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Crown and stem problem


jot9011

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I'm hoping someone can help me out here.. I was setting the time on my Rolex DD and pulled the crown and stem completely out of the watch. It did not take a lot of force to perform this bone-head maneuver. I am very careful with my watches and never man-handle them. I was able to get the stem back in without any trouble and the watch appears to be working fine. I have read on other posts that it is possible the screw holding the stem in may be loose. Before I open up my watch, I just wanted to know what the experts think..

Thanks

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If your watch is a gen Rolex, then the stem fixing screw is loose & just needs to be tightened. If it is a rep containing an ETA movement, then the stem is held in by a spring-loaded lock. The stem may not have been fully seated by the factory. Once the stem is installed correctly, it should be fine. If the watch contains another movement, you would need to post a good, clear picture of the movement before anyone here can provide anything more specific.

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Mind if I jump in on this thread ? The other day, I noticed a minute metal fragment on the inside of the crystal of my UPO. I took the case back off and removed the movement. I then depressed the small button to release the crown and stem and cleaned the crystal.

No problems - until I put it all back together! The stem did not "click" back into the movement and now will not allow me to adjust the time or anything else. The watch is stopped and the stem just pulls straight out of the movement. I also noticed that where the release button WAS, there is now just a hole !!

The movement is an ETA 2834-2. Is this terminal ?? :huh:

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Not terminal at all. First, try pulling the stem out to the time setting position and then press it back in. Does it work now?

If not, then you just did not re-seat the stem all the way 'home'. Open the case and r&r the stem, paying attention that you are able to pull it out to set the hands & then push it back in to the winding position before you reinstall the caseback.

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Not terminal at all. First, try pulling the stem out to the time setting position and then press it back in. Does it work now?

If not, then you just did not re-seat the stem all the way 'home'. Open the case and r&r the stem, paying attention that you are able to pull it out to set the hands & then push it back in to the winding position before you reinstall the caseback.

Unfortunately, I cannot get the stem to "engage" with the movement at all now, so it wont set the hands or anything and just falls out of the movement... (maybe it IS terminal, after all !).

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It is not terminal at all you have just depressed the set lever out of place, to fix it you need to remove the dial and hands.

You can kind of see what you have done HERE

Many thanks for your advice and info Bazz but the point at which you said "remove the hands" was the point where I'm thinking: "I need the assistance of a watchsmith" !! -_-

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Many thanks for your advice and info Bazz but the point at which you said "remove the hands" was the point where I'm thinking: "I need the assistance of a watchsmith" !! -_-

No need to pull the hands but you do need to remove the movement from the case. Once out, grab a loupe and look at the hole where the stem is inserted. With a very small flat screw driver you should be able to carefully push the pin back to re-seat. Did I mention to do this carefully?

ETA movements must be in the "Hack" time setting position before depressing the pin to remove the stem. Otherwise, the pin will be forced out of position everytime.

Easy fix....good luck ;)

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No need to pull the hands but you do need to remove the movement from the case. Once out, grab a loupe and look at the hole where the stem is inserted. With a very small flat screw driver you should be able to carefully push the pin back to re-seat. Did I mention to do this carefully?

ETA movements must be in the "Hack" time setting position before depressing the pin to remove the stem. Otherwise, the pin will be forced out of position everytime.

Easy fix....good luck ;)

Cheers for the advice - I might give it a go. I'm not confident about removing the hands without the right tools. Tried it once on an asian movement and was never able to get the second hand to stay on again !!

This is what I love about this forum - the knowledge and friendly advice that's always on tap - Cheers guys !! :thumbsupsmileyanim:

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ETA movements must be in the "Hack" time setting position before depressing the pin to remove the stem. Otherwise, the pin will be forced out of position everytime.

Very good advice, since this is different from the Chinese movements where it is better to pull the stem when its in the winding mode. I had trouble with that before also.

Good luck getting the lever back in!

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It is not terminal at all you have just depressed the set lever out of place, to fix it you need to remove the dial and hands.

You can kind of see what you have done HERE

Can't seem to get the here link to work all I get is this

"The error returned was:

Sorry, the link that brought you to this page seems to be out of date or broken."

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