Time to take this hobby a little further....

[sagat1977]

Hello RWG,

I have a small problem I am hoping some of the experts here can help me with.

I have a PAM 177 i'm in love with but unfortunately, on winding, the crown stem broke :-( I believe this has a genuine crown which I am keen to salvage.

I've decided that this is probably the time to delve a little deeper into this hobby and make a repair. I've bought a case back remover and a screwdriver set and taken off my first caseback.

My questions are: Is it possible to attach a new stem? If so, where can I purchase one and how do I go about attaching it? If I was to upgrade the movement what would people recommend and where can I acquire such? Finally, is taking the face and hands from the movement a big job?

It's worth noting, that I am no expert and my diagnosis may be entirely wrong and if this is the case, any guidance would be appreciated.

Please see attached picture for reference.

[w0lf]

It looks like there's enough of the broken stem left over for you to latch on to with a pin vise and unscrew it. Be careful not to break the remainder off leaving just the threaded part stuck in the crown, if you break it the process of removing can be long and painful. Btw the crown is in fact OEM and hopefully a 1.2mm tap6 for manual wind movement - then you can get a new stem on eBay, from ofrei or cousinsuk. You'll have to cut the stem down to size to fit your watch, it's a measure twice cut once process. Just do a search for crown installation guides.

[txcollector]

Like Wolf said it should be simple but being this your first attempt I'd be concern to try that with an OEM crown.

if I were you I'd get a cheap PAM and practice with that one.

As for the 177, I'd suggest you get one of the new 177L. It's very good quality overall.

[wheaton26]

not to discourage you, but i ruined two watches early in my collecting days by trying to do a simple mod. i now leave everything up to the professionals. just my $0.02. good luck with whatever you decide.

[PeteM]

Cant say more than whats been said.... but I do agree with W... if you aint never done this before then please think about using a professional/experienced guy..... there is no reason you cant just take the crown into any watch smith and get the broken stem removed.... or if you wont then make sure you have the correct tools mate

By the way whats that gunk in the crown cup?

[sagat1977]

Thanks for your help guys - It's much appreciated!!

I'm going to take your advise and have a watch smith remove the stem for me. I'm off to Thailand in a week or so and I'll pick up a cheap MBK rep to have a practice taking apart.

I'll let you know how the rest of the repair goes. Oh, and there is no gunk in the crown - just a few scratches from the guard pin and a funny photo angle/shadow.

[StormTooper4]

Your crown may well have an adapter in it because I think it looks like one of the Turks ones and they may have been 0.9 for auto's so extra care might be needed and a new adapter required. There really doesn't look to be much left in there. Good luck but you may want to think about sourcing a new crown.

[w0lf]

ST4, there's no room to install a stem adapter in 6497 based watches, the only thing it can be in case of an auto Ti crown is a tap10 re-threaded tap6 stem.

[PeteM]

................. is a tap10 re-threaded tap6 stem.

You hum it...... and I'll play it .... !!!

[sagat1977]

LOL @ PeteM