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[part 1+2 and final thought] full tear down IWC A5001


Rolexman

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Got mine at last today. Will be taking this puppy apart this week. 

Stay tuned 8)

Mark

0E1B3FF1-9A51-48BA-B929-FBBFD8CE3A71_zps

--------

Ok guys,

I made this promise in the most terrible time. Next week I'm away on business all week. The week after is my holiday vacation so I have some more time on my hands to continue. In the mean time I won't leave you hanging. After all the kind words ;)

I already started the tear down but did nog completely strip it down yet. But I will post some pics and share some thoughts. Will continue  next week and give some more information. 

First off. The movement not only looks great.

6F71EEED-0A2E-4694-9A39-EFBB3B3B77B3_zps

It performed superb on arrival. The readings do not suggest it would need service. But than again... Readings don't always speak the truth.

869A63E1-9F66-45FA-939F-188B908335C2_zps

F218BEE2-77E5-4E2A-8B2E-48FE63EDB2EE_zps

In this case they do. At least so far.... A very very clean and we'll oiled movement. Nothing like I have ever seen. All jewels are nicely oiled and the hair spring coils are perfectly spaced.

2205B9EC-7805-4552-860E-0A6EC42BBD48_zps

5C450C82-AD4A-4345-9D07-D22A5EDEF218_zps

Rotor attachment 

325AFF28-908A-4D60-A930-5EADCEECE9E3_zps

Most parts of the auto-winder are the same as the 2824. (2824 parts on the left) Lost the pic of the reversing wheels but they are also the same. Same accounts to the pallet fork.

ACD825AD-8310-4DB1-9B54-6DF70017EECF_zps

96B8E176-50CF-40FF-9476-2C2FBA1BF0E9_zps

50E64A25-082A-4EF0-A0CE-C111280AD431_zps

o-ring in crown

7E1A5057-2498-4AA6-B3C6-00759F54D948_zps

Some say the dial side looks like the a7750. That only accounts to the keyless works. I would imagine that is interchangeable also. The rest seems newly designed. 

F76D2FDC-002F-4A61-8C5A-0CB1187FED54_zps

A92CC37E-CB91-49AD-92CE-83EB452AA0AD_zps

63748115-D95B-4BAA-8CC3-062A7A5DA6BF_zps

End of part one. So what do I  think so far? I like it. Well designed, clean, oiled and build to last. Due to the fact some parts are A2824 and some parts are A7750 it even doesn't scare me that much (like the aP3000) when it comes to parts. My guess is this movement is designed and made by Seagull. It has all the characteristics.

Stay tuned for part 2 ;)  

PART 2

Thanks the reminder GentLe. I forgot about this thread due to the holidays (shame on me)
 
So you might have guessed it, I completely pulled apart the rest of the movement. You will see some additional pictures below with a short description and at the end my final thought about this movement.
 
Random picture
72E79A02-0C72-42C0-B20E-1D17E330917A_zps
 
Base movement and gear train. Basic, clean, well finished. I would say bullet proof!
09BCA468-1D3C-4FD9-A5F2-F551A48C79EF_zps
 
Gear train jewels also properly lubed
493CC0F0-F41D-48D2-828F-3EA76E18F8C2_zps
 
Naked and pretty!
CE51A883-42D9-4C85-8A42-78A268AA359F_zps
 
Clean but dry main spring + barrel
CA96482E-F624-4375-A33B-51DE54F0B13D_zps
 
Keyless (7750 parts below. They are an exact match)
02B72EE1-B72D-416E-BB45-3B005921B7CF_zps
 
The long main spring generating exactly 75 hours power reserve. 
FE3DB9A5-3595-44D5-9D85-A3E2B178C9DA_zps
 
Final thought
So what do I think about this movement? I love it. It is really well finished. The way the plates are machined and plated and also the way the decoration is done, all very good. The movement was perfectly clean and well oiled overall. It is designed and manufactured from the ground up and my guess is that a big movement factory like Seagull or Huangzou is behind it. 
 
So how does it perform? Well as mentioned earlier the auto wind module is designed like the ETA28xx series. Which has proven itself over the years. So no worries in that department. The keyless design is from the ETA 77xx series. Also no complaints there. The rest of the movement is pretty basic like a hand wind UNITAS 64xx series. It's also as big as one. The only part I was curious about was the PR design. But they designed it flawlessly. Now that I write this I can truly say that they have combined the best of 3 worlds (movements) and put a cherry on top! I don't think we will see a lot of these movements breaking down in the near future. After service it is now running and performing exactly the same as before the tear-down: perfectly :)
 
If I had to to be finicky I could mention 2 attention points of this movement.
 
- The barrel walls were dry: in order to provide the proper slippage to the bridle and diminish wear greasing of the barrel wall is in order. 
 
- The tiny washer underneath the PR-indicator wheel was causing problems and needed to be corrected. Due to an improper bend the PR-hand pinion was tilting making the hand unparalleled to the dial.  
 
Of course the state of these rep movements can vary. This one can be clean and perfectly oiled (besides the barrel) whereas others can suffer from all sorts of problems. I have seen that many times before. The inconsistency with rep movements is very high unfortunately. You simply don't know until you take it apart. 
 
I know the V2 is out with the movement decoration plate but I prefer the movement without it. All those fake gears, levers and plates can be spot easily by anybody that knows even the tiniest bit about movements.  Stuff just looks off. The V1 may not carry all the correct markings but it shows a real and beautiful decorated movement with real jewels, gears etc. The V1 is a nice C-cup whereas the V2 is a fake D-cup.... 
 
That's all folks 8)
 
Mark
Edited by Rolexman
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