Roamer Falling Apart

[icius]

Hey all,

 

I recently acquired a Roamer.  

 

 

As soon as I unwrapped it the movement fell out of the case into my hand.  Here is a picture of the case and movmement:

 

 

 

 

 

I've not worked on a watch like this before where the movement comes out along with the case back.  I can't for the life of me figure out how the caseback/movement are supposed to stay in the case.  It looks like a snap back but it simply falls out when I put it together.  

 

I contacted the seller and they said it must have been shipping damage and that they would pay to have it repaired,  but honestly I can't figure out how this could have ever worked.  It's almost like there is some kind of ring missing or something.

 

Any thoughts?

[Geo]

It may need a press to produce enough force to get it to snap together. If yoU do try using a press, make sure that you press against the steel case and not the crystal.

[ro63rto]

No press needed just thumb pressure.

Its designed to come out like that. The unit clicks into the bracelet/case.

Heres a great site for Roamer.

roamer-watches.info/

Edited May 7, 2015 by ro63rto

[Geo]

The old one I took apart recently definitely was thumb pressure, I thoughts that the newer one might have been different. Good info Roberto. :)

[ro63rto]

The old one I took apart recently definitely was thumb pressure, I thoughts that the newer one might have been different. Good info Roberto. :)

All their waterproof breveté are "supposed" to be tool free to open/close.

While searching for more info I found another Roamer site. Awesome amount of info at first glance.

mirius.co.uk/WatchIndex.htm?Model,Roamer

Edited May 7, 2015 by ro63rto

[nad]

That's a little younger than any of mine but I think that you may be missing the tension / compression ring.

Sits on the top of the the case, your picture 3, and keeps the movement and face in the case and crystal snug on top.

NAD

[icius]

Thanks for all of the replies,  I wish the fix was as simple as stated,  but without any pressure at all the case back bottoms out.  It just sits in there flush with the case an then falls back out.  Hence my confusion and why I thought maybe there was a ring missing or something.  

[ro63rto]

Thanks for all of the replies, I wish the fix was as simple as stated, but without any pressure at all the case back bottoms out. It just sits in there flush with the case an then falls back out. Hence my confusion and why I thought maybe there was a ring missing or something.

Best bet is do what I did.

Contact the owner of the first website I posted above. His knowledge on Roamers is unparalleled. Very helpful guy.

Edited May 7, 2015 by ro63rto

[icius]

Great advice ro63rto!  I emailed the site owner and he responded within minutes as follows:
 

 

 

Hello Adam,

you are not missing anything.

The case is held together by compressing the crystal between the inner and outer cases. Push the crystal from the outer case, fit to the inner and try to press back together.

If this fails then I am afraid you will need a new crystal. Unfortunately all plastic crystals shrink with age, and there is always the possibility that an incorrect replacement has been fitted at some stage. The whole casing system is made to a very high degree of precision, once corrected it will not need any further 'tweeks'. If you need a new crystal, cousinsUK is a good supplier, and they have tables in their document section that will identify the correct crystal based on the Roamer case number.

 

I did attempt it, but the crystal would not fit over the inner case and ended up cracking.  Cousins did not have the replacement Roamer crystal in stock, but I found the Sternkreuz catalog here http://www.sternkreuz.de/accordion/assets/Sternkreuz_Gesamtkatalog%20G22.pdf  which has a huge list of original crystals for many brands and their Sternkreuz equivalents.  According to it the x7164 Roamer crystal I need is a Sternkreuz 316/305 which Cousins does have in stock.  So...order placed.  

[ro63rto]

Ah, so the previous owner replaced the crystal with the wrong one and mounted it on the outside of the bracelet/case holder.

Should have been the same as all their waterproofs then. Crystal on movement holder then as a unit into bracelet.

Mine.

[bobm12]

Hi Ro63rto,

 

As a matter of clarification for my own self, does it mean that the crystal actually helps holding the case back in place? Or was the old crystal -- being the wrong one -- preventing the back to "hook" properly in place? Thanks you for the explanation. I find this system interesting and have not come across it yet.

 

Cheers,

 

Bob

[icius]

Ro63rto,

 

That looks like exactly what I have.  Just so I know, how tightly does that crystal fit to the movement holder?  Obviously the crystal I had would not fit at all,  just trying to determine what to expect when the new crystal arrives.

[ro63rto]

Hi Ro63rto,

As a matter of clarification for my own self, does it mean that the crystal actually helps holding the case back in place? Or was the old crystal -- being the wrong one -- preventing the back to "hook" properly in place? Thanks you for the explanation. I find this system interesting and have not come across it yet.

Cheers,

Bob

Yes.

The crystal, on its own, just falls through the holder on the bracelet.

When inserted onto the movement holder, which is a precise fit, holds the lot into the holder.

[ro63rto]

Ro63rto,

That looks like exactly what I have. Just so I know, how tightly does that crystal fit to the movement holder? Obviously the crystal I had would not fit at all, just trying to determine what to expect when the new crystal arrives.

Fits like the proverbial glove. I can feel a slight pressure trying to resist me pushing it all the way home.