Resurrecting a Deep Blue

[krpster]

 

The Story

So, a friend of mine had his Deep Blue Master 2000 Diver suffer a fatal injury while preparing for a dive out on the lake. It would seem that as tough as the watch is, a direct impact with the deck of the ship was too much for the mechanism to bear. While this in and of itself is a traumatic event for the horologically inclined, what came after is even worse and what has prompted me to share this with all of you.

 

After the Deep Blue had clearly sought to rest in its own watery grave my friend set out to find a means of bringing her back to life. I do not know the path that led him to the “watchmaker” in question but I do know that the result was not what would be expected of a professional and is certainly not what he paid for.

 

After getting her back from repair he was told that some items were bent as a result of the impact and the countermeasure was to bend them back!?! Seems like a highly dubious method to correct such a tight tolerance finely tuned mechanical device. He was also assured that the watch received a full service with ultrasonic cleaning and lubrication. All of this for the paltry sum of $250!

 

On the surface, following the repair, all seemed well except for the fact that the watch no longer hacked. Odd since hacking is a standard feature on the ETA 2826 movement housed within. Also, low and behold some scratches on the dial. Then only a few weeks later the date indication stopped functioning followed by the overall movement failing. “Watchmaker” indeed!

 

Not wanting to go back nor try to recover the money lost the next step was to find an alternate means of resuscitation. Hence the Deep Blue ended up in my hands. The following is what I found and outlines the resurrection of the Deep Blue!

 

The Investigation

So here she is as returned from the “professional”. Scratched, broken, dirty….

Of course I can’t blame the watchsmith for getting it dirty (that honor belongs to my friend) but to return it this way after service speaks volumes about the craftsmanship.

 

Upon opening up the case back a few things of note. This watch is build like a tank! Notice the triple case back o-rings and floating back plate!

Also note the dirt and finger prints inside!!!!

 

Let’s take a closer look at things with the rotor off.

What a mess! No lubrication at all and dirty too! More finger prints all over the spacer ring! Also note the condition of the screw heads. Over torqued and damaged.

 

Now for the case and crown. For an even closer look I used my handy dandy USB mircoscope.

Did I mention it was nasty!

 

OK. Obviously some work needed on the case and stuff. How about that dial? Scratch is pretty bad but workable I think.

What’s up with the hands? Something doesn’t look right.

 

Off they come!

Sweep seconds hand is bent and all of them are scuffed up. Just poor workmanship.

 

Time to dig into the engine. First the date wheel mechanism.

Some bonus hairs to help it run better!

 

Lots of extra dirt too.

 

Now for the keyless works. The minute train bridge had it all. Too much oil, dirt and hair!

Keyless works themselves had no oil at all and of course… dirt! Also once again the screw is over torqued and damaged.

 

Next the auto winder module. This actually didn’t look too bad (relatively speaking of course).

 

But the gear train bridge was a disaster

I have seen some pretty nasty jewels before… but these are really bad.

 

OK. Let’s get the gear train out.

WOW! And I though the bridge jewels were bad. These ones were even worse! There is no possible way that this movement saw any kind of cleaning or service whatsoever.

 

Here she is all stripped down and ready for a real cleaning.

Also FYI, I never did find the hacking lever. No wonder it did not work.

 

The Resurrection

I spent some time working on the dial while the parts were in the ultrasonic cleaner.

A little bit of time, patience and some elbow grease and the result is pretty good I think. The scratch was not too deep so after rubbing out with Rodico and a polishing cloth most of it came out.

 

Now on to re-assembly of the movement.

I hand clean and polish each part before reassembly. It allows for good inspection too.

 

How clean parts and oiled jewels should look.

 

More re-assembly and a perfectly oiled balance jewel. Can you spot it?

 

Ah-hah! I knew that date was in there somewhere.

All buttoned up on the front side.

 

Uh-Oh! During re-assembly of the auto winding module found yet another problem….

supposed to be a pinion there. No wonder it didn’t work anymore. Off to order some more parts.

 

After getting the reversing wheel replaced I move over to the front side and get the dial and hands sorted.

Much better, Straight as an arrow and clear of the dial.

 

Now time to do some work on the case and crown.

A little refinishing here and there plus a whole lot of cleaning.

 

Prepping the case back O-rings for installation.

Still can’t get over the fact that there are 3 back here.

 

Not only does the case have 3 o-rings the crown has 4. There are 3 on the tube and 1 in the crown itself.

This one is built solid!

 

Cased up and ready to be sealed in (don’t worry, I installed the auto winding module between these shots).

Case back ready to install.

 

All done. Returned to her former glory!

 

The Conclusion

So the moral of this long drawn out story is…do not trust just anyone to work on your watch. Follow the 3 R’s: Research, Reputation and Reference. If you don’t you never know what you will get, and as you can see resurrection can be a painful process.

 

Hope you enjoyed

[PeteM]

Fantastic job mate..

 

 

Great pics and info...thanks for sharing

 

I do like the DBs...I had a T tubed one a while back which i really liked especially in darker areas !!..

 

 

Thanks mate

[hackR]

awesome post!...thanks for sharing...

 

have a Deep Blue Daynight Pro T100 (flat tubes)...when i had the chance to pick it up - i actually sold my modded Blacksteel v2 (didn't need 2 pvd watches)...so you know it must be something special...

 

R-

 

[sam1977]

Amazing job man.

Sent from my SPH-L720 using Tapatalk 2

[kbh]

For those that might be interested in Deep Blue watches, I just got an e-mail from them with a 25% off coupon. I must say they have some nice looking watches.

 

Enter Coupon Code: CYBER25
During Checkout and Take 25% off Your Entire Purchase!
(Hurry! Offer Expires On 12/4/2013)

 

 

And great job Krpster. Looks like you do some very nice work.

[krpster]

Thanks fellas,

 

I have to say that I am very impressed by the quality of construction of the Deep Blue. If they are all built this way i think they are very good quality for the money.

 

I almost pulled the trigger on one after seeing your post kbh. Got all the way to the complete purchase button but then realized I had better not buy yet another piece right before xmas. Already 2 incoming this month