Lee sent me his Breitling Superocean for service as it hadn’t been serviced for 10 years, it had also stopped winding. This particular model houses the ETA 2824-2 movement, as seen in a few other watches on the blog. Its a fairly simple movement, but very reliable and has certainly stood the test of time – you could certainly do a lot worse than having this movement powering your time piece.
Firstly I remove the case back and rotor, before removing the movement from the case.
I place the movement in the holder prior to removing the hands.
With the dial and hands removed I can begin disassembly of the dial side.
Just the keyless works remains, all other dial side parts have been removed, checked for signs of damage or wear, and placed into their basket before they are run through the watch cleaning machine.
In the picture below I have removed the automatic device.
Train and train bridge removed. I check each wheel as its removed, even the slightest bit of damage to one of the train wheels is enough to stop the watch dead.
I continue on with the disassembly, nearly complete.
The bare mainplate, ready to be cleaned. The movement has to be completely disassembled prior to cleaning, if any components are left in place, the cleaning machine might not be able to do its job properly and the movement wont be fully cleaned.
After cleaning, the first parts I refit and oil are the keyless works and shock settings for the balance.
New mainspring being fitted to the barrel.
The movement is rebuilt and oiled according to the manufactures specifications.
Before the watch moves onto the testing stage of its service, I ensure the time keeping is within tolerance.
Once testing is completed, and I have ensured the watch is running as it should, it is returned to its owner with a one year guarantee.
Thanks for reading,
The Watch Professional
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