Worth Fixing?

[USMC8404]

Good evening all:

I have a TT Sub that is a very convencing replica and wears well. I think it may need a new movement. I am not sure what is in it, but when I purchased it was advertised with a 25 jewel ETA. The problem began gradually. I started noticing the stem slipping with manual winding. Kind of like the teeth were worn off of the gears. Now it will not wind at all, even the automatic system seems to have failed. Pics posted below.

Thanks...

[By-Tor]

If you want a honest opinion: No, I don't think it's worth fixing. That particular rep isn't all bad, but it's not great either.

I have also a question: Why have you hand wound your watch? I don't know if you have done that regularly or not, but there's absolutely no need to do hand wind a working ETA-powered watch. Ziggy has said many times that constant hand winding is completely useless, and it will eventually damage the click wheels of the movement.

I don't know if that's the issue with your watch. I doubt it, but this is a good general rule to keep in mind.

[USMC8404]

If you want a honest opinion: No, I don't think it's worth fixing. That particular rep isn't all bad, but it's not great either.

I have also a question: Why have you hand wound your watch? I don't know if you have done that regularly or not, but there's absolutely no need to do hand wind a working ETA-powered watch. The Zigmeister has said many times that constant hand winding is completely useless, and it will eventually damage the click wheels of the movement.

I don't know if that's the issue with your watch. I doubt it, but this is a good general rule to keep in mind.

Please give me your honest opinon why it is not all that great. I really like the watch and it has served me well up to this point. I am not sure what movement is in the watch, but it never had a working reserve over 10 or 12 hours even when new. That is why I had to use the manual winding.

[alligoat]

You could either fix the movement, or put a new one in there. Depends on whether or not you have a watchmaker that will work on it. New ETA 2836-2 might be the easiest route to go- new movt and labor might run $150-175. If you wear the watch all the time, it's not a bad investment. It's not a perfect rep, but to do better, you'd spend quite a bit more.

As B-T says, the winding/click wheels/ rotor interface on an eta is the weak link- you have to wind them ever so gently and it's best to keep them on a winder and not wind them at all- maybe just adjust the time when you wear them.

[USMC8404]

Please give me your honest opinon why it is not all that great. I really like the watch and it has served me well up to this point. I am not sure what movement is in the watch, but it never had a working reserve over 10 or 12 hours even when new. That is why I had to use the manual winding.

Thanks,

That is the kind of advice I was looking for. Do you know a good source of the 2836-2 movements, and will the date wheel line up?

[alligoat]

Say the case is a TW Best, that's ok. The dial isn't the best. You're lack of power reserve indicates that the surplus movt in your watch wasn't that good to begin with. Not your fault, just the nature of the game. None of the movements in reps are that good- even eta's- lack of service/surplus movts.

You could trim the crown guards, service the movement and it would be better. Or you could spend more money and start over- MBW or something else. But you have to learn and then decide.

[USMC8404]

Say the case is a TW Best, that's ok. The dial isn't the best. You're lack of power reserve indicates that the surplus movt in your watch wasn't that good to begin with. Not your fault, just the nature of the game. None of the movements in reps are that good- even eta's- lack of service/surplus movts.

You could trim the crown guards, service the movement and it would be better. Or you could spend more money and start over- MBW or something else. But you have to learn and then decide.

What is a MBW and how do I find one?

[alligoat]

MBW is Maria's Best Watch. It's a type of watch that comes out of Thailand and a few dealers carry it. Various models such as the 1680, 1665, and the modern 16610 or in your case the 16613 are available. Do a search and start reading. There is no perfect rep, but with mods you can get damn close and fool 99.99% of the people.

Here's another TT watch from BK:

http://www.replica-watch.info/phpBB3/viewt...117&t=37023

I don't know if it's available in black but probably so. You'd have to get over to the other forum- RWI and check it out.

And fixing yours still might not be a bad idea. You can buy movts at www.ofrei.com and www.julesborel.com. Date wheel can be swapped out from you old movt. But finding a watchmaker would be the key- a small independent type guy that does his own work and will work on reps- you just need to ask around- don't be shy. Good luck and keep on reading.

[llsteve80]

I think I should mention that USMC said to me that all of the gold is solid on that watch, if that is correct, it should make a difference on whether or not to fix it. At least a new dial and eta should do the trick.