RWG Technical Posted January 24, 2012 Report Share Posted January 24, 2012 The latest version of the long running GMT movement is quite well made...finally...after all these years. At least the GMT parts seem to be well made, unfortunately this particular A2836-2 has been ruined by unskilled hands. The watch was sent in for servicing, the initial teardown showed that despite being wound, the movement was not running, first sign of a problem. During the teardown, a few clues were noted, all the screws were damaged, as you can see here, the last person to work on this one wasn't even capable of selecting the correct sized screwdriver...no wonder there is so much damage... Once the movement was fully torn down, a quick overall inspection revealed a show stopper, check out the damage where the pivot hole is located in the mainplate for the calendar autochange gear. I have never seen this type of damage. As you can see in this picture, the hole is somewhat larger than the pivot, it's no wonder the movement would not run, the gear would move sideways and jam up the works. I am baffled as to how this could happen, it looks as if someone beat it with a punch and hammer, why they did this is beyond me. Here is an overall view of the movement, note in this view the "FAKE" bottom balance c0ck side piece is removed, it's completely disfunctional and serves no purpose. Here is the movement with the GMT parts removed. That damage to the mainplate renders it scrap, you need a complete new mainplate, and since this movement is an Asian Clone, it's beyond repair. I offered the owner a couple of options (instead of re-assembling the movement and watch and shipping to China...) one option was that I supply a ETA 2836-2, completely serviced, and switch over the GMT parts from the Asian copy onto the ETA. The owner agreed that this was a good solution, and in reality, a cheaper solution than shipping the watch back to China. Parts were swapped over from the clone to the ETA. Here's the clone and ETA before putting the clone back together. Movement is running and being tested. Along with the swap of the parts, the GMT gear and it's detent were lubricated, as were the other GMT gears, the GMT hand now snaps perfectly to it's new position when adjusting it. Total turn time, from when the customer contacted me, to today, less than 2 weeks. How's that for customer service. That is the advantage of being organized and putting your customers first, and not ignoring them for months on end after they send you a watch for a simple job, or better yet, a relume. Barring any running problems, the watch will be in the mail by the end of the week, and back on the customer's wrist. This is the first of the Asian clone 2836-2's that I have seen with this problem. Normally they are well made and respond well to servicing. Not sure what happend here, I suspect that the watch may have been a customer return (after he or his modder damaged the movement) and that the watch was re-sold. Typically the factory uses the correct screwdrivers, at least the automated movement assembly machines do, and the mainplate pivot hole damage is totally bizzare...knowing that, the only possibility is that it was damaged by unskilled hands. Thanks for reading. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HauteHippie Posted January 24, 2012 Report Share Posted January 24, 2012 Nice pics, and great information to have! Between ball peen hammers, punches, and blow torches . . . or some combination of all the above, these unskilled mainplate "mods" never cease to amaze. Sometimes it's hard to figure out what their "tools" of choice actually might be! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FxrAndy Posted January 24, 2012 Report Share Posted January 24, 2012 Thanks Rob Am i correct in assuming that his is the new jumping GMT hand (while time setting like the 2892) movement? if so what did you do in regards to lubrication of the jump mech and what oil I worked on an older varient that just slipped whether oiled or dry the GMT hand would loose an hour over a day and whould not hold its set when time setting Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
its_urabus Posted January 24, 2012 Report Share Posted January 24, 2012 You are amazing R. Thanks for sharing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SportsterRider Posted January 24, 2012 Report Share Posted January 24, 2012 Great post, Zig. That's great news about the new GMT's. Thanks for sharing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrgod Posted January 24, 2012 Report Share Posted January 24, 2012 Interesting. There must be a lot going on "behind the curtains" in the Chinese replica industries. Thanks for posting! How is your experience with the Asian 2892 clones, quality wise? Have you seen any GMT-modifications on that movement? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jkay Posted January 24, 2012 Report Share Posted January 24, 2012 This is good news; a well-designed Asian GMT module has been a long time in coming. No more useless GMT replicas, hopefully! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kerbus Posted January 24, 2012 Report Share Posted January 24, 2012 (edited) I just recently had a clone eta GMT repaired. The datewheel was jammed and the GMT hand will no longer operate. Apparently the date wheel was able to be repaired but not the GMT hand. Something possibly to do with a pivot hole. At least the date and time work so I use the watch as-is. I had earlier misfortune with another GMT last year which worked for over 3 years before it went totally haywire. The cause of it was the need for some kind if spacer or washer which I recall was a ETA part. I only learned this after I sold the watch to someone who was able to diagnose it. I guess good diagnosis and full repair of GMTs will be more and more prevalent now. Edited January 24, 2012 by Kerbus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RWG Technical Posted January 24, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 24, 2012 Am i correct in assuming that his is the new jumping GMT hand (while time setting like the 2892) movement? if so what did you do in regards to lubrication of the jump mech and what oil I worked on an older varient that just slipped whether oiled or dry the GMT hand would loose an hour over a day and whould not hold its set when time setting Yes, it's the jumping hand model gear. Adjustment is opposite the quickset date in the crown mid position. HP-1300 used, or D5 whichever you have on hand. For the slipping one, probably not enough tension on the detent spring? How is your experience with the Asian 2892 clones, quality wise? Have you seen any GMT-modifications on that movement? Overall...A2892's seem to be poor, not had a lot of good luck with them, and I haven't seen any with a GMT modification so no feedback on that model... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krpster Posted January 25, 2012 Report Share Posted January 25, 2012 Great stuff. Really odd that damage to the main plate. I cannot even imagine the circumstances for this to occur, or the tools used. Thanks for sharing this with us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FxrAndy Posted January 25, 2012 Report Share Posted January 25, 2012 Thanks Rob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rolexman Posted January 25, 2012 Report Share Posted January 25, 2012 Thanks for sharing. Good to know that the GMT function can be transferred to the Swiss version without anyb problems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chiman12 Posted January 25, 2012 Report Share Posted January 25, 2012 Another great write up zig! This is sharing with the community at its best! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maxman Posted January 25, 2012 Report Share Posted January 25, 2012 Another outstanding review/pics from Zigmeister. Thank you so much for sharing your considerable talent and wealth of Information/knowledge with us. Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gran Posted January 25, 2012 Report Share Posted January 25, 2012 Thank you for sharing The Zigmeistermaster Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RWG Technical Posted January 25, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 25, 2012 Thanks for the feedback. 24 hours after the transplant, all is well, the watch is running perfectly and keeping excellent time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jkay Posted January 25, 2012 Report Share Posted January 25, 2012 24 hours after the transplant, all is well, the watch is running perfectly and keeping excellent time. Could you tell us why you feel this GMT module is greatly improved? Tanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redwatch Posted January 25, 2012 Report Share Posted January 25, 2012 As always, a well written, and very informative post with pics & excellent knowledge and data! Thanks for keeping us up to date on these projects R!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freddy333 Posted January 25, 2012 Report Share Posted January 25, 2012 Great work (as usual), Zig. My only question is whether it is safe to operate the jumping hour function after the overhaul or are the parts still too finicky to trust? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dluddy Posted January 25, 2012 Report Share Posted January 25, 2012 Great work (as usual), Zig. My only question is whether it is safe to operate the jumping hour function after the overhaul or are the parts still too finicky to trust? Curious of that too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RWG Technical Posted January 26, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 26, 2012 Could you tell us why you feel this GMT module is greatly improved? Tanks For a number of reasons: - simplified compared to the others I have seen - consists of only 1 adjustment gear replacing the original Day change gear on the 2836-2, a quickdate set modified drive gear, and the GMT gear that sits on top of the existing movement hour wheel cover assembly and is held in place by the dial and a dial washer, simple, and in line with other GMT ETA movemnets in it's design - no crappy cover assembly made with a bunch of bent junk all bent and twisted and secured with partial screws attempting to hold the GMT gear in place and jamming up against it etc, this time they got it right, simple and effective, minimal parts to do the job - simply drive gear from the autodate intermediate gear, same design as ETA uses, nothing to go wrong - gears all appear well made and should not pose any problems if lubricated and cared for during normal servicing Great work (as usual), Zig. My only question is whether it is safe to operate the jumping hour function after the overhaul or are the parts still too finicky to trust? The GMT gear with the adjustable detent mechanism is well made, seems to work well, and once lubricated shows no problems. It is quite rugged and I don't see any reasons not to use and adjust it. It's somewhat overbuild, but if compared to the 2893-2 GMT gear, is no worse in design. As long as it's lubricated, I would use it without any concerns. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bwhitesox Posted January 26, 2012 Report Share Posted January 26, 2012 "Hows that for cutomer serive" you ask....Brilliant as Always R. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jkay Posted January 26, 2012 Report Share Posted January 26, 2012 Thank you for the explanation, R. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
burnz Posted January 26, 2012 Report Share Posted January 26, 2012 Great teardown and explanation! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woody Posted January 26, 2012 Report Share Posted January 26, 2012 Always educational; thanks R. by the way, I would really hate it if it came from the factory that way. that would totally suck, because I am sure the dealers will ask you to pay for the shipping back to China. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.