My Panerai Rep stopped winding ...

[Bansenshukai]

I want to post this just in case someone else comes up with this issue in the future. At first I thought that I would either have to send this watch away for repair, or that the movement was shot. I woke up one morning, tried to wind my Panerai 111H rep and all I heard was a very weak clicking and I saw no winding. I was befuddled and had no idea what could have gone wrong. I had not dropped the watch, or otherwise mistreated it. It is truly one of my all-time favorite reps purchased right here on RWG. After some research online and some diagram study from a .pdf I found in the ETA website, I figured out the issue:

The Crown Wheel (A) was not making consistent positive contact with the Winding Pinion (small red square; pinion is barely visible on the movement, but it's under the Main Plate and its connected to the Crown Stem). The apparent reason was that the Main Plate was lifting up slightly (maybe 2 mm) due to a proximal Screw for the Barrel Bridge (red arrow) that was loose on the Main Plate. So, every time I turned the crown to wind the movement, and the Winding Pinion would engage the teeth of the Crown Wheel, the loose screw would allow the Main Plate to lift slightly towards the display crystal - hardly noticeable to the naked eye (those "2 mm" mentioned above) - and would cause a lack of proper contact between the Winding Pinion and the Crown Wheel. The Winding Pinion is the gear that sits at a 90 degree angle to the Crown Wheel in order to engage it, turn the larger Rachet Wheel, and winds the movement.

(This photo - not mine and I don't know the author - shows a slightly different movement, but the parts I mention match - for illustrative purposes)

At first, I didn't know what to make of the inability for the movement to wind. I was horrified. This watch has a The The Zigmeister-serviced movement with Vac Lume on the dial and I purchased it from a very reputable member on this board. I purchased an excellent strap from Geneve, Switzerland, and I seldom take this watch off. But, I thought about the physics of how the watch should wind, researched a little, decided to risk opening the case and adjusted the screws as required. Needless to say, the easy fix saved me a lot of money that I would have had to spend to send the watch away to fix the problem. The watch now winds perfectly.

[bmedude]

excellent research. Saving money is such a beautiful thing. Thanks for the information.

Does it work exactly the same as it did originally?

[dluddy]

Very useful. THanks for taking the time to share this with the community

[Bansenshukai]

Does it work exactly the same as it did originally?

Absolutely! It works perfectly as it did before. Thanks.

[krpster]

Good find. Nice that it was a relatively simple fix. I'm sure this will help others diagnose in the future.

Cheers!