Fossil Watch Fix

[DrG]

My father in law sent me a Fossil watch my wife and I had given him as a gift. It is a model ME3052 and he told me it was not working. 

 

Upon receiving the watch, I immediately noticed the rotor was loose inside and banging around everywhere. Apparently it came loose after the watch fell. 

 

I opened it up and the rotor had caught in the escapement, damaging the balance spring and wheel. Since the watch had sentimental value, I decided to fix it. 

 

Obviously the movement had no model number or any marking of which I could make out the movement model. I knew it was a Chinese skeleton, of which there are a million models online.  After several days of research and almost giving up, out of pure luck I glanced at the backside of the dial and saw TY2723 marked. I typed it online and bingo! That was the movement model. 

 

I could only find two places which stocked it and decided to go with Esslinger. After the movement arrived I assembled everything. I was almost done when I placed the crown and it wouldn’t go in. After some tinkering it finally went in. I was happy, but when I flipped the case, the winding gear was loose inside the case. Apparently it dislodged when putting in the crown. 

 

I decided to give it a shot and fix it. Mind you I had never taken apart a movement, let alone a skeleton stem assembly. It was difficult and I assembled it wrong several times before finally understanding how everything works. It was good that I had the older movement, cause I lost some tiny screws in the process. I think the hardest part was getting the little spring which drives the clutch lever in place. 

 

Anyways, I put it all together and the watch works great.

 

Teaching point: Don’t take on a skeleton movement as your first fix. Hahaha

 

Just wanted to share the experience with you guys, cause I was so happy I was able to fix it. Below are some pictures. 

 

[watchweasol]

Hi you have done well getting that sorted. Its this the start of a new hobby ?  The TY is a seagull chinese movement they are usually based on ETA movements. Unusual to see one of these in a fossil as they usually use the genuine ETA movements. Was the watch a replica or the genuine article. 

[DrG]

2 hours ago, watchweasol said:

Hi you have done well getting that sorted. Its this the start of a new hobby ?  The TY is a seagull chinese movement they are usually based on ETA movements. Unusual to see one of these in a fossil as they usually use the genuine ETA movements. Was the watch a replica or the genuine article. 

Hi. Thank you. I am really getting into this hobby.   I bought the watch at fossil store so I guess its the real deal. I did read somewhere that Fossil was now using Seagull movements, but I can’t ascertain if this is true. 

[watchweasol]

Hi  If it came from the store it must be genuine, probably Fossil using cheaper chinese units, they will certanly save a bob or two but will it detract from the brand . I have repaired fossil watches and they did use the ETA units. Some of the chinese units are quite acceptable now although the finish is not as good as the ETA.  I noticed you had a problem refitting the stem, On the ETA units pull the stem out to 3rd position then release If not the keyless work displaces and you have to take te dial and hands off to refit might be the same on the clone unit. Not found a tech sheet for it yet.

[DrG]

14 minutes ago, watchweasol said:

Hi  If it came from the store it must be genuine, probably Fossil using cheaper chinese units, they will certanly save a bob or two but will it detract from the brand . I have repaired fossil watches and they did use the ETA units. Some of the chinese units are quite acceptable now although the finish is not as good as the ETA.  I noticed you had a problem refitting the stem, On the ETA units pull the stem out to 3rd position then release If not the keyless work displaces and you have to take te dial and hands off to refit might be the same on the clone unit. Not found a tech sheet for it yet.

Thank you for the advice. That’s what happened to me. The kelyless works came undone with the winding gear displaced completely. 

Here is a foto of the backside of the dial with the movement model. 

[jdm]

I did this this big boy today and it is ETA-free, but they are reinventing (and patenting) the meca-quartz concept 

The mechanical portion moves only the "petite trotteuse", and I even regulated it a little, while feeling a bit stupid in doing so. Amazingly, it takes 25 jewels to accomplish this less than monumental task. 

They must have a scarcity of adhesive at the dial factory, because three indexes and the seconds chapter ring had left their place. The minutes hands barely stayed, being made without a tube. 

[DrG]

14 hours ago, jdm said:

I did this this big boy today and it is ETA-free, but they are reinventing (and patenting) the meca-quartz concept 

The mechanical portion moves only the "petite trotteuse", and I even regulated it a little, while feeling a bit stupid in doing so. Amazingly, it takes 25 jewels to accomplish this less than monumental task. 

They must have a scarcity of adhesive at the dial factory, because three indexes and the seconds chapter ring had left their place. The minutes hands barely stayed, being made without a tube. 

Awesome!!  Very cool. A kinetic movement from Fossil. Would like to get one of those. Thanks for sharing!! 

[yankeedog]

good to see something"new" for a change. Bravo!