RWG Technical

Super Lume is a very fine powder and easy to apply (compared to Noctiluma). Using Noctiluma is like trying to paint with wet sand, big grains, crappy finish, lumpy and just awful. Like most things in life, you get what you pay for. If Noctiluma was so good, you would see dials with "N SWISS N" on them. I dont' think it's a good alternative to SL. RG

Here, https://secure.eta.ch/CSP/DesktopDefault.as...=3&tabid=28 Select Mechaline specialty, 7750, download manufacturing information and it has all this on it... RG

@teddyboy Very interesting analysis. Not being an economist, I would never come to that conclusion. The simple reason I like the ETA's in my watches, is one of availability of spare parts. If it breaks, or needs a new mainspring, I can buy one. If you send in an Asian Auto, I can't get one part for it to repair it, it's disposable. Luckily I have about 20 2824/36-2 movements as spares, along with about 75 A7750's, handfuls of 6497's, half dozen DW mystery movements, etc.. The only saving grace for any asian automatic, is if you can fit a Miyota in place of the Asian one, they are cheap ($40 or so) and very dependable and rugged... RG

About a year ago, Kruzer stated that he thought we had reached the peak in terms of quality of reps. The cases, dials, hands, and especially movements, were good, no they were better than good, they were excellent. Think of the PAM 029, 063,188/196 etc all powered by the same movement as the gen's, high end ETA 2892's, 2893-2's, 7753's etc...the MBW's with everything "right" including great movements... The prices for ETA movements, has more than doubled since January. A 2836-2 is over $150 surplus, direct from ETA they are over $200, the 2893-2 I just bought and showed pics of the packaging last week, has gone up $50 in 3 weeks since I placed the order. 7750 $550+, 7753 $700+... The quality of the ETA automatic movements that I have seen in the past month, has taken a serious down turn. Not only am I seeing copy ETA's with ink stampings on them (easy to spot they are not ETA), but even more concerning is movements marked ETA that don't match up with anything I have ever seen before. Examples: ETA marked mainplate, but the mainplate has pins and the bridges have holes for alignment. This is incorrect for an ETA, the bridges always have the pins, and the mainplate has the holes. But the Sellita has pins on the mainplate and holes on the bridges...so what is going on... ETA marked movements that have serious mechanical defects, mis-fitting parts, parts finish of very poor quality, parts that fall apart, these are defects that I have never experienced on any ETA in the past. ETA marked movements, that contain almost all asian parts except for the mainplate. The quality of the parts is terrible, crappy regulators, misassembled movements with jewels not installed correctly, hairsprings out of round, and with so many problems, that in some cases all the servicing and adjustments can't make it work. ETA's that are so old and worn out, that they can't be fixed, stripped gears, slipping gears, poor running, poor winding, worn out parts - not just one, but all parts are so worn out that it just won't run, stems that won't stay locked, and on and on... This is the worse I have seen it, what should be a simple job (service a ETA 2836-2) ends up taking hours and hours over many days trying to correct multiple problems and having to disassemble and re-assemble the movement over and over... I don't know if this is just a rash of bad movements lately, or if this is the reality we now face. Give me an Asian 7750 any day of the week, at least I can service it and fix the flaws it has, the situation with Automatic ETA's has gotten really bad. Maybe next week will be better, I hope so, it makes you re-think what your willing to spend you time on, and leaves a bad taste in the customer's mouth when you have to tell them you did your best, but you just can't get his watch fixed. The customer is out of pocket the shipping costs, and I am out of pocket the hours I spent trying to get his watch working...to no avail... What do you think? Are we on a downturn? Thanks for letting me vent RG

Umm... It's actually not "My" lume, I use genuine Super Luminova from RC Tritec. The same stuff the genuine watch manufacturer's use. Unlike some modders, I dont' claim to have mixed up a "Special" (cough, cough) lume mix that glows WAY brighter and lasts much longer than Super Lume does (can you say l-o-n-g e-x-p-o-s-u-r-e t-i-m-e). Super Lume is the best there is, C3 is the brightest, mixing up whatever in your kitchen is never going to beat C3. I have never had a watch from a dealer that arrived with Super Luminova applied. At $40 for 1 gram (size of the tip of your little finger) Super Lume is very expensive. RG

Does the crown in the picture fit the case tube? If yes, screw the top stem into it, and insert into the watch and trim the stem until it fits correctly. If the crown doesn't fit, you need to find one that does, or replace both the tube and crown with a genuine one, then install the top stem onto the works. RG

While that may be true, they won't be able to use the ever rare "Swiss Gas" to fill the bag...and no, don't even ask if I am going to smell the gas when I open the package... On another note about ETA movements, I just got the third price list in as many months. Until this past February I got a price list every year or so. The prices for ETA's has gone up - AGAIN...a 2824/2836 Swiss (sealed pack) is now over $200...a surplus one is over $150...6497 is over $100 as well. The 2893-2 I just received is now over $350... That is a doubling in the price of ETA movements in the past 6 months. Spare parts are doing the same thing, through the roof... RG

If I had to hazard a guess, the GMT hand is too close to the dial and rubbing against it and causing your problem. It's unlikely that the gear is an issue, it either works or it doesn't, teeth don't slip unless they are missing. RG

To do a simple job such as taking this apart to fix it, you need the following: caseback opener loupe quality jeweller screwdrivers (not from the hardware store) experience handling movements - a misplaced finger can effectivly damage or stop the movement from working all together dust blower watch paper tweezers (not eyebrow ones...) skills at handling small parts and not damaging the dial, trying to hold, and glue this marker back in place, is not easy or simple, especially when you don't have practical experience rodico While it looks simple enough, without the correct tooling, skills, experience, and knowledge, the odds of success are not good. Finding someone who has all the above, locally, is your best and safest option. RG

Your best option is to take the Time Zone course, parts 1 and 2. Once your done the course, practice and practice on many different movements for a few months to build up your skils and then move on. You can get the TZ course, as well as the ETA7750 info from member Offshore here on RWG. Starting watch repair on a 7750 is not practical or recommended, it is one of the most complex and difficult movements to assemble. RG

I was told that all "Swiss" ETA's I order (1 or 1000) will come in this packaging...all I can say is what I see and am told by the supplier. 3 weeks from the time I ordered this one, to receiving it. RG

V E R Y Carefully...with a fine needle... RG

The Tritium is a mixture I custom mix with Super Lume. Tritium is illegal in most countries... RG

Some may be, I did not test it out though. The Sellita SW200 which is a 2824 knockoff is not interchangeable at all with any ETA parts, so I suspsect this new copy isn't either... RG

This started life as a Asian 7750 (3) powered watch. I replaced the dial with an ETA 7753 compatible one, and installed an ETA 7753 in place of the Asian model. The dial fit fine, but needed a lot of material cut from the outer edge to get it in the case, the bezel ring for the 7753 was too large for the case so I transplanted the old Asian 7750 bezel ring onto this dial. One noted problem was that the "swiss made" was cut off on the bottom, owing to the narrower bezel ring. I fixed the "swiss made" by removing the lettering from the dial. Here is the final rendition, looks good... Other work includes Tritium lume. Thanks for looking. RG

Many members have been purchasing various ETA's for upgrading their watches. As has been mentioned and proven on many occasions, ETA's in general are used surplus movements and their condition is unknown. There is only one guaranteed package you will receive a ETA movement in, that guarantee's your particular movement is NEW and is correctly Serviced. This is the packaging as delivered from the ETA factory to the end user: If you see or buy an ETA and it's packaged in anything OTHER than what you see above, you have bought a USED, Surplus, Unknown condition movement, no matter what the seller my otherwise claim or state. I just got this ETA 2893-2 in for a upgrade, no need to do anything but install it in the watch... RG

The easiest way to tell the Asian from the Swiss is to look at the markings under the balance. ETA is Stamped into the metal of the mainplate as is 2836-2 Asian one is ink markings of some type, I just had one of these (Asian one) in the shop, the markings are INK, not Stampings into the metal... Ignore the rest, just look at the markings and problem solved. RG

I'll only add a few points. Winding position for stem removal for all models and types, too many reasons why this is the best way, my opinion only, but it works. Inserting stem, 7750 turn stem while inserting till it stops, then press on the release pin and push the stem in place, it takes a hard push on this one to seat it. Little risk of popping the keyless works out of place. 2836, 2892 etc ETA and variants, insert the stem while turning it, very gently or you will mess up the keyless works, for me I insert the stem gently, turning it until I feel and see the winding gear engage and the movement is being wound. At this point, I turn the stem while winding (which holds the clutch gear in place) and press the stem home. DO NOT Press on the release pin on any of the ETA's. 6497, 1.5 to 2 turns of the set lever screw to release the stem, once the stem is out, screw the screw back in. Reverse for installation, little risk of screwing it up. RG

I'll offer what I can. My Vibrograph does not have a amplitude reader, I read the amplitude visually... The amplitude is the degrees from neutral that the balance rotates after it passes by the pallet arm. From the point that the impulse jewel leaves the slot in the pallet fork, to the point that the balance stops moving (due to compression or expansion of the hairspring) is the amount of "Amplitude". Typically 270 - 310 degrees is normal, it varies of course with the position of the watch, being less in the crown down or up position. My best guess is this, the timer records the tic or toc, which is the escape wheel hitting the entry or exit pallet stone. If you measure the time from the tic, until you hear the toc, you can calculate the rotation of the balance wheel in degrees. If memory serves me correctly, you need the lift angle of the particular movement your trying to measure to get an accurate amplitude reading. Lift is measured in degrees and is the amount of degrees that from the impulse jewel entering the pallet arm, until it leave it (not 100% sure on this part, I think this is what it is). All ETA data sheets show the angle of life for the balance which can vary from 44-52 degrees. RG

If it's like all the other Porto models, it does have to come out by the front, your solution is simple, you use a bezel removal tool, and pop the bezel off... RG

Very well said dluddy. My biggest concern for overpriced watches (as in the above example) is if the sales post doesn't contain the information as dluddy provided above, a newbie won't think for a minute that this price is very high. Especially if the newbie just came from www.scamreplica.com... Do we not owe it to the membership of RWG full disclosure on all sales threads? What I mean is that if a watch is placed for sale and the price is 2-3 times the original cost, and the watch does not have any upgrades (servicing, lume, gen parts, etc) then the asking price should be qualified with the original cost of the watch. If this was done, at least someone who is considering buying the watch knows everything. In the above example, the original price, and the price of the spare parts should be posted. Then it's all in the open and someone who just joined RWG knows exactly what they are buying and can decide if the asking price is fair given what the watch was bought for in the first place. Being uninformed I could assume that this particular watch sold for $1500 or more new...if the asking price is $1500... RG

Thanks. RG

It speeds up because it's crown down (crown up is the same), when it's crown down, the pivots have side loads on them, side loads have more friction than up and down loads, more friction = less balance wheel swing, less swing = faster ticks and tocks...think of a pendulum, move it up it goes faster, make it longer it slows down. RG

ETA does not fit, actually most of the ETA parts don't fit the Asian 7750. @ Pix your welcome, hopefully this helps clear up the myth's around the A7750's... RG

Old A7750 21.6k weak points: Dirty Needs servicing Fine regulator doesn't work Cannon pin gear loose not enough friction Hairsprings can be out of round and not concentric (even spacing between all the coils) Finish of the movement poor, it doesn't look nice New A7750 28.8k weak points: Mainspring and barrel and winding gear soaked in silicone type of oil/grease Pallet stones loose Pallet stones not positioned correctly, not enough engagement into the escape wheel causing running problems Cannon pin gear loose and not enough friction The old 7750 has the same subdial and chrono hand sizes (the hour and minute hands are the same size on all models). So if you want to install a ETA, having the older 21.6k model is straight forward. The new 7750 has different hand sizes than the ETA, the subdial and choro ones are all 0.20mm, so you need to make the subdial ones fit the ETA (0.17mm on the ETA) and you need to make the center seconds fit as well (0.25mm on the ETA). BUT, I have been seeing many new A7750's that have old and new part on them...so it's anybody's guess what you will get. I have seen at least 5 or more different versions of the new 7750 alone...they are all different... It is a mix of new and old parts, some of the new ones have 0.17mm subdial sizes, and 0.20 seconds hand size, others are all 0.20mm size, some have old bridges with the crappy finish, others have the new ones, some have no fine regulator on the balance, some have a fine regulator, etc...it's all over the place. But the problems are the same on all models... RG