BR03 with 4813 (28.800) movement

[Chilenito]

I just received a BR03-92 from a trusted dealer here and was quite disappointed that it had the 2813 movement only (21.600bph) instead of the advertised 4813 (28.800bph movement), I got a credit towards my next order though I still like the smoother movement.

- What are the costs of replacing the existing movement with a new Asian DG4813 (I got the tools, experience and an engineering degree and wouldn't mind swapping it myself) ... and first of all, where to get the movement from .. or even better, what's the ETA equivalent to the DG4813?

- Which dealer sells the BR03 series with DG4813 as advertised?

Thanks as always for your help!

Edited March 15, 2011 by Chilenito

[plaifender]

First of all.. there's no such thing as an ETA 4813

The company that fabricates is named Dixmont Guangzhou.. and is responsible for MANY asian movements. Whenever we use the words ETA on the forum we are referring to the Company ETA. If we are referring to Asian ETA, it means that the movement is a COPY of an ETA complication. (in essence a replica movent)

Your DG2813 is not ETA at all.

Secondly, the cost of either the 2813 or the 4813 is extremely cheap. Both are cheap low-quality movements. They are essentially the same exact movement with different beats. In my honest opinion it's not worth the swap. The DG2813 is just as cheap as the 4813, so you shouldn't think that you got shafted with regards to the movement.

Lastly, and probably of the most concern to you, these movements are readily available at ofrei (do a google search) or cousinsuk watchparts. Either movement shouldnt be more than about $20. I'm not sure about the swap, but I'd be most concerned about the datewheel, as the BR03 doesn't have a typical 3'oclock position date window. Might be difficult to find one that will fit. I guess of course you could always take the datewheel off the 2813 movement and put it on the 4813. In my opinion.. if you want a quality movment, you should have bought an ETA. The 2813 to 3813 upgrade is pointless unless your movement has died.

just my 2 cents

[Chilenito]

just my 2 cents

wich are worth millions for me n00b Thanks, guess I'm learning new things every day here!

So case I'm willing to invest some bucks to replace the crappy rep movement (2813) with gen one, what's the gen equivalent I'm looking for? Is there a specific one ("Yes, B&R uses ETA XXXX in their gens") or is it a trial and error?

[Pakz]

In case you want to replace the "crappy" (well, they're not so bad, particularly if you consider the price) movement by a gen one, you're pretty much screwed...

The size and all are going to be very different, so dial, hands, crowns, tubes, etc. will probably not fit directly, unless very heavily modded... You'll probably end up have to "franken" everything, just keeping the case rep.

If you really plan to change to a "gen" (or at least a real swiss ETA, correctly refurbished) movement in the future, you'd better go for the "ETA" version of the watch as the sizes of movement and all will then be quite similar.

[plaifender]

Listen to what Pakz said.

If you plan to modify movements in the future, go ahead and buy the ETA version of the watch from the start. The swap on this watch for an ETA wouldn't be easy. Some problems to be aware of trying to put a swiss movement into a watch designed for an asian 21j movement. If you were to attempt this, the most common ETA movement would proabably be an ETA-2824-2 movement. Not sure if it would fit or not, if it were to fit, you'd need some heavy modifications.

-Hand size (the hands on your 2813 watch are designed to fit the hand post of a 2813 movement, An eta handpost/handstack will be a differrent size which means you'd have to source hands for a GEN ETA movement)

-Datewheel (the datewheel on your watch is designed for a 2813/4813 movement, even if you buy an ETA with datewheel included, more than likely the 2813 datewheel won't fit the ETA datewheel).

-Movement holder. (the movement holder in your watch is designed to fit a 2813/4813 watch.. not likely that an ETA 2824 will fit the same movement holder)

If the watch is working, wear it, and enjoy it the way it is. The 2813's are not necessarily crappy. They're just not as robust as an ETA. The nice thing about the DG2813/4813 movements is that they're so cheap, if it dies on you, you can buy a new one from the factory for around 20 bucks. If the watch REALLY grows on you, buy an ETA version in the future and sell the 21j

p.s. When we say 21j we usully refer to the 2813 or 4813 movement.. or any class of cheap movement produced in china that costs next to nothing.

[Chilenito]

Guys, you rock! Thanks a heap! Now it's all clear to me and I obviously bought the wrong version of the watch, better luck next time ... I guess that's what they ment when they told me "you'll learn a lot in here kiddo"

[plaifender]

no problem Chilenito..

p.d. ¿eres chileno??? ¿Vives allí?

[Pakz]

Guys, you rock! Thanks a heap! Now it's all clear to me and I obviously bought the wrong version of the watch, better luck next time ... I guess that's what they ment when they told me "you'll learn a lot in here kiddo"

No probs...

Plus, if you're lucky you may well get plenty of quality (wrist)-time from this watch, even if it does not get the real movement... Wear it in good health!