From Russia with love...and sand!

[GeorgeClarkson]

[GeorgeClarkson]

The chronograph runner and minute runner are in, secured by the respective bridge

[GeorgeClarkson]

It is the turn of the hammer and its jumper...

[GeorgeClarkson]

A closeup if both components...

[GeorgeClarkson]

And I had to stop at this point. I should be installing the start/stop actuator and reset lever, but the first one is damaged, so I need to source it.

Furthermore, I still need to get the balance wheel for the other Poljot, the Sturmanskie, swap it with the one belonging to this movement, and a stem and crown assembly, which was missing. So a lot to do and some parts to buy.... 

[GeorgeClarkson]

The operating lever (part 8140) for the Poljot 3133 movement is very hard to find. So I decided to look for an alternative. Being the 3133 from the Russian manufacturer in fact a "clone" of the Valjoux 7734, with some changes, I would expect some if not almost all parts be interchangeable.

A nice thread over at watchuseek explains the similarities and differences between these two movements:

http://forums.watchuseek.com/f54/poljot-3133-vs-valjoux-7734-lysanderxii-224306.html

So I set my searches on eBay for an operating lever for a Valjoux 7734. I am quite shocked at the prices I found, honestly... they start at 30€  to end up to 103€!!1 That is CRAZY!!!

 

 

[GeorgeClarkson]

Ok I just bought the balance wheel, complete with hairspring, and am looking for the other parts at reasonable prices.

Meanwhile, I installed the second dial I got with this movement. Looks good doesn't it?

[GeorgeClarkson]

Should I decide to recase the movement in its original case, it would look like this one (Image courtesy of polmax3133.com)

 

[GeorgeClarkson]

That is the "Admiral", from circa 1997, based on the fact that the chronograph bridge has P3133 stamped on it.

[GeorgeClarkson]

While I was waiting for the balance wheel to be marked as "shipped", which was earlier today, I sourced out a stem+crown and the operating lever, part 8140. I also bought the lever spring, part 8335, which was not cheap by any means... I hope all arrives for the end of this week....

[RyMoeller]

On 1/13/2017 at 9:47 AM, GeorgeClarkson said:

So I set my searches on eBay for an operating lever for a Valjoux 7734. I am quite shocked at the prices I found, honestly... they start at 30€  to end up to 103€!!1 That is CRAZY!!!

Yes, I've discovered if the part is called "Valjoux" it's going to cost a pretty penny!

Alternately, I needed a minute recording jumper for a Venus 170 and was able to find one from a Strela 3017 (formerly Venus 150) that looks like it will work with minor modification... for about a quarter of the cost.

[GeorgeClarkson]

It is getting addictive... The same person who sold me the stem+crown had an almost complete movement + case he was disassembling to sell it as parts... Story is that he had this complete watch that stopped working for who knows whatever reason (the chronograph was no working) so he sent it to a watchmaker to asses the problem and solve it.

Well, after two (2!!!) years he got it back, in pieces, inside a tin box... So I asked him how much he wanted for the whole thing, and we bargained a price we were both comfortable with, considering the status of the poor watch. So I will be receiving another 3133 to service, or use for parts this time.

I know you want pics, I can only give you the seller's, who I hope will forgive me for posting them here....

The first pic is, of course, the crown + stem...

[GeorgeClarkson]

I had asked him initially for the 8140 and 8335 parts, and he sent me this pic... this made my buyer instinct tick, and made him the offer to buy the whole thing...

[GeorgeClarkson]

But there was more to it than I was expecting, since he also sent these pics. Basically a complete watch completely disassembled (probably some parts will be missing, since I don't know what he sold before) needing a lot of TLC...

[Cad101]

You've gone chrono mad George 

[GeorgeClarkson]

Always was... It is good exercise for the mind  and for the fingers...

[GeorgeClarkson]

Some of the parts arrived today, and I was eager to continue with the reassembly of this movement/watch... but I encountered some issues.... mainly incompatibility issues, that is.

But first, some pics...

This is what I received today: The balance wheel, the operating and fly-back lever spring, part no.8335 and the operating lever, part no.8140

Both the spring and the operating lever, since it was almost impossible to find them original Poljot, had to be sourced from its counterpart movement, Valjoux 7734. Since the Poljot 3133 is basically a "clone" of the 7733 from the swiss manufacturer, being built with the same machinery and tools, I was hoping they were fully copatible one with each other. But I was wrong...

[GeorgeClarkson]

Or at least partially wrong: the spring (part no.8335) is perfectly compatible, and works like a charm. I did compare it with an original Poljot spring, and although it is slightly longer on one end, it fits perfectly in the crevice of the movement, and it is the same width.

A pic of the bag containing the two Valjoux/poljot parts:

[GeorgeClarkson]

The issue is basically that the operating lever from Valjoux is slightly longer that the Poljot one. This means that it fits inside the same space as the original, but it is very hard to actuate. Furthermore, I also noticed that the end on the side of the hole for the post on the movement plate, where the screw should go, is also slightly thicker, so when you screw it down it locks the lever. While this is easily resolvable, with a bit of sanding, the fact that the lever is longer than necessary makes it all more difficult than it needed to be.

Now I have 2 options:

1. I file down the end with the hole and then I also file the movement chronograph plate creating a slightly larger "C" gap
2. I wait for the other movement I got, a Poljot 3133 as well, that should have a perfectly working 8140 operating lever. In this case, I bought this Valjoux part for nothing.

Of course I will wait for the other Poljot movement to arrive and try out that lever, but in the meantime I also wanted to see this movement working... I am a bit impatient, honestly.

BTW, I also installed the balance to see if the movement works, and it does.

[GeorgeClarkson]

And today I received the third movement, which is almost complete except for the balance wheel and balance cock(or balance bridge if you will).

Here's a pic of what I received: the almost complete movement on the right, a not so bad case and its back cover below, and some goodies inside the plastic box...

[GeorgeClarkson]

The plastic box contains another white dial with English writings, hands, the pallet fork and its screws, the stem and crown and the glass for the case, that I fear though belongs to another type of case since its border is too high. Pictured below the two white dials: on the left the dial that came with the Admiral on the right the new one. They are almost identical, where it not for the English writing and different font for the Roman numerals.

[GeorgeClarkson]

A close up of the movement, which is not so dirty as I expected to be, shows that, considering the style and position of the markings on the chronograph bridge, it was probably made around 1991.

[GeorgeClarkson]

And.... the third movement has been cleaned... and will be, without the parts that I need to use for the Admiral Watch, put back together. At the moment I am checking all the parts, one by one, to asses their status. I already saw that a couple of parts do show some rust, unfortunately.

As per the Admiral: the operating lever of this third movement is in perfect condition, and I already put it in place, and the movement is finally complete. The watch  itself has also received the stem and crown of the third spare watch, yet the crown is chromed so I will have to check out if I find a proper, gold plated crown IF I want to keep the case and dial of the Admiral

This leads me to another dilemma (the first one being sorted): what should I do with this case? the pushers are a bit pitted in their gold plating, the crown, as I said, is missing, the glass is completely scratched, but still allows the dial to be easily read. The problem is actually the dial, without the 11 hour marker, and the broken chronograph second hand.

It will be extremely hard to find a good looking watch with broken movement to get the complete case from. It would be much easier to just buy a NOS case, chromed, off eBay, for some 60€. Then fit the white dial and source proper hands, which are easier to find.

I haven't also tested the movement of the Admiral for accuracy. But I noticed it runs a bit fast. This is though due to the unregulated balance wheel, probably.

So what are your thoughts?

Edited January 23, 2017 by GeorgeClarkson

[dadistic]

Hmmm - 

White dial, new hands, replace the crown with a suitable generic, new glass,  and clean the case and pushers as best you can. See how it looks, might be OK! If not, you can then spend the money on a NOS case, and you'll only be out a glass and crown, which aren't a lot of money and may be useful elsewhere.

 

 

[Endeavor]

Very impressive work George; hats off It also cleaned up very nicely! Surely, by judging the pictures, you must have a bucket full of this Baltic sea sand ....... I've heard it's a collectors item  

I get a good idea what's in store for me

BTW; I bought the early 1992 Poljot 3133 "Sport", marked on the dial with "Made in the USSR". After the disintegration of the Soviet Union, only briefly after my model, the dials were marked with "Made in Russia" ......... I just couldn't resist ........ sorry ......

Edited January 23, 2017 by Endeavor