winding stem - Cal 503 Longines Admiral

[FREDCHEN]

Dear all,

good afternoon from Paris! Hope you are all fine and busy...

I am new in repairing watch as hobby... I got recently a nice Cal 503 from Longines on ebay and found as well a splendid monoblock case... Great! 

I spent already time on various forums to understand specificities of this model and I still have a question regarding the winding stem. I understood that most of the time, it shall be a splitted one to be able to remove the movement from the case, after removal of the glass.

I am attaching the stem that was provided with the movement but I really wonder if it is the good one, able to split in two.

Does anyone have faced this this issue and would be kind enough to share his experience with me?

Thks in advance and stay safe!

Fred

[Nucejoe]

Familiarize with the two following popular data bases for answeers to you questions and more. Ranfft.com and julesborel.com Good luck

[HSL]

Welcome to this forum Fredchen, must have missed you in the introduce you self section

Well you can't use that stem in a monoblock, it uses a totaly different one, I have an example of it from a different movement (Longines 284) but you get a understanding of the split stem.

To get it out from the case you have to split it, this is done by gently pulling the stem outwards.
The construction of the stem makes this possible.

on this one you have a male part on the crown.

and on the movement side a female part.

So now you see why you have to buy a new stem for you monoblock, you might be able to keep your crown depending of how the tube in the case looks like.
 

Edited April 18, 2020 by HSL

[MrRoundel]

If the case says, "Use All Proof 1200 Wrench" or something along those lines, on the back, it's unlikely that the stem shown is the right one. If you check online for "Bestfit 360" stems, you'll see what the crown side should look like. 

I think Mark Lovick has a video on youtube about removing the crystal on a monocoque case. It will get you through it. You can sometimes find the proper wrench for removing the crystal being sold online, but they can cost a bit. Mark uses the most cost-effective way if you don't have that wrench or other clamp style crystal remover. In essence, you blow the crystal out from the inside using an air-injector of some sort. The right size hypodermic injector will do the trick with a little sealing help.

That said, putting it back in will require the "All Proof" wrench or clamp style crystal tool. Good luck.

(I think someone might have answered as I was typing. If so, I hope my post adds something anyway.)

[FREDCHEN]

1 hour ago, Nucejoe said:

Familiarize with the two following popular data bases for answeers to you questions and more. Ranfft.com and julesborel.com Good luck

thks a lot - I have now the reference of the stem that I need to find "Stem W3264" - Any good address for finding this spare part maybe? thks a lot!

[FREDCHEN]

1 hour ago, MrRoundel said:

If the case says, "Use All Proof 1200 Wrench" or something along those lines, on the back, it's unlikely that the stem shown is the right one. If you check online for "Bestfit 360" stems, you'll see what the crown side should look like. 

I think Mark Lovick has a video on youtube about removing the crystal on a monocoque case. It will get you through it. You can sometimes find the proper wrench for removing the crystal being sold online, but they can cost a bit. Mark uses the most cost-effective way if you don't have that wrench or other clamp style crystal remover. In essence, you blow the crystal out from the inside using an air-injector of some sort. The right size hypodermic injector will do the trick with a little sealing help.

That said, putting it back in will require the "All Proof" wrench or clamp style crystal tool. Good luck.

(I think someone might have answered as I was typing. If so, I hope my post adds something anyway.)

yes, there is a good video from Mark Lovick about the way to remove the crystal. Thank you for you detailed answer! Have a good day.

[FREDCHEN]

1 hour ago, HSL said:

Welcome to this forum Fredchen, must have missed you in the introduce you self section

Well you can't use that stem in a monoblock, it uses a totaly different one, I have an example of it from a different movement (Longines 284) but you get a understanding of the split stem.

To get it out from the case you have to split it, this is done by gently pulling the stem outwards.
The construction of the stem makes this possible.

on this one you have a male part on the crown.

and on the movement side a female part.

So now you see why you have to buy a new stem for you monoblock, you might be able to keep your crown depending of how the tube in the case looks like.
 

Thks - it is very clear. I will try to find the spare part! If you have any idea / address, it would be welcome and helpful. Great day to you.

[HSL]

Well I don´t think finding that split stem for a monocoque like that will be easy.
But somewere in the back of my mind I remember this being up here before, I think the go to man in this case would be Nucejoe.
If it someone who would remeber this it would be him, think he showed a Logines Admiral in a  monocoque some years ago.