RWG Technical Posted November 29, 2007 Report Share Posted November 29, 2007 Breitling hand repair. The Asian 7750, unlike the ETA 7750, has varying thicknesses depending on the subdial layout. A 7750 has subdials at 12-9-6, whereas a 7753 has them at 3-6-9. On the ETA there is no difference in thickness between a 7750 or 7753. On the Asian movement, the transfer gears for the 30 minute subdial are above the calendar wheel, and therefore make the movement thicker. Most remember the Breitlings that came with the backwards chrono seconds hand. Well I got one of these in for a hand replacement, problem was, the new hand was made for a 7750 not a 7753 layout, and the hand tube was too short. Because the Asian 7753 is thicker, the hour and minute wheels end up further away from the mainplate, and the chrono seconds gear and hand post ends up below the top of the minute wheel, not above it as it would be on a 7750. So we had a problem, trying to source a new hand would not be easy, and the odds of it being too short were high. Getting the message across that we needed a 7753 longer tube hand vs a 7750 shorter tube hand, was also proving to be difficult. The only option that I could think of trying, was to remove the tube from the backwards Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deltatahoe Posted November 29, 2007 Report Share Posted November 29, 2007 unbelievable it must be pretty thrilling to successfully complete these kinds of projects ziggy -- i can't imagine trying to pick up that tube let alone press & glue it to a tiny watch hand.... one thing is for sure -- there is going to be one happy breitling owner reading this topic today deltatahoe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrgod Posted November 29, 2007 Report Share Posted November 29, 2007 Impressive work! Quite far from anything I would dare to attempt! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capice Posted November 29, 2007 Report Share Posted November 29, 2007 so, we're talking very,very small here........... great job Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest watchbuff Posted November 29, 2007 Report Share Posted November 29, 2007 Wow The Zigmeister, tose are some of the smallest components to handle! I wathed my watch guru nazi do this and gotta say it was a task that nnede all windows and doors shut and absolute silence. ( he liked it like that) I think the watch was a vintage Gruen. What do you charge for some job like this? It is not exactly on "your list". OR is it just easier to get a second hand with a longertube as opposed to effecting this repair? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HauteHippie Posted November 29, 2007 Report Share Posted November 29, 2007 Nice work and neat photos! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RWG Technical Posted November 29, 2007 Author Report Share Posted November 29, 2007 OR is it just easier to get a second hand with a longertube as opposed to effecting this repair? Certainly it's much easier to replace the hand with the correct one, in this case I charged for my time... RG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rolexman Posted November 29, 2007 Report Share Posted November 29, 2007 You are the master... I would probably loose the tube under my finger nail LOL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andreww Posted November 30, 2007 Report Share Posted November 30, 2007 Hey Zig, I know exactly how difficult this procedure is because I had to do the same thing when I accidentally knocked the tube off the second hand of a particularly rare rep. I tell you, I felt like a micro surgeon when I finally got that watch back together! Great job, and thanks for bringing back memories of that nightmare! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
r11co Posted November 30, 2007 Report Share Posted November 30, 2007 A hand tube up your nose is slightly less of a worry than swallowing and passing a toothed wheel... Yet another educational and informative report from the workbench of RWG's true master. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SportsterRider Posted November 30, 2007 Report Share Posted November 30, 2007 Amazing!! You are a true craftsman, Zig! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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