RWG Technical

Not "cheap" but less expensive... I have been saying for years that it's expensive to service watches, and always get told I charge too much. RG

No hard feelings on my end Rob. It was never an emotional issue, always a technical one. As Jennifer says to me, "you are a nerd" (albeit not a pocket protector one...). In my line of work, it's black or white. Airplanes, Helicopters, Fighter Jets, you name it, I have worked on it. Imagine your in the passenger seat, do you prefer A: Ziggy who has worked on the wing and made sure ALL of the bolts are in place (White, or Black your choice) B: Joe Blow who has decided that today, it's a shade of Grey, and with half the bolts replaced, he got tired and went for a donut...and your taxing out ready for departure... That's my world, has been for 29 years now, and I am sorry but I carry that way with me everywhere, is it a result of who I am, or what my work environment has made me... I don 't know, but I do know the answer most will choose. Same for watch work, I do it 100% or not at all. There are many myths and BS surrounding watches (overwinding, etc) and I try and root down to the truth of each one. I have never had any issues with Rolex screws, normally over hardened screws break, due to brittleness, untempered ones tend to stretch. So when I hear what you stated, the two don't add up. Hard screws break, soft ones bend, Rolex has soft screws and they tend to break...do you see how that is confusing to me? So what you interpret as an attack is exactly this. I am sure in your own trade/profession a statement by someone that is out of wack stands out like this does to me... In any event, as I have always said or tried to say in my english as a second language, I make no apologies for what I write. If you ask for my opinion I will tell you what I think, if I see errors in statements that are being made, I say so. Or as I say to Jennifer "I have to pass the mower, and do the groceries..." sounds ok in my brain and I try and make it sound ok here as well. And I do agree about TZ, I have no time for the place, rep forums in general have much nicer members, and are a wealth of information, some not found anywhere else... Cheers RG

Uh, NO, why would you say this? Why is it that people always come to these types of conclusions instead of allowing the person the benifit of the doubt... Oversight on my part, my GF was out of town and this got missed. Email sent. As for the topic at hand... @ RobbieG You are reading far to much emotion in my reply and taking my technical comments to heart, they are directed at the subject not the messanger. This isn't an emotional discussion, so please don't read and accuse me of every sin under the sun because I don't agree with your watchmaker. Keep the emotion out of it, I have Being a technical person by trade, and dealing in black and whites in my day job (there is only 1 right way to do the job) my responses are to the point and dry. If your reading emotion your misreading my reply. I even put a smily face in my original reply, which I never do. I am but a amateur watchsmith that's all, never claimed to be anything else, never will. Have been around watches all my life and I think I can hold my own when it comes to technical mechanical watches information or insight. I have serviced just about every movement around, El Primero, all Rollie auto's, Omega 1861, 861, 510, etc, JLC, Lanco, Tourbillons, Valjoux 23, 72 etc, etc...and you know what? Even with my being an amateur, not one of the movements I have serviced has ever come back with a problem after I serviced it. Not one...so I must be doing something right. Your master watchmaker makes a number of comments, that if you posted on TZ would quickly be dismissed as false. Bottom line is you opened this thread by asking and stating things about ETA and Rolex movements. I provided my feedback, you didn't agree, and found someone that claims all I said was BS and untrue. Fair enough, I am ok with that because it really doesn't matter. I know my skill level and experience, and it serves me well, typed words on a forum will all but be forgotten in a day or two...or hours... This is a forum for Fake Watches, which is why I commented that it makes no sense to ask here about genuine Daytona Movements, or highly technical matters (especially since you now know I am full of it) no more so that it would to ask about Asian copies on TZ? The experts are on TZ, or other rollie forums, not necessarily here. Since you just met this master watchmaker, I am impressed that you were able to lend his ear (or eyes) and provide some further information, and that you were able to talk to him on this subject, on a Sunday morning no less... Even my regular customers don't bug me on Sunday mornings... I have nothing further to say, I knew better than to post my first reply, as I well knew where this would go. I even sent a PM to a senior member saying what I though would happen next, and sure enough, deja vu all over again...same old same old...I tire of it... RG

Very interesting reply by your "master watchmaker". Since I have no time for tit for tat posts (which is all this is turning into) I'll refrain from commenting on the numerous glaring errors in his comments and opinion. Although I am confused as to why someone like yourself, who clearly has access to a master watchmaker, would bother with such trivial posts as this one that we are in, and these as well: http://www.rwg.cc/members/index.php?showtopic=81341&hl= http://www.rwg.cc/members/index.php?showtopic=81342&hl= when it's clear that not only do you have personal access to an expert, but you have proven that I really don't know what I am talking about. So what is the point of asking these questions here?? I would ask that the next time you visit your master watchmaker, you take a photo of him leveling the balance bridge on the rollie, and explain how to check and adjust the levelling on the ETA ones (I really want to see the tiny level that's all...). My favorite comments are: "soft screws", "aftermarket lubricants" (these wouldn't be Moebius lubes), "risk of hitting the balance" (most of us simply remove it from the movement before cleaning, but what do we amateurs know...), and my most favorite "ladies models are more challenging to lubricate". Nice chatting, hopefully someone will add some thoughts to the master watchmaker's comments, I stick by what I said and see no need to say anymore than this. RG

Well it's been 5 weeks since I broke the blood vessel, and most of my eye is better, still redish all over though. I have 2 spots of blood left, so it's much better than it was, just taking so long to heal. Thanks for asking @ woody Actually when I turn the bench light out at the end of the evening, it looks worse, much worse...basically the milky way... RG

Wow great story. Good to have friends with various skills, can 't wait to see the pictures. RG

Your welcome...sorry I didn't have better news. RG

Seems expensive to me. I have worked on a few Tourbillons, they are not simple or easy to fix and prone to problems... This looks like a PTS Resources movement in a aftermarket case. Reminds me of the "Stauer" brand you see advertized, lots of hype, a fancy name, but really overpriced. RG

Wow, where did that come from? Quite a harsh comment centered around the older members and those who have taken up their time to offer something back to the forum. As one who has done up numerous technical posts, and who tries to help members daily with their technical questions, I think that comment is uncalled for. I certainly have a life beyond watches or this forum. I will agree that I am very "anal" when it comes to my workmanship standards for watches, but I am sure the members who receive their watches back appreciate my attention to detail. I post for the benifit of the forum, not one (me). If everyone contributes we all win, and although I am not sure if you have done up any detailed posts for the members here, I can assure you that even a simple post with pictures and good text requires hours of work. Those hours could be spend doing something outside of this community, but I consider RWG a great community, where I have a lot of good friends, and for the good of the community I put some of my time giving back to it. RG

I came across this article, good inside information on Super Luminova. http://www.watchtime.com/archive/wt_2007_0...2007_06_092.pdf RG

Welcome back. RG

I'll add my thoughts... It may be possible for the rotor to strike the balance wheel on the Rolex movement, but on the ETA the rim of the balance wheel sits below the rotor, it is impossible for the rotor to damage the balance wheel. Even if it was possible for the rotor on the ETA to strike the balance wheel, the force required to flex the rotor enough to bend down and touch the balance would have to be so great, that the pivots on the balance wheel would fail long before the balance bent down and struck it. As for the single sided vs double ended balance holder assembly, as above, the amount of shock needed to bend this arm enough to cause any damage to the actual balance, would be far greater than the structural strength of the balance pivots. I don't think you could ever deflect the balance kock by wacking the movement around. The Rolex design is "novel" and does allow for fine tuning of the end shake, but I think it's all for show and has little to do with actual practicallity. The parts quality is so good today, and the tolerances are so tight, that you can punch out balance staff's and assemble movements en mass without needing a fine tuning adjust for the end shake. I actually see these fine adjust screws as being more of a problem than solution, all it takes is someone who doesn't know what these are for, or what they do, to move them, thereby throwing the whole movement out of wack, and requiring very specialized skills to get it back timed and adjusted correctly. The Rolex rotor design, as already mentioned, is a huge problem and defect in my opinion...here's why... I see this type of unnecessary wear and damage on Rollie movements all the time...fillings everywhere in the movement, and damage to the bridges etc. And for those who ascribe to the "my damn watch hasn't been serviced or looked at in XX years and is still working..." you can rest assured that when it stops working (which it will), it will be so worn out and damaged that it's unrepariable... Don't misunderstand me, I love all movements, no matter their problems or issues, and I do appreciate the quality of the Rolex movements and fit and finish. The ETA's have them beaten hands down when it comes to rotor design and toughness... RG

Well done, great workmanship as usual. Beautiful photo's, love the background. RG

If I was a betting man, I would say someone has upgraded this watch with the H3 cannon pin, and when they did this, they did not use the correct tool for the installation. Instead of applying the pressure on the great wheel pivot, they applied it on the jewel and it popped out of it's setting and this is why it's missing... Yes it MUST be in place for the watch to run, do NOT wind the watch in this condition, or you risk the great wheel disengaging from the mainspring, and this can cause a lot of damage. The fix requires the bridge to be removed, and a new jewel pressed in place with a Jewel press. As with any watch work, trying to do it without the correct tooling will only cause more damage. It should be an easy fix for any local watchsmith. RG

It can only be one of two things: 1. The quickset gear for the calendar is not free to slide towards the datewheel when you turn the crown (it moves laterally in and out of engagement with the calendar) 2. The quickset gear is defective. If it winds and sets the time, then everything else has to be correct. If you turn the crown in the date adjust setting, what does the calendar quick set gear do? Turning CW and CCW what happens? The answer to these questions will show you the problem... RG

The only problem is that the crown gear (the first gear next to the set lever) is turned sideways. Everything else is ok. The only safe way to fix this is to take the keyless works apart and re-seat the gear where it should be placed. Trying anything else and you risk breaking something. RG

I seem to remember that original 5508 from about a year ago... it stayed in NYC and never came home Great to see this one home and in your hands again, wear it well and enjoy. RG

As I stated earlier, 99% of the problems with rep hands slipping are due to the tube hand joint, replacing the hand with the same type doesn't fix the issue, that is if you can even source a new hand... I originated the glue fix about 4 years ago, because it was the only solution, and have been using it ever since, I have it figured out And unless you have the capability to do your own repairs, only reset the hand when it is stopped between 10am and 2pm, otherwise it will slip and be misaligned. RG

Apart from the rude comments from some, I will share what I have experienced first hand, and the repair. Andreww is right on the money with his comments. Almost all problems are due to the tube hand joint, not the hand to the post connection. One way to fix the tube/hand joint is to glue the joint with epoxy. I have done this many times, and it works. The permanent solution is to never reset your chrono outside of 10-2 on the dial face, this is a well known problem and easy to avoid. RG

A big congrats from me. Not only do I think you will have a lot of satisfaction from this experience, I know you will excell. Great room and wonderful view to boot. All the best in the coming year, keep your mind on your studies, not the bouncing 18 year olds... RG

It's always sad to leave so many memories and experiences behind. Closing the door will open new windows somewhere else...all the best. RG

Why not just ask Kent at everestwatchworks?? RG

Understood, if he can remove the balance, tell him that with the stem removed, he can push the hacking lever in place and it will seat correctly into the clutch gear. Keyless works MUST be in the winding position for this procedure to work. I have done it, so it's possible, should be a quick fix. RG

Removing and re-installing the balance wheel, if you have never done it, I don't recommend. Too risky and too easy to damage. Then the only solution is to get access via the dial, and that is not simple either, due to all the chrono springs and parts that have to go back together. I am afraid there is no easy solution to this one, I can't type out a how to for either of these procedures, since it's too complex, and the balance is so fragile I am very hesitant for you to attempt it as you could easily break off the pivots. Sorry I can't offer anymore. RG

All the best from the other side of the pond... RG