Omega Constellation With 561 Movement Breakdown.

[Geo]

First I would like to thank everyone who chipped in with information regarding the lubrication of the 561 movement. Without it I wouldn't have used synthetic lube for the auto winding mechanism.

The watch is a very well used and abused 18kt gold Omega Pie Pan Constellation from 1966. It is one of the nicest movements I have worked on, the engineering and finish of the movement is truly excellent for a mass produced piece. I would just like to share a few photos that give some insight to the workings of the 561 calibre.

A rather sad dial, bearing in mind the dial is "solid 18kt gold".

Timegrapher reading before servicing.

My first sight of the movement. I needed the L.E.M. Case opener to get into it.

Following are a series of photos during disassembly.

And finally cleaned, lubed and reassembled.

Looking a bit healthier now. I couldn't set the beat lower because the micro adjuster for rate was making contact with the hairspring stud.

All back together. When I had it de-cased I weighed the gold and found it was worth £1550 as scrap!!!

It's certainly the most expensive watch that I have worked on, it was such a shame about the dial.

[Mark]

Brilliant job Geo, these are great watches to work on. 

 

I would imagine the hairspring has been removed from the balance and when it was put back it went on in the wrong position and that is why there the beat setting is out of scope. If you want to be OCD you could turn the collet but it is not that far out so you should be OK none the less.

 

Nice pics too :)

[Geo]

Thanks for the kind comments Mark.

That would explain the issue with the beat regulator, I hadn't given that thought. I can be very fussy at times, but I'll leave this one as is. :-)

[WillFly]

Great work, Geo - and what a lovely movement!

[Don]

Great work! Beautiful movement. What function does the off center crown wheel screw serve?

Edited January 13, 2015 by Don

[Geo]

What function does the off center crown wheel screw serve?

Oops, I loaded two photos the same, this one should have been included.

It holds the retaining plate for the crown wheel in place. The plate locates o the offset peg and prevents rotation of the plate.

[Don]

Interesting. Thanks.

[bobm12]

Great pictures and congratulations on an outstanding job, Geo! It is definitely a beautiful movement and honestly, I don't find the dial too bad, I actually like the simplicity of it...and it is vintage and made of gold. Super!

 

Cheers,

 

Bob

[Geo]

Update after testing for a few days.

The watch has been running fine and keeping good time, but last night when I was buffing the crystal I noticed a bit of flutter on the sweep second hand. I opened up the watch again and checked the small damper spring that presses on the lower end of the shaft that the hand is mounted on. There was the problem, the lightweight leaf spring was not exerting enough pressure on the shaft. I removed the spring and gave it a slight tweek then refitted it. The problem was solved. The only other adjustment required was a slight adjustment of the micro adjuster to compensate for the slight increase in drag. It' something to bear in mind if you come across this setup.

Sorry about the image quality, I just cropped one of the above photos.

[bobm12]

Thanks Geo! filed for further use!

[canthus]

Whilst researching for my cal552 service I found this info (printed it off to notepad and can't remember were I got it from!) which would I assume apply to all similar cals.

 

'With the pallet out, adjust the spring so that it has just enough tension that once you lift it, the gear train spins a little. The aim is for the centre wheel to turn about half a revolution when you do this.  You can also epilame the spring and pinion end and add a little M-9010 if still a problem.'

Edited January 15, 2015 by canthus

[Geo]

Thanks for the info Canthus.

I could have done with it a couple of days ago, it would have saved me a bit of time. The only thing I read was that it should be run dry. Whatever, it running spot on now without the jitters! :-)

[noirrac1j]

Geo thank you for posting the Omega 561 overhaul....you inspired me to actually pull out my Constellation, give it a few winds and wear it. I have a number of Omegas, and what can I say that hasn't been said already? The vintage Constellations are simply sensational timepieces! I hardly ever wear any of my constellations nowadays for fear that some vague and irreversible damage will occur to them! In any case, the example you've illustrated is beautiful and has an honest dial--much more desirable than the awful redials and frankenwatches that are sometimes passed off as "all original". Mine has an untouched dial, but unfortunately the hands needed to be replaced and as you can see the modern sweep second is slightly longer than the vintage length--which I see your watch is fortunate enough to still have.

 

Thanks again for the posting.

 

JC

Edited January 20, 2015 by noirrac1j

[Geo]

Hi Joe, I!m glad to here that you're now wearing your Connie. Unless it's not been serviced and is running dry and/or someone smacks it with a baseball bat it'll keep going longer than you. That watch that I've just serviced was my friends everyday wearer for years, whether out dining or working on his car. Now his son has it and is doing the same thing. It actually looks quite a bit better in the metal than on the photos.

You can have your Pie and wear it too!

I don't have one myself, but maybe some day! :-)

[canthus]

Hi Geo,  Great pics and useful tips. 

Just about to rebuild my c552 (which is very similar) and wondered if you dismantled the reversing wheel in the auto bridge? 

I am trying to make a simple tool to unscrew the wheel nut, but would appreciate any thoughts you have on this part before I do something silly!.

[Geo]

Hi Geo,  Great pics and useful tips. 

Just about to rebuild my c552 (which is very similar) and wondered if you dismantled the reversing wheel in the auto bridge? 

I am trying to make a simple tool to unscrew the wheel nut, but would appreciate any thoughts you have on this part before I do something silly!.

Hi Canthus,

I fully intended taking the reversing wheel apart. I tried very carefully to do it without the correct tools but I couldn't cent the nut to budge. I have the facilities to make the kit required, but unfortunately my machine shop is jammed full of old kitchen and boxes just now, so I decided just to give it a good clean and lube.

I used lighter fluid to give it a good wash, just as you would clean a hairspring. When the solvent flashed off. I oiled the satellite gears by using a fine ergonomic oil dipper and synthetic oil. If you gently squeeze the reverse gears together with your fingers, there is just enough room to get the nib of the fine oiler in the gap to deposit the oil. I did this in six places around the gear and all is working sweetly. It would have been good to disassemble it to check things out though.

When checking the function of the complete winding assembly before fitting it on the movement, everything worked perfectly with no excessive backlash when it reversed. If there had been, I would have taken it apart later on and made a tool.

I hope this helps. :-)

[canthus]

Thanks Geo,

I had gathered the nut could be very tight.  I will finish my tool and see if it works without going mad!  If not I'll try your method.  The rest of the movement is in very good condition and clean for its age (48 yrs!) so maybe the reverser is ok as well. Busy for next few days, but will let you know how it goes.