000 Skin Diver for a while now and today I won an eBay auction for one that looks to be in pretty good condition. It even has the trapezoidal cyclops date window on the crystal that I believe is the or similar to the originally supplied crystal when purchased new. Looking forward to having it my hands to verify the condition (fingers crossed haha). Here are a couple photos of the watch for those that are curious:




Although it looks to be in good condition I wanted to get a head start on the one thing I'm sure of that I'm going to need is a correct crown. The crown currently on the watch do not look correct to other examples that I have seen. Looks to be too small. I'd love to find a signed crown to complete the watch but would also be okay with an unsigned correct style crown.

An example of a signed crown, as seen in a HQ Milton offering:


An unsigned replacement crown, seen in a Hodinkee offering:


So the long and short of it is that I figured I'd send out a smoke signal here to the OF community and see if any one has a crown lying around they'd be willing to part with or if they know of a source that the could pass along. Anyone have any hints, leads or a crown?

Also, if any members have one of these with a signed or unsigned crown, I'd be really appreciative if you could post the measurements of your crown as I'm happy to jump down the eBay rabbit hole to find one. Diameter and thickness would be enough to get me started.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

Nice find. Just 149 more posts and you can make a WTB listing. Until then, keep your eyes on eBay.

 

Yep, counting down the posts. Been looking on eBay as well. Not sure about the measurements of the crown so looking on there is a bit of a shot in the dark. But as I mention in the original post, just need a couple measurements and I could be off to the races on an eBay search.

 

This is mine, which I believe to be correct.

 

You might reach out by PM to a member to ask for measurements.

 

yep @Barking mad that looks to be a correct signed crown! I'll reach out with a PM.

 

Hello all,

Barking Mad was gracious enough to provide a resource but I have yet to hear back from them and I am still looking. So if you know of a source or a crown, your help would be greatly appreciated.

 

Watch arrived today. Really happy about the overall condition of the watch but I have the slightest suspicion that the bezel is not original to the watch.

The reason I think the bezel is not original is the misalignment with the case as seen right next to the crown tube.




I have the suspicion that if this watch had an original crown it would be able to properly snap into position. I could be wrong though.

 

Oh yeah, that’s wrong. You could find an aftermarket crown (to tide you over) with the correct dimensions (that goes over the tube with correct gasket etc), someone with a factory crown should be able to give you those specs.

 

Did you find a crown yet or have dimensions of the original?

https://www.ebay.com/itm/1146639591...wbX-eCPTSu&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPYPurchases made through these links may earn this site a commission from the eBay Partner Network

 

@Anthony Lane I was able to get the measurements from @Barking mad In the hopes that the next Wittnauer Skin Diver owner's search caan be a little shorter, the measurements are as follows. The diameter is 6 mm and the thickness is 3.5 mm.

And thank you for passing along the eBay listing. Unfortunately the crown from that listing won't work but I very much appreciate you posting it. I ended up finding another watch that had a correct size service crown and from what I can tell a correct bezel as well, so I purchased that one and swapped the complete movements with dial and hands between the watches. I'll post a photo of the watch a bit later.

 

Glad it’s sorted for now. I reached out to some vintage parts people on Instagram and came up short—since the C11KS1 movement seems to be used in Record, Longines and Wittnauer as the only brands I think and original signed is a tough find.

I noticed one seller on eBay is seeling a handful of the Ref. 4000’s, might be a good parts resource if need be

 

Appreciate you reaching out to your contacts. I tried a few as well but also came up short.

I actually did reach out the eBay seller that has a few listed in the off chance they have any parts. Here's to hoping they get back to me!