RWG Technical

This is the first time I have seen this model, hopefully it will start being the normal one offered in all chrono's (hopefully minus the extra oil and dirt...) RG

Here is a New Asian 7753 model (28,800 BPH) with an improvement and a problem as well… This was sent in for normal preventative servicing by the owner as there was no noted problem with the watch, it was working fine. The owner sends most of his watches in for service as he wants to give them the chance of lasting a lifetime…in this case it was a really good idea, as you will see… I have so far noted 3 three variants or versions of this new 7753 model. The differences are in the way the 30-minute transfer gears are attached to the movement. So far, this version is the best designed one I have seen, extremely well done (the 30 minute transfer gears that is, the rest of the movement has been commented on already, it’s a great movement). Here is the view of the movement dial side, with the dial removed, note the new bridge over the 30-minute gears, it’s really well done… Why I like this one is due to the design of the cover plate, and the quality of the gears themselves. Here they are with the cover off… Another HUGE improvement is this here, how they have ensured the datewheel is well secured to the movement. On all other versions, this is a big issue, finally someone is paying attention and putting in the design that is needed on this otherwise fine movement… So far so good, nice movement, and only in for a normal service. On these models, typically they are not oiled at all, and sometimes a bit dirty… Nothing new there, but wait, once I get the motion works bridge off, and look at the mainspring barrel, look what I found…seems as if someone got “Oil” happy on the assembly line… There was oil everywhere including the mainplate and motion works bridge…look what was waiting for me when I took the barrel apart… Took the mainspring out, and even more crap and oil… Then I tried to wipe up as much as I could before the trip to the Ultrasonic machine… After a long soak in pre-cleaner, and a few runs in the Ultrasonic machine, it’s clean and ready for assembly… I also re-lumed the dial as part of the service, here is a progress shot… And all done, dial and hands on, and testing for a few days and then back out to the happy owner, happier knowing that the movement is clean and serviced and ready for 5 years of work before another trip to the shop. Thanks for reading. RG

Hopefully in a Non-Brookback mountain type of way... I just had another thought. After I service a movement, it is always in the time setting position...which is why I guess I always use that position when I remove the stem...normally if the stem is coming out, the movement is coming apart as well. If you disassemble a movement, you can only assemble the keyless works in the winding position, you can't assemble it in the time setting one as the parts would fly out before you got the cover on, and on some models (2836) the spring for the yoke lever is actually part of the keyless works cover. So following overhaul, you have to insert the stem from the time setting position, as this is where it ends up after assembly. I knew there was a good reason I did this, just couldn't remember it...now where is my tea, I need some caffeine... RG

I think what he is asking, is what model does his ETA fall into... ETA produces 4 levels of this model of movement, 1. Standard (lowest grade), 2. Elabore (better), 3. Top and 4. Chronometre (Best grade). The one pictured and the ones I see in most reps are "Top" grade movements. I have never seen one that is a Chronometre version, as these are quite rare... A Chronometre would have been registered with COSC and have a serial number on the barrel bridge (according to ETA data sheets). RG

It's hard to diagnose what could be going wrong, without being there... The time setting position works great for you, as you dont' have any problems, same for the winding one for me...we both have a lot of experience removing the stems, and have a "feel" for it if you will...there is nothing wrong with the time setting position, as it works for you...but I always seem to have problems in that position..so I use the winding one... Trying this for the first time is always a risk, there are so many things we who have done this many times are doing - without even thinking about it - that it's impossible to write them all down... What works great for one is not so great for another... 5 minutes at the workbench would explain it all and clear it all up, trying to type that in text, would take a long time, and still not be very clear... I suspect that either of us watching as the stem was inserted would pick on what caused this to happen, it's probably a simple thing to us, but maybe not so intuitive if you havent' done it a hundred times. I am capable of stripping a 7750 - that is in the case with the dial and hands attached - to all 100+ parts in the parts bin and ready for a wash...in less than 20 minutes...assembly is another story, but I can get them apart pretty fast.....6497-1, from full assembled, to all apart - 7 mintues - and who says a chrono is of no value...my 196 is the best tool I have...assembly is a lot longer as you can imagine. It all comes with experience and doing the same job over and over... RG

Without sitting beside you, and watching what your doing, it's impossible for me to even try and guess what is going on... I differ from the norm (probably in more ways than one) when it comes to the position of the crown, when you remove the stem. I always remove the stem with the crown in the "WINDING" position, not the time setting one... I know the mainstream is to have the sliding pinon held in place with the yoke holding it in place by the spring...BUT I find this the most risky position due to the way the rest of the keyless works is held together. The risk in this position is that when you try and put the stem in place, as soon as the stem starts to push up on the set lever to allow it to lock, the yoke slips off of the sliding pinion, and snaps out of place...which typically causes exactly the situation you describe. With the crown in the winding position, you have a number of benifits that prevent (in my humble) opinion this problem: 1. The sliding pinion is against the crown gear, which means that as soon as the square boss on the stem enters the movement, it is engaged into the crown and sliding pinion gears and secures them and prevents them (and the yoke as well) from slipping out of place. 2. If the sliding pinion is not against the crown gear, the crown gear can fall down and not allow the stem to slide in place, this is a big issue on 7750 movements and very critical on this model. 3. The fact that there is no pressure against the yoke, or sliding pinion or crown gear (as soon as you go from the winding position, there is pressure on the yoke from the spring attached to it) means that when the set lever is displaced to allow the pin on it to engage into the stem, there is no risk of anything poping out of place. No spring pressure = no risk of something popping out of place... On a 2836-2, you can get the stem to insert without pressing on the release pin, as long as you gently rotate the stem as you insert it, it should seat in without any problems. On the 7750 models, you have to press the stem release in order for the stem to fit in place. No matter how good a tuturiol, someone is going to run into problems at some time... I have always removed the stems in the WINDING position, as did my late uncle who was my mentor... It has always worked fine for me, and I have never had any issues with removal or installation... I can't speak for what works for others, and I know the mainstream is to pull the watch to the time setting position, but in my experience, that is the worse position to have as everything is under pressure, a slight jar, or pressure during stem installation, and the whole works lets go...and then you have to take the watch apart... If you do send me these, I would bet that the yoke has popped out of the sliding gear, whenever I see this, typically, it's due to the watch being in the time setting position when the stem was removed. RG

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Definitions and terms. · 2824-2 ETA automatic date movement · 2836-2 ETA automatic day/date movement · 2892A2 – ETA automatic movement with date. One of the best movements made, thinner than a similar Rolex model, strong rotor bearing that doesn’t have rubbing problems (which the Rolex has), and smooth sweep seconds. Costs less than $200, Rolex model is in the thousands… · 2893-2 – ETA automatic movement with date and GMT function. Based on the 2892A2 with added gears to make it into a GMT model. · 6497-1 ETA handwind movement, found in the large PAM watches · 7750 - Chrono movement, can be Swiss or Asian, has 3 subdials in addition to the normal hands, 30 minute counter, 12 hour counter, and running seconds. A true 7750 has subdials at 12 (30 minute counter) 9 (running seconds) and 6 (12 hour counter). Any different subdial layout, and it’s not a 7750. · 7753 – ETA Chrono movement, subdials at 9-6-3. Has quick set date pusher at the 11 o’clock position on the movement. There is no quickset date change via the crown. · 8215 – a Miyota automatic movement. A genuine one does NOT Hack. · Accuracy – mechanical watches are anywhere from a few seconds a day to a minute a day fast or slow, this is normal · Asian movement – Chinese copy of a Swiss movement. Most Swiss parts are NOT interchangeable with the Asian copies of the same movement. Generally, Asian copies are great value for the money, and well made and dependable. · Asian movements and parts – there are no parts available for Asian movements, not even for Miyota · Automatic – Movement that winds as you wear it. · Balance wheel – the most fragile part of the movement, and the part that breaks if you drop the watch. It swings back like the pendulum in a grandfather clock. · Beat – the adjustment of the position of the balance wheel, pallet arm, and escape wheel. A watch is said to be in “Beat” when all three are aligned, and the balance swings the same amount in each direction (see Swing) · Bezel – a metal ring around the crystal attached to the case. It can have numbers on it and rotate around, as in the case of a Rolex Submariner, or Omega Seamaster. Or it can be fixed and not moveable, as in a Rolex DateJust. Normally a separate piece from the case itself. It is held in place with a spring or a compression ring. · Bi-Directional winding – an automatic movement that winds when the rotor turns clockwise, or counterclockwise, examples are ETA 2836-2, 2892A2, etc. · BPH – Beats Per Hour – how fast the watch runs. A manual wind 6497-1 runs at 18,000 BPH (18,000 Ticks and Tocks each hour). A 2836-2 runs at 28,800 BPH. More BPH is equal to a smoother sweep of the seconds hand on the dial face. 18,000 BPH is 2.5 “Ticks and Tocks” per second, 28,800 BPH is 8 Ticks and Tocks per second. Speeds are 18,000, 21,600, and 28,800. · Bridge – part of a movement that is held in place at more than one end, the part over the mainspring is normally a bridge. · Cap Jewels – two piece jewels found on the top and bottom pivots of the balance wheel. They are the only 2 piece jewels in the watch, and are taken apart to oil them. · Case – what the movement and dial are inserted into, normally made of stainless steel · Caseback – the back of the watch that is screwed into the case and seals the watch, normally there is a rubber ring in the caseback to dust and water proof the watch · CG Lever – on PAM watches, it’s the small lever that closes shut over the crown · Chrono (chronograph) stopwatch type of movement, has sub-dials · Chrono Center Seconds – the seconds hand in the center of the movement, which only works when the chrono is activated. · Chronometer – a movement that meets the accuracy standards set out in the COSC rules, accurate to –4 to +6 seconds per 24 hours. · Click – as applied to the mainspring of the watch, the small spring or tab that ratchets as the mainspring is wound up. It is the “click, click, click” you can hear on some watches when you wind them · Click Wheels – on automatic movements, click wheels are the small wheels that act as clutches and allow the watch to be hand wound, without turning the rotor. They are very fragile and prone to damage if the watch is hand wound too often or too fast. · [censored] – part of a movement that is only secured at one end, the balance is held in place with a [censored]. · Compression Ring – used to hold mineral or sapphire crystals in place in the case. A crystal press is needed when installing the crystal and the compression ring compresses during installation, and secures the crystal in place · Crown – the part that you use to wind the watch, set the time or date · Crown (Screw Down) – found on many watches, is used for water proofing. The crown is screwed down towards the case and seals up against o’rings. · Crown Guard’s (CG) – the part of the watch case that is next to the crown. On a PAM model, it’s a separate part with a lever attached to it. On most Rolex models, it’s part of the case and projects on each side of the crown, to protect it in case of impact. Rep CG’s can be too thick or the wrong shape, and are sometimes filed down to make them look more realistic. · Crown Positions – either 2 or 3 positions depending on the movement type. If the watch has a day/date function, there are 3 positions, 1st position is the one with the crown closest to the case, this is the winding position, farthest out position (3rd or 2nd depending on the model) is the time setting position, the center or 2nd position is used to set the date, day, or GMT hand. · Crown Tube – the small tube attached to the case, that the crown fits into · Crown up, Crown Down, Dial Up, Down, etc (CU, CD, DU, DD)… Position of storing the watch, the watch runs faster in positions other than the dial up and dial down ones, due to side loads on the pivots · Crystal – the glass on the watch through which you see the dial. Most are made of Sapphire an extremely hard mineral (only thing harder is diamonds), but they can be Mineral (glass) or plastic · Cyclops – a small magnifier that is glued to the crystal and sits over the date window. It magnifies the date so older people can tell what day of the week it is · Date-wheel overlay – a decal put on over an ETA movement date-wheel to simulate the position of the date-wheel on a genuine Rolex. · Daytona – type of Rolex Chrono model. Two versions, a pre-2000 with running seconds at 9, and a post-2000 version with running seconds at 6. The ones with running seconds at 6 are problematic due to the modification on the movement. · Dial Feet – small posts attached to the bottom of the dial, used to secure the dial to the movement. The dial feet (2 of them) are specific to the type of movement in the watch, and are not in the same location on all watch models. · Dial pads or tape – small double-sided sticky dots used to secure the dial to the movement, if the dial feet don’t line up. A perfectly acceptable way of securing a dial to the movement. · Dial washer – a small spring washer made of brass, it fits over the hour wheel (the gear that the hour hand fits onto). When the dial is installed on the movement, the backside of the dial presses against the washer, and this holds the hour wheel in place and engaged into the minute gear. A missing dial washer will cause the hour hand to slip out of engagement when the watch is turned upside down. · Direct Center Seconds – most Swiss models have the Second wheel (the first one after the escape wheel) in the center of the movement and driving the seconds hand directly, this produces a much smoother look to the seconds hand · DRSD Double Red Sea Dweller – type of old Rolex · End links (bracelet) – the part of the bracelet where the watch case and the bracelet meet. · Escape wheel – a special wheel with strange shaped teeth, that allows one tooth of the wheel to “Escape” every time the pallet stones move out of the way · ETA – Swiss type of watch movement, very good quality · Fine Rate Adjuster – a small arm or screw on the balance [censored] with a + - markings and indices. It is used for fine adjustments to the rate of the watch. The general rule of thumb is that each index represents about 5-10 seconds a day adjustment. · GMT watch – a watch with a 4th hand that does one turn around the dial face for every 24 hours. The hand is set independent of the time. · Hacking – Something that happens if you smoke too much. On a watch, pulling the crown out to the time setting position, and causing the seconds hand to stop running is called Hacking the movement. This allows the time to be set exactly to the second. · Hacking lever – the small lever that moves and touches the balance wheel, thereby stopping the watch from running. · Hairspring – a very small fragile spring attached to the balance · Hands – Swiss hands are mostly the same size between like models. For example, most automatic Swiss movements have hands 0.25mm for seconds, 0.90mm for minute, and 1.50mm for hour. Asian models will have 0.17mm for seconds, 1.00mm for minute, and 1.55mm for hour hands, on their automatic models. This is a general rule of thumb, unless the movement is identical, the hands are not interchangeable most times · Impulse Jewel – the small post like sapphire jewel on the bottom of the balance wheel that the pallet arm fork hits and imparts an “impulse” to, causing the balance to swing around. · Incablock – type of shock absorber and spring, looks like the letter “H” · Indirect center seconds drive – on most Asian automatic movements (including the Miyota), the center seconds hand is driven by a wheel turning a pivot, this causes some “jumpiness” of the seconds hand, especially in the downward direction with gravity, in the upward direction, the hand will be smooth as gravity takes up the slack in the gears · Interchangeability – Swiss and Asian parts are not interchangeable. · Jewels – an automatic watch will normally have 25 jewels, a manual one – 17 jewels. Jewels are made of sapphire (Ruby) and installed in the various plates and bridges. The jewels are press fitted (35 lbs pressure needed to insert them) into the bridges into precision holes reamed 0.01mm smaller than the jewel diameter. The jewels have small holes in them for the pivots of the gears to sit in and turn on. Oiling the watch requires perfectly clean jewel holes and gear pivots, and application of the correct amount of oil. The oil is held in place by capillary action. On the escape wheel, the oil needed is about the size of the point of a pin. Jewels are used to reduce friction in the watch. · Keyless works – old term going back to when pocket watches used “keys”. Refers to the part of the watch that the crown and stem are attached to. It winds, and sets the time or date on the watch. · KIF – type of shock absorber spring, looks like a triangle · Mainplate – the basic large piece of the movement, sort of like an engine block. The mainplate and various bridges and cocks are normally made of brass, and nickel or gold plated. · Mainspring – the large spring in the movement that makes the watch run, most watches run for 36-52 hours with a full wind · MBW – highly specialized Rolex copy, accepts genuine parts and is a direct copy of a genuine Rolex · Miyota – Asian movement made by Citizen. Automatic, date, very reliable · Motion works – the part of the watch that starts at the mainspring, and ends at the escape wheel, it’s the gears that make up the motion from the mainspring to the escape wheel. Gears are named in the order found from the pallet arm: Escape wheel, 2nd wheel, 3rd wheel, 4th (or Great) wheel, and then there is the mainspring barrel. · O’Rings – o’rings are found on the caseback, and crown, they keep water and dust out of the watch · Oiling a watch – taking a watch completely apart, cleaning each and every part, then assembling the watch, and “oiling” each pivot point with the correct type and quantity of oil. · Open 6’s and 9’s – older Rolex date-wheels had open 6’s and 9’s (meaning the circle on the 6 or 9 was not touching the other side, there is a gap in the loop). · Overwinding a watch – a misnomer, as there is no way to overwind a watch (see Winding) · Pallet arm and stones – a small “T” shaped part that has square stones at the top of the “T” part and a small notch at the other end. The pallet stones are connected to the escape wheel, and as the watch runs, each pallet stone allows one tooth of the escape wheel to come free each time the pallet arm moves from one side to the other. As the pallet arm moves, the escape wheel provides an “impulse” to the Pallet arm, which is connected to the balance wheel, this in turn, causes the balance wheel to swing back and forth… The engaging and disengaging of the pallet stones to the escape wheel, are what makes the “tic/toc” you hear. · Pinion – the small part of the gear in the movement, think of it as the part of the bicycle that is attached to the front forks · Pivot – the small ends of the watch gears that sit in jewels and are oiled during servicing · Plastic Crystal – installed with a special tool that compresses the crystal, then after it’s inserted into the case, is released and the crystal expands and locks in place · Pusher – on a chrono model, a small post or lever above and below the crown, used to Start/Stop/and Reset the chrono. · Quick date change – a movement that switches the date instantly at midnight. · Rate – how fast or slow a watch runs, any more than a minute a day either way, and the watch needs to be serviced · Rehaut – the small ring between the bottom of the crystal and the dial face. Normally silver in colour, it can be polished or brushed. On some models, the depth of the “rehuat” is too shallow and a dead giveaway that the watch is a replica. · Rotor – the part of an automatic movement that moves around and winds the watch · Running seconds – means the seconds hand that is always “running” when the watch is working. On a Chrono model, it’s normally in the 9 o’clock position, or the 6 O’clock one. · SEL’s – Solid End Link’s – same as End Links, only not hollow but solid metal. Found on more modern Rolex models. · Shock absorber – the balance cap jewels are installed and held in place with small springs that act as shock absorbers, since the balance is the most prone to damage due to shock. Reason that the balance is prone to damage more than the rest of the parts, is due to two things: 1. the balance pivots are smaller than a human hair, and 2. the balance has a lot of weight around it’s outer edge, so that it will keep on ticking…if the watch is dropped, this weight will come to bear on the tiny pivots and they will break off. · Singer Dial – Company that makes dials for Rolex, the back of the dial has “Singer” engraved in it. · Spring bars – small tubes with posts on them, that are inserted into the bracelet end links and hold the bracelet to the watch · Stem – the part of the watch that the crown screws into and that activates the keyless works · Subdial – a small dial on the main dial of the watch. It is normally found on chrono movements, and could be at the 12, 9, 6, or 3 o’clock location on the dial. · Sweep – the motion of the seconds hand around the dial, it can be smooth or jerky. The faster the movement beats, the smoother the “sweep” of the seconds hand. · Swing – a normal balance should swing about 270 degrees in each direction. From the neutral position, the balance will swing Clockwise 270 Degrees (1 ¾ Turns), come to a stop, return to the neutral position, then do the same thing in the Counterclockwise direction. It swings due to the “Impulse” it gets from the pallet arm. · Tritium – a radioactive glow in the dark substance used on some dials and hands · Uni-Directional winding – an automatic movement that winds in one direction only, it free wheels in the other direction. If you swirl the watch in your palm, you can feel the rotor swinging in the free direction. Examples are most Asian movements, (Miyota 8215), and all 7750 movements and their variants whether Swiss or Asian made (i.e. 7753). · UV Glue – a special type of glue used to secure the Cyclops to the crystal, or to secure the crystal to the case (plastic crystals). It cures only when exposed to UV light. · Wheel – the large part of a gear in the movement, think of the wheel as a bicycle rim and tire · Winding – an automatic watch can’t be overwound, there is a clutch that protects the watch from being overwound. A hand wind cant’ be overwound either, you wind it until it reaches the stop and you can wind it anymore. Spring breakage is very rare in modern watches.

Hopefully that saying will go down in history...and years from now I will be quoted by my grandsons...unlikely, but I can dream can't I... For a how to do the crown removal, see this post... 1st post... 2nd one... RG

I have serviced more 7750's than I care to think about, and can only recall one instance where the watch was returned to me due to a problem. I would say failures after service are less than 1%: dozens of watches, one failure, about 20 months of use, so the odds are quite good I think. Long term I can't say, but my serviced 7750 (old variant) has been working great for 20 months now... Certainly the new Asian 7750 (as in the IWC that pug has) is a great product, fit and finish etc...no reason it should not last as long as an ETA... RG

Agreed, it's the one distinguishing feature. I have never worn one, simply worked on many of them, maybe if I put one on for a while, it would grown on me... I guess after handling virtually every model, and working on them, they tend to loose their allure...it's been months since I have felt the urge for a new watch... What is wrong with me? RG

Great pics, but for some reason, I just can't warm up to these Breitling models...not sure why, maybe it's the bezel that makes it too busy looking for me... Can't wait to see the full review. RG

From the picture it looks like it could be a 2836 or 2824 as the click wheels for the autowinder look like they have jewels on them... Strange how the movement is marked "Water Resistant", never knew you could have a movement water resistant, though you needed a case around it to do that job... What does it say under the balance? RG

Given that the person asking the question is new here, and does not know the history of what has happened in the past, it would be wise for him to read this post, and be able to make a decision on what to do - from an informed position... You should read this long post and then make an informed decision... Making that statement, in light of what has transpired here, is not allowing the new member to be totally informed. In this case, this new member may end up with the same fate as the person who started the above linked post, and that would be unfair. We owe it to new members to be informed, so they can make their own decisions, with all available information at hand... RG

Great comments all around... I think I need to complie the same topics somewhere, and they somehow have a link to each topic in my signature... For example, all the "How-To" posts would be together etc.... BUT, I have no idea of how to do something like this, I can link to the subforum, but have no idea or way to subdivide the topics and have them linkable and indexed under my signature... Any idea's?? RG

Great review, amazing pictures, I really like the invisible rotor picture, way cool.... I am glad I could help you out on this project. RG

Oops, my mistake, I did not note the model type... If your getting 6 seconds per day on a 2836-2, your doing really well, as the specs on this model are + - 20 seconds per day... RG

I glue all the pallet stones, I am not sure if they are all loose, but if I test them and they move, it's very hard to get them lined up again...so I just glue them down as part of the service... @PAMman As soon as another one comes in for service, I'll measure them and post the sizes. RG

I really liked your post, very well done. I would like to see more of them, as any new informative posts are right up my alley... I see your doing some watchmaking stuff as well, glad to hear it, always good to learn and practice new skills. Keep it up, there is a need for reliable members to help others with watchmaking and upgrades. Not sure if I will give up doing the posts, but will have to come up with a better way of making the info noticeable to the new members who would like to read it. RG

Good comments, sad part is - I already have it in my signature... I have to think this one over, and come up with something. I also just read that some of the posts are corrupt and unreadable...I am going over there right now to see what has happend. Remember, only change the DAY on the IWC at 12 noon or so...cant' wait to see the pics from the expert. RG

Thanks for bringing this to my (and the mods) attention, I was not aware of this happening... Wonder what is going on. RG

I have noted that there is little use made of the "Expert" area and the toomstone information it contains, specifically the information I have posted there (I can't speak to others). I take note of the number of times my "read only" posts have been accessed, and it never changes, or changes very little. That tells me no one is going here to review or read these posts...if no one reads them, or knows they are there, why waste space having this area? Lately there are a number of new members, asking basic questions, or even looking for information, and these questions have been addressed and answered already...if they only knew where to look... These members would not ask these questions, if they knew where to find the answers. My impression is that this information is not being seen, no one knows it's there, and it's not serving any useful purpose. The original intent was good, but it's not working from my perspective. So what to do about it, if anything? Does anyone but me care about this info? Suggestions? Compile it on a CD? Separate the different topics, and repost them under more user friendly headings so they can be found? Don't do anything at all??? Remove them, and answer questions when needed?? If we want to help new members, or those wanting to learn more, we owe it to them to make any and all information we have gathered accessible and easy to find... I welcome your comments. RG

Great work, and good how-to...I would like to see more of these. I did up a similar post about a year ago, here is what I ended up with... How to replace the cannon pin and hour wheel... I keep noting the same theme in various posts, members looking how to do or how something works... I can't help but wonder if anyone is even noting the pinned posts in the "Experts Area" section of the board...it would seem not, as your comments "...members asking how to do this..." leads me to believe that no one is aware of the toomstone information already here... the "How-to-install longer cannon and hour wheels" has been on this site since it started up...why is it, and others being missed? It seems as if the idea was a good one (having a separate are for this stuff), but it's not accomplishing what it was intended to do...inform the members. I go in once in a while and see how many "views" there are of my information posts, and it never changes...usless information, as no one is even aware of it, or reading it...as proven once again by you having to make this up to inform members...even you were not aware of my original post...something to think about, especially for planned or future posts...why bother? Need to think this one over... RG

Looks great, and yes, RC Tritec are difficult to get a response out of, took me over 6 months... Nice work, RG

I am certain that the subdial location on the Swiss 7750 series are all in the same places. But remember that on this one, there is a new bridge (see my review of it in my subforum) and I am not 100% sure that the subdials are in the same location as the basic Swiss (or Asian) models... I have made a note for myself to measure and note these and will check when I get home tonight. I can't imagine that the hour, minute and chrono seconds hands are a different size, the subdials could be (given that they are all on the new added bridge), but I am not sure...will have to wait till I get another one in house and measure them...not going to take the one I have in house apart after full assembly... My suggestion is to service the Asian model, and save yourself some $$$. The Asian model is very well made (full review - again in my subforum if you did not read it), and if your going to pay to service a movement, why add to that cost by buying a Swiss 7750 and replacing the Asian one...the Swiss still needs to be serviced... As for the viability of replacing the Asian with a Swiss, I have not tried on this particular model, so I cant' say if it can be done or not... For the long term life of any watch, you have to service it regularly, as you do with your car... My PAM 196 is 20 months old, has the original older problematic Asian 7750 in it, been serviced, I wear it a couple of times a week, use the hell out of the chrono's - all the time - and it still works perfect...going on 2 years now...why would I replace it with a Swiss when this one is working fine... RG