Watch Service: Omega GMT. Cal 1128.

This is the second Omega GMT of the blog, Jamie sent it in for a service as it had stopped working. They are a very good movement, not too dissimilar to the 1120, but the one weakness this movement has is the GMT hour wheel. The spring within the wheel weakens and there is no other option than to replace it.

The movement is removed from the case, I then remove the hands, which is closely followed by the dial.

Once the dial has been removed I begin dismantling the movement, firstly the dial side. I have started to remove some of the date works in the below picture.

I continue on, and below you can see the old hour wheel in place at the centre of the movement – as I stated earlier, these are a weakness and often need replacing, this watch is no different. The new one is to the right of the movement. The new one will be run through the cleaning machine with the rest of the movement parts. Even though it is brand new, I always like to ensure they are totally clean and freshly oiled before I fit them.

Ive made it as far as the keyless works and at this point ill turn it over and make a start on the other side.

The 1128 calibre, with automatic device still fitted.

Automatic device removed.

Barrel bridge being dismantled – I carefully check all the parts and the bridge itself for any signs of wear or damage, the components of the barrel bridge are subject to quite high forces as the watch is wound.

The movement is completely stripped and ready for a thorough cleaning.

Once clean, my first task is refitting the keyless works. I oil it to the exact specifications from the Omega 1128 technical guide.

The barrel bridge refitted, along with the barrel. Next ill refit the pallets and the train, the watch will the start to run and the jewels can all be correctly oiled.

The dial side is almost complete.

Once the movement is complete, the dial and hands are refitted, after which its cased up and checked on the timing machine to ensure its running to within specifications.

Finally, this watch had a case brighten – A light refinish that removes a limited amount of metal, but makes a massive difference to the appearance of the watch by removing all surface scratches and reapplying the correct finish to the metal.

Thanks for reading,

The Watch Professional