Cartier Quartz dilemma

[Davey57]

This is my own watch that I have owned for about 30 years. It stoped a little while back so I replaced the battery. It seemed ok but, I noticed it had stopped again after a short while. I have since tried the battery and it is ok, I also tried it on my quartz tester and there is a pulse. Many years ago it had to have a new movement fitted, as I did not wear it much I hadn’t noticed it had stopped and the battery had leaked. Needless to say I received a rather hefty bill from the goldsmiths because they sent it back to Cartier for the work. Even after that, as I hadn’t began my interest in working on watches and would never dream of opening it up, I still took it to the goldsmiths whenever it needed a battery. I didn’t want a repeat of the new movement scenario! So all in all I have spent a lot of money on the watch over the years, I still love it and try to wear it when I can. My dilemma is, a new movement from Cousins is about £250 +vat. Do I trust myself enough to strip it down and clean it?  Has anyone worked on these or similar? If it was something other than this watch I’d have no qualms about setting about it.

 

[noirrac1j]

Caliber 690, classic tank style watch. Its a very nice, timeless design. I would try it, since you've nothing to lose, and it has no complications (date, seconds hand). I haven't done one in a while, but I have done several quartz watches in the past: mostly branded ETA modules, and they're not difficult. The hardest part is aligning the stepping motor in place because they're magnetic and tend to shift. I haven't done one in a while but I overhauled a friend's Movado (he wore it to the beach!) and after complete cleaning and brushing off the rust, I was able to get it working again. I simply used Moebius 9010 for the pivots and keyless works is just standard 9501.

Mark has a video of the ETA 955.412 that shows the fundamental process: quartz overhaul.

 

J

[philipk5]

On the basis that you can't make it any worse, I would suggest introducing it to a demagnetiser the sort that basically has a magnet on an electric motor that "pulses" a magnetic field and spins the movement at relatively high speed thus clearing (relocating) any debris/sticky oil. This is not really a repair but it can revive an otherwise dormant quartz movement introducing some suitable oil in the right places as well may help. 

Or if you are up to it you could tackle a strip/clean (a proper repair) as above.

[Davey57]

I thought the same, got nothing to lose in having a go. I’ve done quite a few quartz anyway. You’re right though, the stepper is totally frustrating, sticking to everything. I have tried spinning it up with my quartz tester, it only ran for a short time and stopped. The movement has been in for over ten years now so I reckon it would be due some attention anyway. I’ve a couple of other things to finish up first, then I’ll have a go.

[MrRoundel]

Interesting, and really handsome. It's probably the nicest quartz watch that I've seen. Dang, it even has nickel plates! That's a first that I can recall. Granted, I haven't been into wristies for more than 2-3 years or so. Pocket watches were my thing.

I'd consider getting some of the special quartz oil for that watch. Moebius makes a number 9000 that is specifically for quartz. It's pricey, but may be worth it. JMHO. Surely others will have different "O"s.

Good luck with your fine watch. Cheers.

 

Edited May 27, 2019 by MrRoundel
Punctuation change.

[JohnR725]

Like any mechanical watch with gears it needs to be serviced from time to time. These quartz watches are usually pretty simple easy to clean expensive if you break something. Then link with technical information does cross reference to a Ebel Which is handy if you're looking for parts gives you more parts options.  Then personally I do like Moebius quartz oil 9000 as it does work really well.

http://calibercorner.com/cartier-caliber-690/

 

 

 

[JohnR725]

Typically with watches like this there is no tech sheets but I found the attached tech sheet on cousins. It's the only Cartier Tech sheet that they had. Unfortunately no parts list but it does have the electrical tests which is usually harder to find than the parts list.

3982_Cartier 690.pdf

[Davey57]

Many thanks for finding that