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How A Chronometer Works Part I |
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Articles -
Watchmasters Corner
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Written by Ziggy Zumba
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Page 1 of 3
Ziggy tears apart an ETA 7750 movement to see how it ticks. You'll learn alot about the functions of a chronometer by following along.
I have been working on this post for a while, and it’s a lot more work than I anticipated. So although I haven’t finished all of it, I thought I would break it up in parts and post the first part now, and when I finish the rest will post it at that time.
The Chronometer and how it works
I find that there are a lot of differing opinions about the how’s and why’s of Chronograph movements. Some say don’t use the chrono, some say the chrono will always break it’s just a matter of time, some say use it sometimes etc etc.
I am no expert in chronographs (or watches for that matter, just like to tinker), I have serviced a fair number of them, and thought I would share my experiences, and also try and dispel the mystery (at the end of this you’ll see it’s not that complex after all) of how the chronograph works and how to make it last for a long time. So lets get started.
Breakdown and details of a 7750 chronograph
Although at first glance a chrono movement looks complex, it really isn’t if you consider it in individual sections. The first and most important part is the basic movement. This is a standard watch movement to which extra bridges and pieces are added to make it into a chronograph.
First off were going to assemble the basic watch, I like pictures as they make my job of trying to explain something easier.
Before we get into the movement itself, I want to show you the results of cleaning and disassembly of the movement. I am a firm believer in disassembling, cleaning, oiling any new watch I have. I will admit I am biased (probably because I do my own work) but as you’ll see here, it is a good idea.
Here is a general view of the movement after total disassembly (this one is from a pre-2000 Daytona).
Here’s the extra pieces I found after cleaning, they seem fairly insignificant, and shouldn’t be a real problem, after all they are so small. You can see them between the mainspring barrel and the mainspring sitting in the bottom half of the picture. This is typical of the 7750 movements, not sure why but I always seem to find little chunks of metal following cleaning.
Doesn’t seem to be a real problem having a few pieces of metal in the movement. Here they are:
Well in the watch-world, parts this size are a huge concern, akin to having a tennis ball size chunk of metal floating around in your car engine.
See the comparison of the pieces to the pallet arm, they don’t seem so insignificant if you compare them to the most critical parts of the movement, you can imagine the damage done if these parts jammed up in the wheels or escapment.
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Last Updated ( Tuesday, 14 August 2007 )
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