RWG Technical

Great find, I can't say for sure if it will fit, have never installed one... I learned something new today, Cousins never comes to mind, shipping to Canada is horrendus... RG

My pleasure. The problem with the 6497 is that there is no movement spacer, due to the size of the actual movement. No spacer means that the movement is right up against the inside of the case, which means no space for an adapter. Believe me, I tried when the Gen PAM crowns were for sale, and members wanted them on the handwinds...can't do it... Any money I save you, just send my way for my kids college fund RG

Spend the extra $900 and buy the gen... RG

I have seen both the rep and gen hands, I can't tell the difference. If it's the lume issue, just get it lumed and save some money... I have installed genuine Omega dials on these models with ETA movements, no problems at all...fit perfect...and everything lined up fine... RG

The ETA 6497 stem is 1.20mm. You can't use stem extension to make it fit on a 0.90 crown, there is not enough distance between the movement and the case. RG

The odds of being able to repair the movement are slim to none. An ETA 2824 is not a GMT movement and you can't make it into one, and the Asian hands only fit Asian movements. Sorry to say but you have little chance of fixing this one... RG

The letters or dial paint are not water soluble in my experience. The only success I have had removing or modifying letters (ie changing the "L SWISS L" to "T SWISS T") is to scrape each letter off with a fine needle. It is impossible to do this without leaving marks on the dial, and to correct this, I have mixed up paint to match the dial, painted it, and once dry, clear coated the whole thing. There is no way to do this without leaving a trace of your work, unless you simply sand down and paint the whole dial. RG

And FX beat me... this time... RG

Billions of dollars in trade go between Canada and the USA each day, we are your largest trading partner. Millions of packages go accross the border via the post office each day...with no problems, since when is shipping north of the border a risk? Your better of finding someone locally that can help. RG

Seagull 2892 copy is the same size as the ETA 2892, hands are interchangeable. Hands are not the same as 21J asian movement. RG

I agree. Starting on the 2671 would discourage anyone from watchmaking. Although most of the stuff is similar to the larger 2836, the problem area's are a balance kock that is 180 degrees from any other watch, and a bit of a challenge to re-assemble, and by far the most difficult part to install, is the click spring for the mainspring. Once you take one apart, you'll appreciate the challenge... Glad your getting some use from the reviews, any questions along the learning road, just ask RG

The 2671 is one of the most challenging movements to service, due to size, design, etc. It's got all the same parts as the 2836 which is twice as big, yet the 2671 would fit in the mainspring barrel of the 6497. You need a lot of practice before attacking one of these. Best to start with the 6497, move onto the 2836, and after a lot of practice, tackle the 2671. RG

Like most things in life, in watch servicing, you do indeed get what you pay for. There are many shops that will service a movement for a few dollars, and that service is nothing more than a swish and dip, no disassembly, and no oiling except the finishing oil in the dip rinse solution. Proper servicing requires a full teardown, cleaning, inspection, oiling of all the individial parts, which takes time, even a handwind needs 1.5-2 hours to service correctly. My local Honda garage charges $75 and hour... I hope a watchmaker charges at least the same as a car mechanic. A reasonable fee for a real service of an automatic movement, from a commercial watchmaker, is $175-250. RG

Hmmm...lets see here, this coming from you, who is a Mod no less at RWI and who thinks nothing of saying the following just before locking a topic: http://replica-watch.info/forum/viewtopic....78&start=75 I guess you better remove yourself from RWI, if these are the standards you supposidly follow. But wait, removing yourself from RWI will never happen, I forgot, your the mouthpiece for redbigdink who comes to his rescue everytime a member raises a question about the wonderful watch hostage and scam service he runs... Holding yourself to any standard, whould mean an end to the "system" you and the other shills have set up. Thanfully the members on RWG place no value on anything you say.

Great story...I am so glad you took the time to learn watchmaking, and get some watchmaking tools. It's great that you can do your own repairs, and if you can take the dial side of the movement apart, and get that blasted spring to stay in place, the rest is easy stuff... Good on you for doing it yourself, congrats again on such a fine job. And I am glad that some of my posts were of use to you. RG

Thanks for the kind words. Amazing watch, the movement alone is simply beautiful under that caseback, and the quality of the dial and hands was great. Glad you like the results, this is my favorite model of all times, now I have to get one for myself. Wear it well... RG

Gen crowns don't fit rep tubes, you have to replace them as a set... Omega crowns and tubes are easy to get, just have a look at offrei's site. RG

The problem is the spring in the crown that is supposed to engage and disengage the clutch is too weak and fails...which is why it's wobbly. As far as I know, there is no way to open the crown up and replace the spring, replacing the whole crown is the only solution. The Omega's suffer from this same issue, especially the SMP Chrono, which is why I replaced mine with a gen. RG

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If you pull slightly on the crown while trying to wind it, does it wind? If you pull the crown all the way out to the time setting position does it set the time ok? It sounds like the typical crown problem, the clutch and spring assembly in the crown has failed, and the crown is freewheeling on the stem, pulling slightly to try and engage the stem will tell you if this is the issue. If the crown feels wobbly as well, that is your clue... RG

I would be more concerned about the placement of the "11", "21" and "31" they are squished together and not spaced correctly on the wheel. Other than this, the printing looks great. RG

I am no Rolex expert, but as far as I know, Rolex does not use, or have any watches with AR on them... As for a test run, why not just pick up a blank crystal from Cousins, and send it along...no watch is needed as a doner, just a test piece... RG

Great news, welcome to both. RG

If the reset lever tab is broken, the only way to get the rivet out is to completely disassemble the movement and press it out from below. You may be able to pull the rivet out by prying on it from above, but it's risky...and will probably damage something. If you can remove it, it should be easy to install the new one, just be careful. RG

Great post and pictures as always. Looks like a wonderful holiday, thanks for sharing. I have not seen these views of that area before. RG