Help needed with a Folex.

[DrLazer]

Hello everyone, I'm really new to this hobby.
At the moment I only have a few screwdrivers and tweezers and an acceptance that everything I touch is probably going to end up broken.

But, I would love to reassemble a watch and make it run again.
I have a basic knowledge of how a simple mechanical watch works.  But someone recently donated me a Folex to play with.
It's a really high quality clone, with a generic movement.

I've never taken a watch apart with a calendar or an automatic winding works yet, so both of those are full of parts I've not yet encountered.
I managed to completely disassemble the movement without breaking or loosing anything.  The calendar had quite a few tiny springs.

I've started reassembling. The keyless works is all back together and seems to be functional.
I've replaced the center wheel and clicked on the canon pinion, flipped the watch over and started with the drivetrain.

So, I am pretty sure I've got all the wheels from the drivetrain in the right place.  The bridge is quite large and hosts the rotor for the automatic wind.
I replaced the bridge, and all the wheels span freely when turning the barrel, which was nice.



However .... there are a few parts I cannot identify, and I do not know where they fit.  When disassembling the movement, these parts were either lifted away with the drivetrain bridge, or were loose in the watch so I didn't get to see where they should be located.  The part's are the two gold wheels shown here with the main bridge flipped over.



any advice on next steps etc would be very much appreciated. 

[DrLazer]

Oh one more photo for reference too .....

This is how this part was removed.  The smaller mystery wheel at the top I may have had in-between the prongs of my tweezers so accidentally lifted away.
The wheel at the bottom appears to be housed in the jewel in this plate, but I cannot see anywhere that the little cog in the center would fit on the movement.

[watchweasol]

WThis is why when dismantling take plenty of pictures to aid to reassembly. The watch mark under the balance would indicate it’s a Durowe, is there a calibre number on the plates as it will help should parts be required or a parts sheet be needed

[DrLazer]

oooh interesting.

I can't seem to see any other numbers or letters anywhere.  But then I did miss the "D" too.
I've worked out where those mystery gold coloured wheels fit.  They are part of the automatic winding works.
On my first picture you can see a free jewel on the immediate right of the barrel.
There is also a free jewel on the immediate right of the center wheel.
Logically those parts only fit one way.

Also re-fitted the click spring, and retaining screw.

I'll post a picture tomorrow.

Somehow I've got to fit the main bridge again, only with two more axels introduced. 

[DrLazer]

The drivetrain side went back together no problem.

The calendar side however, I am convinced there are a couple of missing parts.



I feel like there is a small wheel missing that connects the keyless works to the motion works.
I would also think there would be some kind of jumper spring for the datewheel.
Also the datewheel has damage so it would be nice to replace it.

Can anyone help with how to identify the exact movement and the process of finding parts?

Here is a photo of the other side ...

[watchweasol]

Hi so far so good, If you can get a copy of the best fit books there is a movement identification section which relates to the keyless works and the setting lever spring. The books are on the site,  If you search the term “meadiafire” you will find listed a link to the books.  Which are available for down load or look at   Thewatchguy, site.

the books show you the size in lignes and the shape of the watch enabling you to narrow it down a bit.     Cheers

[Kalanag]

This movement is a Chinese „Dixmont“ DG2812 (29mm) or DG2813 (26mm)

See here: Cousins UK

 

Edited January 5, 2023 by Kalanag

[watchweasol]

Hi Dixamont it is. Not up on the Chinese watches, tend to steer cleat of then due to parts issues.

[DrLazer]

Amazing! Very useful.
Got to say - I haven't worked on many movements yet, but this one isn't nice.
Full replacement available on Ali Express for like $40.
 

Just a thought?

How easy would it be to buy a non Chinese movement to fit this watch?

[Kalanag]

More information:

Walkthrough

Video

[Kalanag]

19 hours ago, DrLazer said:

How easy would it be to buy a non Chinese movement to fit this watch?

It depends on

- diameter and thickness of the movement

- distance between winding stem and dial

- tube diameter of the hands

Unfortunalely there is no standardization and therefore it might be difficult.