Delayed , but a happy nonetheless.

This watch will seem somewhat familiar to a few of you. A couple of years ago, Marc MCV made a fortuitous transaction on eBay, and scored this vintage Fortis. It arrived to him in reasonable condition, but a little bit beat up.

I became involved in the project by installing a much-needed crystal, and by doing a bit of cosmetic work on the all-steel case. The watch was running okay, but not great. It was returned to Marc.

Some time later, Marc gave me the opportunity of owning the piece. It was a no-brainer for me; I already knew the condition of the watch. It was in great shape cosmetically, and fair (but restorable) mechanically. Plus, Marc passed along the great deal that he had made earlier.

The watch arrived, and went into my never-ending queue of unfinished projects.

That is, until this week! I had some time to devote to a movement service. So, here's my official






The hands are brassing just a bit, and the tritium is many half-lives old. But check this out: the lume paint is on the sides of the raised markers. Then there is a polished ring, designed to reflect that lume. Very cool.




When i tackle an unfamiliar caliber, I always take photos along the way. Here's one, just after the day dial has been removed. Kinda cruddy in there.

I thought that the 2836 was complex... This is the Eta 2789. It seemed like there were way too many covers and springs under the dial.



I do not remember cleaning a watch that had so much gunk in the mainspring barrel. And it was running before I started. Yep, that's a broken screw that should be holding the ratchet wheel. I found a replacement in some miscellaneous parts.


The best part... This movement is a good one. Any movement can be regulated in one position. But this one is very close in all the positions. I doubt that it could earn a chronometer certificate, but it is close.


All in all, I'm chuffed. I still should hunt down some new gaskets for the case. Even after that, my total out-of-pocket expense will be well below $100.00.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/12/2013 10:21PM by Dave M.