Jump to content

Recommended Posts

Posted

Enicar Star Jewels MRO (AR 165D)

449595995_841343821295055_7351991005017448515_n.thumb.jpg.69296cbf35ab8cccb3b78352a8899d8c.jpg

A while back I won this watch at an auction here in Norway. I’d never heard about Enicar before, but a Google search made me stay up until too late. What a charming brand and history!

451507157_501466572454931_362597074496872411_n.thumb.gif.ca7804970f98beeeea7382d79023f3b2.gif

If you ask, they had some killer design going on for a while and all their movements are inhouse. And It was so cool to find that this brand also had a little community going online!

From the guy who made a nice book about the brand; enicar.org to a youtube favourite of mine HorologyBiology who has vintageenicar.com.

And also enicar101.com deserves a mention for sure.

It’s cool to discover a brand like this and learn about its history. I’ve never been so into vintage watches before, but discovering this brand opened the door for me on what’s out there.

 

So on to this project:

453371434_3202976979835959_565648852695210069_n.thumb.jpg.0ffe5e2a9b16f5c3891f3e9c1c9d5e03.jpg

453711870_7710209732423375_2058594316314813758_n.thumb.jpg.f43a3730f88eaef995460b49771e1d6e.jpg

This will be my very first watch service/reparation ever(!). I have disassembled a Seiko before, that’s it 😉

This design is so 70s its funny! A strange way to design a watch with a sort of inlay between the dail and plexy. Unfortunately, this inlay had come loose on this watch, and as a result, scratched the dial very badly.

_MG_0427.thumb.JPG.7c3dc982a1105940e93433978dab2495.JPG

This watch has an AR 165D movement which was launched (and I think mostly used) in 1975. Making this watch about 50 years old.

Does anyone know what MRO stands for?

I guess I have to find a original Enicar dial that fits. I found some on ebay that will match the calibre, but maybe not the design with the inlay.

In hindsight, this movement is probably not the best to start out with. They seem to do stuff a bit different, and this movement has A LOT of parts. A cool feature is a quick set date that changes one day when you press in the crown.

29 jewels and a nice design. Well, it's no way back now.

I couldn’t find too many guides online, but I got some quality expertise from these ones;

451943003_505719588534308_4790360653386358635_n.thumb.jpg.d31693c8fe9698a09b8deb6b8ecd819d.jpg

Vwatchie made an excellent guide for a similar calibre although a bit less complex:

https://www.watchrepairtalk.com/topic/22036-enicar-calibre-161-service-walkthrough/

But there is a lot of solid information here, and I will also use it when reassembling the movement.

453316703_1218162772540133_6242204555902003819_n.thumb.jpg.a9a812258319aa3d63e67074f2c2050d.jpg

On youtube I found  French Watch Collector who has a good video about a very similar movement.
Also some good information about the Brand etc:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ea0fwnsspk8

 

But the only one I could find who is working on this specific movement was Horology Biology who made an excellent video. Unfortunately, it isn’t real-time and It can be hard to copy at times. Not everything is shown.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rJpucnLHbB8&t

 

But with all this expertise thrown together, I think I have enough to get this watch assembled again.

452552109_3346050792428829_4182402376212370504_n.thumb.jpg.617e36cfad734f63d9884cfd2a818af4.jpg

I have done a complete disassembly now, even the mainspring! And so far I only know one major mistake I made. I should have used some rodico to hold down every spring when removing. I didn’t, and one tiny spring flew into another timeline or dimension.

So not only do I need to buy a new dial, I probably will end up buying a backup movement as well. I have some concerns regarding the balance wheel also. Even though this watch did ok on the timegrapher.

Luckily they aren’t too expensive.

In the meantime my plan is to do a DIY cleaning, rinse and drying without a proper machine. And then try to polish the case. Im not sure how it will turn out, but im sure I will learn a lot.

_MG_0447.thumb.JPG.1631c9891d0701c56f0386300055d1ac.JPG
All feedback and tips are very welcoming! It's my very first project, so some more mistakes are probably expected 😉

  • Like 1
Posted

No flimsy screw, robust and  easy to tear down movement.

 Enicar sherpas Chrnongraph can be a bit pricey, but best of the crop, I think is Enicar Chronometer which I have been on the look out for one. Hard to find one for sale in my neck of the woods and ebay is not an option here.

Guess you need a strong magnet looking for the  spring. Not sure about balance complete , but all parts seem to be original in your watch,  shame to replace any with after market ones. 

Some calibs were powered by valjoux 72 and are sought after.

Good luck 

 

  • Like 1
Posted

Hi Nucejoe. Cool to meet a watchmaker from Iran! I was thinking about buying an original AR 165 movement from eBay to use from parts. A whole movement doesn't seem to cost much more than to buy just one spare part. So that would still make the watch original I think? 

Posted
  On 8/7/2024 at 10:50 PM, Kruttskjegg said:

 I was thinking about buying an original AR 165 movement from eBay to use from parts. A whole movement doesn't seem to cost much more than to buy just one spare part. So that would still make the watch original I think? 

Expand  

Hi,  Good idea a whole movement as a donor is best option.  

Back in the days, spare parts were made by Renata which is good quality, I don't know who else did, if any.

The idea is to keep integrity of the piece, specially vintage collectables and antiques. 

In case you haven't yet bought a timegrapher,  WATCH ACCURACY METER app is good for start, easy to download off the web and works with your smart phone, , it will at least give the beat error, daily rate and an idea of the escapement's health.

Let us work with you every step of the way please.

Good luck 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  • Thanks 1
Posted

Thank you so much Nucejoe, I really appreciate it! 
453150561_1765676600838455_8518019851121991162_n.thumb.jpg.7d458507aa109a93d4875470d51fc631.jpg
(before picture) 

My next step is case cleaning and polishing. I used naphtha and IPA on the case (only cleaning I have right now. Waiting for L&R in the mail) and dug out a lot of gunk and maybe even some old glue(?) with pegwood. The cleaning process was very satisfactory for me 🙂 but I would love some help with the polishing. 

I have some polishing stones made for jewelry, but they seem to be way too fine for these scratches. I know very little about polishing in general, but I understand there are some techniques to be learned as well, not only finding the right tools. 

Posted
  On 8/8/2024 at 9:01 PM, Kruttskjegg said:

I understand there are some techniques to be learned as well, not only finding the right tools. 

Expand  

 I google for previous discussions on WRT ( you should add watchrepairtalk to keywords). 

This ends repeated questions, you get quick responses, enriches the old threads, opens a window to PM  members whom have dealt with similar issue and are here to learn and  share experiences ....etc.

Good luck

 

 

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Recently Browsing

    • No registered users viewing this page.
  • Topics

  • Posts

    • See I wondered about this because Frei only lists one part for 18 size, no left or right options whereas they specify left and right for the other sizes. (I happen to be working on a grade 88) I recall seeing an old video of Elgin making laps and jewels in the factory (maybe you were the one who shared it) I have one very weird warming tool which has springy jaws that can open wide enough to hold this type of fork flat, and it swivels so you can position either side over the heat source. It works great for melting shellac on a firmly held fork EXCEPT can you guess what its fatal design flaw is?....   ....you cannot open the springy clamp once it has been heated because you would need to pinch them both between your fingers and you get a second degree burn. Genius.
    • The other thing that makes pallet forks like this interesting is or some of these interesting it when they're not level they don't fit well on the pallet fork warming tool and melting to shellac becomes a challenge. One of things you want to do when working on vintage pocket watches is accumulate broken pocket watches and swiped the jewels from them. Because as you're finding out the vintage jewels were probably not made out of Sapphire there are made out a Garnet and Garnet doesn't seem to hold up as well as shellac. Then the last little part about stones pointing in different directions doesn't make sense? There's always a left stone a right stone angles are different and they both have to be in the same direction. Although I once had a pocket watch command were somebody put one of the stones in backwards and surprisingly the watch ran. Then on some watches I done this with 12 size watches I've been able to swipe pallet stones from other 12 size not even the same company because they may have purchased or stones although Elgin I know at some point in time did make their own tools and had a separate section of the factory that made diamond grinding compound for all their lap and during work. Then when the company got liquidated the diamond division was sold the somebody else in the last I knew it was still running out there but not of course under the Elgin name. Still making diamond grinding compound.   From the 1915 parts catalog you can see all 18 and 16 size pallet stones are basically identical. The difference is what they're made out of and one of them that they didn't policy side in stone probably in a seven jewel watch no one would ever see that anyway. Then you have a new or the old style determines its thickness and you would have of course right and left Then I'm attaching a PDF of Elgin escapement terminology is it is nice drawing to show you the difference between the left and right stones. Elgin watch company Escapement Terminology.PDF
    • The roller table is supposed to be held on by friction. If there is shellac under the roller table it might indicate that an improper repair had occurred prior to this as it would not be held in place with shellac. Sometimes overenthusiastic people re-shellacking the roller jewel will get shellac where it's not supposed to be. Then the picture of your roller it looks kind of damage? It doesn't quite look right it looks like somebody held with a pair of pliers or something? Then your balance wheel has limited quantity of screws? Not necessarily a problem but an indication of perhaps with the other things a prior bad repair perhaps as a guess.  
    • Quartz watches like mechanical watches need to be serviced from time to time. In other words the lubrication with time we'll go bad and the watch Will not run or will not run very well in other words oh be slow because the gears are no longer turning properly due to bad lubrication. Then other things bad for quartz watches basically anything dust that normally wouldn't affect the mechanical watch will affect the quartz watch because the quartz geartrain has extremely little power. So looking at your movement up above more than likely you'd have to clean it and lubricated before the new circuit would work.
    • I be concerned if this roller table belongs !   Timegrapher will ask,  where did you get this roller table or balance staff from?   Regs
×
×
  • Create New...