RWG Technical

Very nice workmanship, well done. RG

Other than the pivots, there is nothing magnetic in the movements anymore, certainly not the hairsprings, I would not think this is the cause. If it's an ETA, then I would guess that you don't have a hairspring problem, I have not seen a ETA auto with coils touching each other or anything else, they seem to be immune from this issue as the hairspring is quite stiff. It is probably an ETA 2671, which is a very small movement which needs delicate attention. I would guess dirty (maybe), under or over oiled (could be), or possibly the beat is out, but if it's out that much, the watch should never have started running on it's own. Having a close look at the balance, note the amplitude of the swings, and if possible checking it on the timer, should help isolate the problem. I always shy away from sending it back, I don't like the risks involved, or the time it takes. I would be curious to see what you find when you take the back off. RG

Xacto knife around the outer edge working your way around the dial, being careful where the lume is located...it should be easy to do... RG

30 minutes in 10 hours, or over an hour in a day...that is extremely fast. My first thought is that the movement is either dry and not oiled, or the hairspring has two coils touching each other, or it's touching something. Full sweep of the regulator is aprox 30 minutes...so this would seem to be very excessive. It may be able to be regulated (the beat could also be out of adjustment) but you would need a timer to check it out and confirm the problem... RG

These are genuine, although 17 jewel models...I have seen many of them, they are great value...price a couple of weeks ago was $175, I see it's gone up as well... ETA 7750 RG

Only vintage pieces that have historic and irreplaceable parts, are thrown on the floor...the rest go directly in the cleaner... RG

I would suspect that the problem is with the chrono 30 minute timer section, where the center seconds engages and switches it. Here's what I would do. Reset the chrono. Start the Chrono. With your loop, watch the center seconds following the tab that engages and switches the 30 mintue timer, as the tab reaches and engages into the 30 minute gear, look at what is taking place...my guess is that you will find that the movement stops running not long after the engagement of the tab to the 30 minute gear. You need to find what is causing the 30minute gear to not turn through a process of elimination... RG

IF (?) the movement was fully serviced, it should be within a few seconds per day, for the next 5 or so years... The best thing to do in any of these situations, is first off ask who the "Watchsmith" was that did the work, then before purchasing the watch, contact the watchsmith and verify that the work was indeed done. There are some who do a so-called "Lube" without actually taking anything apart. This is nothing more than a scam, as no one can tell the amount of oil a movement needs, without actually cleaning all the old oil out of the movement, which requires the movement be disassembled completely. Anyone who offers to oil your watch, without taking it apart, is a hack... I just had one of these "lubed" 6497's in for work, it was so over oiled, it would not run...I took pictures of it and send them to the owner, he was shocked. The watch was so over-oiled that when I removed the pallet arm (which frees the movement) the wheels spun for 12-20 seconds... a correctly oiled watch should run until the mainspring is completely unwound. Watches dont' need any break in period, they are supposed to be regulated after serviced. A watch that runs fast, is a watch that needs to be serviced or was over oiled... If your watch starting running fast several minutes a day...you have problems... RG

Looks great...nice work. Nice to see you doing it all yourself, sort of takes the shine off the fact that some would like others to believe only a few gifted people in the world can do this stuff...it's not so hard after all... Can't wait to see the remainder of the work. RG

Love it, other than the suggestions already mentioned, I think it's great. RG

So true, and the stems are not a Venus 175 model either...want to buy some?? RG

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Good advise, probably just a spring out of place on the chrono lever... RG

My pleasure. RG

Here's mine for comparison... RG

Well I want to say, your probably one of the few who took the time to actually read and try to understand this movement. Thanks for the feedback on the posts I did up, I am glad you found them useful. Indeed you did read my information correctly, and the answer is YES, the least wear overall on the movement is with the chrono in the ON position, for the exact reasons you quoted. In summary, with the Chrono OFF, everything except for the 12 hour wheel is turning (I dont' include the chrono seconds or 30 minute counter, as they have no wear when running...) so when you turn the chrono ON, you release the 12 hour wheel and the clutch is not wearing out anymore... I leave mine ON all the time... If you ever send a watch my way for service, I'll make sure to add an extra drop of oil for having actually read my 7750 posts Great stuff RG

I agree... I have not seen the other models, but I suspect all the parts are basically the same. I have not seen these in person, so I can't comment on the quality... RG

One thing at a time...he's new after all, we don't want to scare him away with the hazing rituals... RG

And the Hat, otherwise you look like a goof with only the cape on... Amateurs... RG

Yes it was horrible... It was not so much a matter of patience as necessity...what else could I do. RG

I have replaced them in the cousteau models I have worked on... Not sure if it's necessary, but seems to be a good upgrade. RG

My only involvement was to send him a spare "H2" hour wheel I had in my spares bin... I didnt' do any of the watch work, just supplied a part. I thought I just put it in the mail last week, that was fast. Glad you got it so soon, and your watch looks...well...well used and old... RG

If you want something to practice with, I have a AE superb lume kit your welcome to...it's complete, and great to practice your technique before you go at the real thing... Unless your going to only do sandwich dials, you really need to get a number of lumes under your belt as practice, before you go at dials. If you want this kit, let me know... RG

Thanks for the kind words...I guess I can finally fess up on a "small" incident that took place on the way to the ultrasonic cleaning machine in the basement... The movement was all stripped and placed in the cleaning baskets and these baskets are held in a small plastic container, which I take with me to the basement. So, off I go to the basement, as I have done a thousand times...as I get to the bottom of the stairs, I reach over to turn on the light, and my hand slips, and both baskets, with all the watch parts, go flying throught the air, and on the floor.... "Oh, my, GOD" is sort of what I said... "Ok, don't move, or you may crush something..." So here I am in my workshop, with each and every piece of the movement scattered somewhere on the floor...in among the laundry, pantry, dust bunnies,..etc... 1 hour later, after going over each and every square inch of the floor, and finding one piece in the floor drain...I managed to gather all the pieces, nothing was damaged, and I got it all cleaned up and back together and running... I laugh now, but I was not laughing at the time, talk about a panic. So there, I feel better having confesed my sins. Wear them well and thanks for putting your faith in my abilities, eventhough I can be a clutz like anyone else... RG

I have had to run a tap through all cases I have installed a Gen tube on...even if it's just to clean the crap from the old threads. Not doing so, runs the risk of breaking a tube when you install it... RG